I never considered myself an activist. I have seen and experienced struggle, and I think that creates empathy, so I definitely have always had that. But I am a white woman living in the suburbs. I have never experienced – firsthand – racism. I continually seek to understand, however, how power is wielded around the world, in our country, and even in our towns. Who gets to have the power? Who gets to tell the stories? Who is protected, and who is not?
I don’t think you have to be an activist, though, to be enraged by the murder of George Floyd, by the watching of a man’s life being snuffed out before your eyes before a group of complicit police officers and furious bystanders. In that situation, the police held the power, and there is no denying they abused it.
That abuse of power is what mobilized thousands of protestors here in America and abroad, people from every walk of life who rose to hold hands (not literally, of course, because of the pandemic) and say, for God’s sake enough is enough.
Rewinding to the start of my story, on June 5, in the small town where I live, I helped organize the town’s first-ever protest in the wake of the spate of murders of People of Color (POC) at the hands of police. Over 500 people attended, marched, sang, chanted, and stood in solidarity. The turnout caught the attention of our local archivist and Museum Board Chair, who asked for donations of signs and flags to save for posterity.
Then, like a wave, people began rising to ask the question: “what can we do next?”
My good friend, Frances, a Black/Latinx resident, ran for the School Committee as a write-in candidate – and won.
My friend and co-organizer in the protest, Sarah, suggested we help lead a Community Read to bring in more members of the community who are interested in learning about how racism plays out in our society, and how policies and history informs the lived experience of Black people. We formed a small group and “The Read” is now going strong with over 200 members on Facebook, and although it was originally conceived for the South Coast, members hail from Florida, New York, and New Mexico.
At the end of August, Sarah and I had the pleasure of meeting Queen Banda, formerly the host of a talk show on Wareham Public Access Television, and recently recruited to Channel 12 in Providence. She had heard about The Read and wanted to ask us about it.
Queen, who is from Tanzania, asked us on a live show, and I paraphrase: “You are Caucasian and you are speaking out against racism. Some might say you are brainwashed, that you have an agenda. Why do you want to speak out about this?”
The answer I gave on air is not the whole story. I talked about my own struggles growing up, and how I watched my neighbors, friends, and family suffer from poverty, addiction, unemployment, lack of education.
Upon reflection, I think the answer is fairly simple. The more I learn about injustice, the more I care.
And I feel that we are all like that: that we cannot care about what we don’t know. So if you have never experienced racism, it might be difficult to understand how racism has crept into every sector of American life, from housing, to the criminal justice system, to education. It’s not enough, though, to say that if it doesn’t affect you, or that it doesn’t matter to you. An inequitable society hurts us all. Ethics aside, when people are not thriving, they are not creating jobs and businesses and art and healthy families, for example. It is incumbent on us all to learn about systemic injustice.
If you are interested in learning more about racism but you are not sure where to start, I wanted to share some of the resources that I have found in my teaching and learning. This list of nine resources will likely lead you to discover new and engaging material that you could in turn share with someone else. The offerings listed here are not “fringe” texts – the first is written by a civil rights lawyer with a degree from Harvard, who is also a Black man descended from enslaved people from the American south. Several of these names you may already know. I have included the current conversations in several mediums: written, podcasts, and film/TV.
I hope you will get together with a group, as we have, and start to hash out some of these issues, open the wounds of America’s past, and help find a way to heal our communities from the scourge of racism and inequality.
Books (all memoirs):
Just Mercy, the memoir by Bryan Stevenson that encapsulates what he has learned about the criminal justice system by working in the American south for the past three decades. Yes, it’s also a movie, but the book takes the time to unravel certain law cases, and takes the reader on a journey into the intricacies of the case of Walter McMillian – an innocent man condemned to death in Alabama. Spoiler: Stevenson proved his innocence, but against a seemingly immovable system that pushed against his efforts at every turn.
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. This is the book we chose for the Community Read for the Tritown. It’s fairly dense and academic, but, like Just Mercy, it is also anecdotal as Kendi weaves in stories of his upbringing and how his parents encouraged him to speak up against injustice at an early age. This book is chock full of statistics, but also asks the hard questions, the ones that most of us have been too afraid to ask.
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds. I listened to this book on audio at the urging of my sister, a teacher, and it took four hours. I was riveted the entire time. Jason Reynolds “remixes” an earlier text by Kendi into a compelling narrative aimed at young people but important for all of us who need a historical primer of how racism has been woven into the fabric of America.
Heavy by Kiese Laymon. This is a book to read with a group to help you process the difficult stories that Laymon lays bare. It is a powerful memoir written in his own voice, talking to his mother, unraveling poverty, abuse, sugar addiction… his goal in writing, he tells one interviewer at The Kenan Institute for Ethics, is “I want to hit people in the chest.” This is a book you will never forget.
Podcasts:
Ear Hustle: this Radiotopia podcast is mostly recorded onsite at San Quentin prison in California. I am not alone in loving Ear Hustle: This year, the podcast was named a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting. What makes this Podcast so special is that first of all, it is truly captivating. The subject matter is the daily life of the incarcerated men who are housed at San Quentin – their loves, their meals, their friends, their talents, how they handle “lockdown” and now the pandemic. The Podcast is produced with music created by incarcerated men, telling stories that are sometimes shocking, often funny, all while shining a light on the humanity that thrives even in the most unlikely of places.
Silence is Not an Option, with Don Lemon of CNN. This podcast started on June 15, 2020, so it does not have the following that Ear Hustle has garnered in its five seasons of being on air, but the subject matter is timely. Lemon looks at racism’s impact on different aspects of society: from environmental justice to sports to love, even daring to tell his own story of how the Supreme Court ruling in Loving v. Virginia affected his life.
Unlocking Us, hosted by the now ubiquitous author, researcher, and speaker Brené Brown. She is one of my heroes and probably one of the wisest leaders we have out there. In this podcast, she states, “I want to have more meaningful conversations. Conversations that help us unlock the deep, human part of who we are.” Her guests this year have included Reese Witherspoon, Judd Apatow, Dr. Vivec Murthry, Alicia Keys, Ibram X. Kendi, and Laverne Cox. The best thing about Brené is she inspires us to keep doing things that take us out of our comfort zones. “When we get to the point that we only do things that we’re already good at doing, we stop growing… and truly living.”
Documentaries:
East Lake Meadows: A Public Housing Story illuminates the “systemic” part of systemic racism, as Ken Burns and his team expose “the shameful history of housing and race in 20th-century America – redlining, restrictive covenants, white flight[.]” (Hale, NY Times, 3/23/2020). Like most of Burns’ documentaries, this is a well-researched and truly educational film makes viewers rethink assumptions and presumptions about poverty and race in our country.
Dear… this amazing new series is on Apple Plus, so don’t ask me how to get it if you don’t have Apple TV, but I am hoping it comes to a more mainstream outlet soon. This documentary series showcases inspiring people (Spike Lee, Oprah Winfrey, Gloria Steinem, Jane Goodall, Big Bird (!), Lin Manuel Miranda, Stevie Wonder, and more) reading actual letters written by fans who have been inspired by them. It’s not cheesy, though it sounds like it could easily fall into that category. Instead, the series successfully shows how an inspired person, doing something passionately, lifts others up. Every episode will make you cry. Not all education that examines racism (in several episodes, anyway) has to be heavy. This one is a joy to watch and makes you think that a world that lives in love is still possible.
Dawnland, this Emmy-award-winning documentary came out just last year. It follows the first ever “Truth and Reconciliation” process in the State of Maine. The filmmakers follow State leaders meeting with the Wabanaki and Passamaquoddy tribes, illuminating the devastating effects of taking away Native American children from their families, homes and tribes (pre-ICWA, the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978). In the documentary, viewers learn about little-talked-about policies that the federal government created to first eradicate then assimilate indigenous peoples, including creating Residential Schools which publicly shared the motto “Kill the Indian and Save the Man.” The documentary shows us the personal, family and tribal impact of racism when it becomes ingrained in the law. Dawnland is available on PBS Passport as of this writing.
