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Tag: conversation
Progressive White People: It’s Time to Stand Up and be Counted
White People, can I have a few minutes of your time?
I know you wouldn’t even be here reading this if you weren’t some degree of “evolved” or “woke.” Not many outright racists hang around here at Daily Kos.
Nevertheless, it’s time for another painful conversations about race, racism, and what it actually means to not be a racist.
🚩{{{{{ 🚩Spoiler Alert: The Answer Is In The Title! 🚩}}}}} 🚩
Here at DK, we know a few basics. We know that overt racists are likely to:
- think White Privilege doesn’t exist
- bring up The Race Card
- preface statements with, “I’m not a racist, but…”
- think BLM is a terrorist organization
- object to an oil pipeline being put through a church, but be fine with putting one through sacred Native American lands
- refer to NFL players who take a knee as “thugs”
- believe that racism doesn’t exist
- believe Affirmative Action is reverse racism
- refer to anyone of Hispanic or latino descent as “Mexican”
- believe that black-on-black crime is a bigger problem than cops killing black people
- believe that the black men and boys who get shot or killed by cops had it coming for some reason or another.
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If you had trouble getting through that list without checking off a few, you’ve likely got more work to do than I can help you with here. But even if you are in good standing with that paradigm, as white people, we can’t help it if there are some deeper issues at play.
We are white and most of us have grown up in white families and mostly white communities through no fault of our own. None of us, (white, black or other) can help where we were born, what religion we were born into, or what language we learned. We’re not responsible for the early prejudices or lack of outside experiences that we may or may not have been exposed to in our youth. Some of which very likely contributed to our being racially “sluggish” or even “comatose.”
It’s in our teenage and young adulthood that we usually begin to examine our “given belief system” for flaws. We compare them with our experiences and make adjustments. We can read and listen and hopefully learn and grow into a better awareness of what life is truly like for “others.”
But as we become adults and make our way through life, opportunities to intersect and learn about other cultures and ethnicities don’t always just happen. Sometimes a job, travel, or living location may provide the impetus to expand our horizons, but sometimes “chance” just doesn’t open that channel. Many times it is actually a choice to learn more about different people. Sometimes we, as white people, have to make an effort. We have to leave our comfort zone and do the reaching out. We have to take the risk.
(Why do WE have to? Because we can. We have the power to do so. A power that has not been afforded to those with darker skin. They have never had the power to just move into our neighborhoods, get jobs where we work, join the groups that we are part of.)
Do you consider yourself, as a progressive or a liberal white person, to be an ally to your black and brown brothers and sisters? Because there’s actually a lot of ground between not being a racist and being an ally.
It’s not enough to just “not be against POC” as we go through life.
We must attempt to see the world through their eyes.
We must try to become them.
Deeper growth and understanding must occur within our white hearts and minds before we can truly be allies with POC. Their histories, their stories, their voices must be truly heard. Have you listened with your heart? Do you understand their pain?
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Let’s try another inventory, just to see how “woke” we really are:
A. Do you read or study the history of other ethnicities that live in the same country as you, perhaps the same communities? Do you assume/expect them to know about the white leaders and heroes in America?
Do you know know who these people are?
- Robert Smalls
- Benjamin Banneker
- Frederick Douglass
- Ida B. Wells
- W.E.B. Du Bois
- Sylvia Mendez
- Cesar Chavez
- A. Philip Randolph
- Dolores Huerta
- Antonia C. Novello
B. Do you make an effort (or perhaps you just do it naturally) to read the works of current black/brown authors or known black/brown literary figures? Have you read any of these authors?
- Richard Wright
- Frederick Douglass
- (Helen Hunt Jackson)
- Zora Neale Hurston
- James Baldwin
- Toni Morrison
- Maya Angelou
- Alice Walker
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
- Isabel Allende
- Julia Alvarez
- Jorge Luis Borges
C. Do you read contemporary “ethnic authored” literature?
Check out these lists.
- remezcla.com/… 10 Books From Latino & LatAm Authors For Your Summer Reading List
- www.penguinrandomhouse.com/…25 Books by Contemporary Black Authors
D. If you don’t have time to read the books, do you see the movies? Do you know these stories?
- The Hate U Give
- Black Panther
- Selma
- Straight Outta Compton
- The Color Purple
- Waiting to Exhale
- Cry Freedom
- Glory
- BlacKkKlansman
- Boyz ‘N the Hood
Visit HuffPo: 29 Classic Movies To Watch In Honor Of Black History Month
E. Do you know these names?
- Dontre Hamilton
- Eric Garner
- John Crawford III
- Michael Brown, Jr.
- Ezell Ford
- Dante Parker
- Tanisha Anderson
- Tamir Rice
- Freddie Gray
- Rumain Brisbon
- Jerame Reid
- Tony Robinson
- Phillip White
- Walter Scott
{{{ Hint — these names come from a list of unarmed black people killed by police — compiled over a single calendar year. }}}
F. Do you know any POC? Have you ever….. a POC?
- gone out with
- been friends with
- are you related to
- been to a wedding
- been to the funeral of
- been inside the home of
- had some stay at your home
- shared a bed with
- been to the church of
- been on a trip with
- been the only white in a group of
- cried with
- argued with
- forgiven a
- been forgiven by
G. Music: Do you know the names of any songs by any of the following artists? Have you really listened to this music?
- Nina Simone
- John Coltrane
- Louis Armstrong
- Billie Holiday
- Ella Fitzgerald
- Tupac Shakur
- Carlos Santana
- Shakira
- Enrique Iglesias
- Jenni Rivera
- Prince Royce
- Pitbull
H. Life Statistics:
1. Do you know the basic life expectancy rates of POC as compared to us White Folk?
The life expectancies of white men and black women hover together between the other two.
2. Infant Mortality Rates? www.kff.org/…
3. Income Rates? www.pgpf.org/…
4. Incarceration Rates?
5. Education?
I could go on and on and on, but I’m hoping you get the point.
“What is the point?” You may wonder. None of this is really new to us. We kinda understand the inequity that goes along with “the race problem” and we are comfortable being on the right side of the issue, am I right? As liberal, progressive, democratic white people, we live in The Camp of Good Intentions.
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The Camp of Good Intentions
“It’s not only Republicans that are racist.” “Liberals can be racists, too.”
Being white and liberal all my life, it has taken me many decades to see the reality of this. It’s been painful. I know there was a time when I was in that camp. Heck, I’m probably still a part-time resident there.
🤦🏼♀️ 😰 🤷🏼♀️
I call it the Camp of Good Intentions. Where said “non-racist” white person has virtually no real meaningful experiences or relationships with POC, little knowledge of or appreciation for their history, culture or music. Non-racist white person has no real participation with their struggle for equality. NRWP has best wishes for POC but no actual dog in the fight.
And sadly, said NRWP has no specific motivation to move outside the Camp of Good Intentions, and perhaps no real awareness that they reside there.
In the Camp of Good Intentions, it seems like it should be enough to have voted for the first black president, to have fully supported Civil Rights, to never use the n-word, to revile people who do (behind their backs) and even be on friendly terms with some POC. It’s pretty comfortable for us white liberals in this space. We have lots to give and only a little to lose.
I know many older, life-long (white) liberals with good hearts who have never left that safe space. Even some who still somehow live there despite having grandchildren or in-laws who are bi-racial or POC themselves. I do think young people in general are becoming progressively more socially accepting in terms of not “making a deal” out of race and gender mixing, certainly not as much as those in their 50’s and older. But even that doesn’t necessarily translate to understanding the deep pain of racism.
How do we (white people) know where we stand?
How do they (POC) know where we stand?
Does it matter where we stand?
Are we actually standing at all?
When a racial injustice happens in our own city or town, do we step up? Do we show up? Do we speak up? Or do we huddle in our Camp of Good Intentions and look to the “National Struggle” for our instruction? When things get really bad, do we write a check?
Do we fall back on the old, “If he had just done what the cop asked…” when another black child or man is shot in the back by the police?
Do we speak up when someone does use the n-word or use racist language in our presence? Do we bite our tongues and go along, or just turn away in silent disgust?
OR, ummm, have we in our liberalism, insulated ourselves such that we don’t actually run into those kind of white people (racists) very often anymore, yet knowing very well that they exist. All the while, living in a very white world. Because, well…family. Or geography. Or a job or whatever.
Okay. Whatever. I am not one to judge, that’s for sure. I absolutely love where I live (rurally in the Rocky Mountains) at this point in my life, but the sparse populace is old, white and “politically red” — a bit of a cultural desert — save for the Native Utes who lived here for centuries before we came.
But chance, as well as specific choices, earlier in my life, enriched and enabled me such that I was able to come to know very well many POC — of all ages and in many varied circumstances — from my late teens to my late 50s. As a survivor of traumatic childhood sexual abuse, I probably imagined a certain kinship with POC. I have certainly felt a unique sense of belonging when I was especially close with a small group of WOC back in the day.
But that’s not where I live now. So the question is, even for me…
Can the POC that we encounter in our daily lives SEE us?
Can they tell who we are? Is there a way that they can identify that we are on their side? That we are not a Trumpian or a BBQ Becky — someone ready to call the cops on them simply because they exist? How might we show them? How can they know that we are their allies? That we even exist? How are POC supposed to know that there are white people who would stand up for them? That they can turn to for help. How do POC know who we are?
Because…
…there really are white folks who care. Who are working slowly and diligently to help in the struggle. There are white people who are somewhere on that journey from good intentions to “wokeness.” And when we get to the point where we don’t need to be singled out for being “woke,” we may almost be there.
Yes, that means we don’t wince when POC talk about “white people” and feel like we need an asterisk next to our name as an exception to the rule. We need to be strong enough in our belief in who we are to rise above the stereotype that has attached itself to our “group,” just as POC have been doing for generations on end.
Don’t let anyone tell you who you are — show them who you are.
Understanding other races comes with making deliberate choices, small efforts, repeated outreach, and defeating our fear of rejection.
How To Stand Up and Be Counted:
www.amazon.com/… 25 buttons for $11 — I gave 23 away!
- Wear a Black Lives Matter pin. (Everyday! Just stick it on your hat or bag or jacket and forget about it. I have some amazing stories coming out of doing this over the past four years!)
- Put a BLM or NAACP bumper sticker on your car.
- Wear tee shirts or sweat shirts with strong messages on them.
- Join the local NAACP and follow the local events. Attend some!
- Identify and support candidates of color that you agree with — get involved!
- Put your energy into having tough conversations with white people around you, don’t leave that to POC. We have much more “leverage” with these peers than they do.
- Expect to be uncomfortable. Pushing back against racism shouldn’t be “comfortable.”
- Use vocabulary that speaks “the truth about the disempowerment, oppression, disinvestment and racism that are rampant in our communities.”
- Boots on the ground. Show up. Stand up. Speak up.
Little Things:
- Smile at, nod to, sit near, hold the door for POC. (And don’t “need” or expect them to reciprocate.)
- Attend a black church service.
- Read Black Kos. Masters Degree level information and discussion right here every Tuesday and Friday afternoon. It’s a welcoming community of people and knowledge and culture, many you probably already know.
- Identify your own privilege. As white people, it’s easy to exist without realizing we are swimming in privileges that POC simply don’t have.
- Educate yourself. Take the initiative — the struggle for equality and justice belongs to all of us.
- Don’t get your feelings all hurt if someone mistakes you for just another white person. It’s on us, the minority of whites, to change the perception of who we are as a whole. Educate other whites, POC already know how it is.
- Build real relationships with POC! Connect and collaborate!
POC consistently ask their white allies to have the uncomfortable race conversations with other white people. Yet we really hesitate to do this, don’t we? Don’t wanna rock the boat. That’s privilege right there.
Being white myself, I know I have barely scratched the surface of this topic. There is so much more to understanding the many rich cultures and often tragic histories of POC. The longer our nation continues, the more we see these stories embedded in its own white-washed history. There have been fateful consequences and also incredible stories of triumph.
I am only suggesting, based on experience and research, some things that might help to change this situation. I am eager for more conversation. I hope it will be productive.
(I apologize in advance for any possible offense to anyone of any race. Unless you’re a racist. Lol.)
source: https://www.dailykos.com/blogs/Black%20Kos%20community
SAVE THIS REVOLUTIONARY DATE IN HARLEM, N.Y.C. for
“AN INTER-GENERATIONAL CONVERSATION WITH DR. ANGELA DAVIS”
Join us for a remarkable and eye-opening intergenerational conversation with the brilliant and renowned Dr. Angela Y. Davis,
hosted by the National Conference of Black Lawyers on September 23, 2019 at Riverside Church in New York.
Derecka Purnell, attorney, writer, and organizer, and Vincent Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, will be
joining Dr. Davis in a discussion about the future direction of the movement for Black liberation and the challenges for Black lawyers.
The conversation will be moderated by Amanda Alexander, executive director of the Detroit Justice Center.
Kite Line- May 3, 2019: The Arc of Prison Struggles in Indiana- A Conversation with Zolo Azania, Part One
We recently sat down with Zolo Agona Azania, who was recently released after surviving decades on Indiana’s death row. In this first section of the interview, he covers his early experiences in prison, the role of imprisoned Black Panthers in mentoring him, and the cycle of prisoners struggles that lasted in Indiana from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. In the course of this important neglected history, he shares a wealth of vital lessons for organizing today.
Mosi-Blog 