There can be no equality or opportunity if men and women and children be not shielded in their lives from the consequences of great industrial and social processes which they cannot alter, control, or singly cope with.
Woodrow Wilson
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
One (more) Thing about the Trayvon Martin Tragedy that Pi$$es Me Off
Last week I did a post linking many of the best offerings of the internet on the Trayvon Martin tragedy. But there is one thing that is really (I mean really) making me angry.
On March 8- my Facebook updates page was burning up with shares and comments and links to Kony 2012. Some were friends who have long been sharing links about things in the social justice movement. Many were people who do not. But person after person shared the story of Kony as told by Invisible Children. Something like 100 million people had watched the Kony video and commented on it.
30 days after the killing of Trayvon Martin only a handful of friends have posted about it on Facebook. Of the people who have, only three are not parenting Black children. In other words, most of the people who posted about Trayvon have (and pardon the pun) some skin in the game.
So I got to thinking about the discrepancy between the two stories. What is the difference between the two stories that spoke to people (or didn't) and the only thing I can think of is that this is a unique interaction of privilege meeting the White Savior Complex. (for a perspective on the White Savior Complex- check this out.)
Lets look at Kony 2012. Many Ugandans are upset and speaking out about the campaign for a multide of reasons; Kony hasn't been in the country for 5-6 years, peace has come to most parts of the country, Invisible Children has few if any Ugandans on the board of directors, that Invisible Children align themselves with groups who do the exact same thing that they accuse Kony of doing. But the criticism seems to boil down for many as it is not the place of American White people to swoop in (or lobby our government to swoop in) to save Africa, and Uganda in particular. They presented the Ugandans as helpless to stop or change the situation (all the while ignoring the fact the situation has changed substantially) That presentation of Ugandans as helpless to change their fates presents the perfect opportunity for us to rush in with our money to save the children. We get to be the heroes- the ones who rush in on their white horses and their white hats to rescue the women and children. And face it- who doesn't want to be a hero?
But when we look at what happened to Trayvon Martin, we are forced to look at how we allowed laws to be passed to essentially sanction killing with minimal/no cause and how we view our fellow citizens. We need to look at how we sit back and accept a societal narrative that convinces us that a teen in a hoodie in the rain is a threat. We need to admit that we are being poisoned by the smog of racism and bias that invades so much of our society- from our media to our history books to the language we use. It all contributes to the pollution of bias that infects us all with racism. All of that poison impacted the events of that night in February and regardless of the facts of that night- we can not ignore the fact that as soon as we think that race might have played a role in this tragedy- that is the time we need to talk about race in this country- and talk HONESTLY. And unlike Kony 2012 where we get to be the saviors, instead with Trayvon we have to look at whether we have been unwilling accomplices to the killing. Have we allowed jokes, stereotypes and racist comments to go unchecked? Have we complained, or even noticed, when media consistently shows us one dimensional stereotypes and presents them as news. Do we ask why the Black characters don't get the same screen time as the White characters? For those of us who are White- do we challenge what we receive from our privilege? Do we even understand we have privilege? Or do we believe that racism is someone else's problem to deal with.
In the Trayvon Martin story- we don't get to be the hero. We don't get to write a check and order a activist kit to show we "helped". Instead (at least for those of us with a functioning conscience) we get self reflection and the realization that for most of us the best we did nothing to help and at worst we may have contributed to what happened.
Talking about Trayvon Martin means talking about race and privilege and other hard things- things that MUST be talked about if we ever really want to make a difference in this country and it pisses me off (but doesn't surprise me) that people don't want that conversation. It's hard and ugly and necessary.
It feels way better to just be a hero.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Thoughts on Trayvon Martin
As we approach 30 days since the cold blooded murder of Trayvon Martin at the hands of a racist killer, there has still not been an arrest. I have wanted to do a profound post, something meaningful but every time I do, it comes out a jumble of outrage, privilege, and frustration.
So instead of my thoughts, I will give you some of the best offerings of the internet on this horrific tragedy. Maybe some good will come out of this as we finally have to confront the racial truth in this country. We must face the horrifying injustice not just in the killing of an innocent child but compounded by the killer going free. White parents of black children finally realizing that racism is for real and is life and death, and white parents of white children teaching their children another way.
Please take the time to read these links and maybe, in Trayvon's name, the veil of privilege will be lifted, hopefully forever.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
D's Birthday Interview
How old are you today? 6
What did you pick for your birthday dinner? Bob Evans (carryout since I was too filthy from cleaning the basement to be seen in public)
What is your favorite food? Chocolate Chip Ice cream cones
What is your favorite color? Why? Pink. Cause it's the best color
If you could live anywhere where would you live? Why? Texas. Because it's fun there (See here, and here and here and here if you want to know what she means)
Who is your best friend? Kaitlyn and Lizzie
What do you want to be when you grow up? A nurse
What is something that you do well? Calendar at school
What do you want to do better this year? Be good
Photos of the birthday girl coming soon....
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Weekend Wisdom
I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.
Monday, March 12, 2012
How Disney Taught My Daughter a Lesson (I wish they hadn't)
I am no fan of the Disney company.
There I said it.
As a diversity educator there is no end to the topics I can talk about using Disney movies. From the racism and sexism in Peter Pan (when they didn't know better) to the racism in Pocahontas (when they did know better) Disney has consistently dropped the ball on making sure their character line, and particularly the Princesses, reflect the girls who consume their movies and products by the billions.
I could go on about the raging -isms that appear in Disney movies- not just the ones made 60 years ago but the ones made since 1985 as well- but no where did the miss the mark as with their first Black Princess. Never mind the prince was white and the villain was black (same old tired stereotypes) or that the princess is actually a frog for the majority of the movie.
Never mind the flaws in the movie because there was merchandising.
I could buy hundred of dollars worth of merchandise in which my child could see a princess who looks like her- a Tiana doll and blanket and clothes and party invitations and books all with images of a princess that looks like her.
Or so I thought. Then K chose this book at a book fair...
I didn't read it first and while I didn't expect it to be fine literature I bought it because right now D loves the movie Tangled and it has brought up some hair issues for K and I felt that it wouldn't hurt for her to see Tiana in the same book as Rapunzel.
So K starts to read this book, which as you can tell from the cover is one story about Ariel. one about Tiana and one about Rapunzel.
In the story about Ariel- her image appears 18 times in 22 pages.
In the story about Rapunzel- her image appears 18 times in 22 pages
In the story about Tiana- in 22 pages her image appears....
NOT. ONE. TIME. AT. ALL.
In 22 freaking pages she is a frog on EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.
And sorry but I am going to call it what it is- Racism.
(and no- it is not burn a cross on your lawn racism- it is death by a thousand cuts racism- but seriously, racism is racism)
And to be very clear (for those who will say
that K would have never noticed and I am over sensitive) I did not
notice it. If I had, I would have never brought the book in the
first place. It was my daughter, looking for a picture of her favorite
princess in her new book, who, in tears, brought it to me.
When my princess loving four year old brings me a book- a book that clearly shows Tiana on the cover -and tells me "Mommy, Tiana is not in my book. Why not?" please explain to me what answer I can possibly give her that will convince her that Tiana is as beautiful and as valued as the other princesses, when she is holding evidence to the contrary in her hands.
Disney might have a Black princess but it's really just the same old story
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Yo, Is This Racist?
In lieu of Weekend Wisdom I want to give a plug to this blogger. I found his site a couple of weeks ago and it is absolutely fabulous.
Anyone interested in becoming more anti-racist should check it out. Here's a sample....
* one word of caution- he uses pretty colorful language in most posts.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Just a Little Corny
(this is actually from Fall 2010 when he was in 5th grade but I just found it the other day buried in the depth of my hard drive)
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
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