#148
Further to my blog posts entitled Knowledge + Empathy + Action (June 4, 2020) and Knowledge + Empathy + Action [Part II] (August 13, 2020), I will share some additional resources. These resources are practical for those of us working in education and working directly with students - most notably through Social Studies, Citizenship, and/or Theory of Knowledge classes as well as for those who wish - in our role as allies - to extend our knowledge and understanding; and reflect on history, recent and current events on a personal and societal level.
Per my previous posts, I wish to state yet again that it is paramount:
(i) to acknowledge one’s privilege,
(ii) to be an ally to those who (for generations) have experienced marginalization, emotional and physical distress and worse, and
(iii) to challenge the racial inequalities and discrimination that exist.
Mindful of Rachel Cargle’s quote, "My equation for Black allyship is: knowledge + empathy + action", I wish - prior to sharing these resources - to draw attention to the first five articles* of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and three of the attributes** (open-minded, caring, and principled) from the IB Learner Profile as well as these three images:
Image by @SylviaDuckworth
Taken from Facebook. Original source unknown. Image by @SylviaDuckworth
Elena Aguilar: The Heartbreak of Parenting in a White Supremacist Culture with Helen Truong (The Bright Morning Podcast, October 2020) - This 90 minute podcast is a transformational coaching session in which Elena supports Helen in her journey in raising three Asian-American children, discussing her personal history, culture and context and sense of other and the impact on her children as they navigate the here and now.
John Amaechi: What is white privilege? (BBC, August 2020) or What is white privilege? (via Twitter if you are unable to access the BBC video from your current location for rights reasons, August 2020) - In this 150 second video for CBBC (Children’s BBC channel), he shared his understanding of the term privilege. The paragraph that most resonates is, “Privilege is a hard concept for people to understand, because normally when we talk of privilege we imagine immediate unearned riches and tangible benefits for anyone who has it. But white privilege and indeed all privilege is actually more about the absence of inconvenience, the absence of an impediment or challenge, and as such when you have it, you really don't notice it, but when it's absent, it affects everything you do.” More about this video and his rationale and motivation to speak out about white privilege may be found in the Kehinde Andrew’s article, John Amaechi: how the first NBA player to come out is now teaching us all about white privilege (The Guardian, September 2020).
Farish Ahmad-Noor: Why is colonialism still romanticized? (TED Talk, September 2019) - From the perspective of a historian of South East Asia, he puts forth his thoughts as to why - despite being in a postcolonial phase - certain prejudices and narratives persist in this region.
Laura Benson: How to Be an Antiracist (*Inspired by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's book) Brave Books, Critical Conversations, Expanded Hearts - A curated list of books, films, and so much more.
John Biewen: The lie that invented racism (TED Talk, September 2020) - In this thought provoking talk, he meditates on his understanding of race and racism from his formative years and with reference to the current systemic racism that exists in the US in housing, job discerimination, education and the criminal justice system. He reminds us that racism was invented by people who look like him and he shares how (per a conversation with Ibram X. Kendi) he became aware of how [when Gomes de Zurara described Africans as being inferior] and when [in the Fifteenth Century, shortly after the Portugese started the Translatlantic Slave Trade] the notion of being other came into effect. His phrases, “We are implicated. And if I'm not joining the struggle to dismantle a system that advantages me, I am complicit” and “Seems to me wherever we show up, we need to show up with humility and vulnerability and a willingness to put down this power that we did not earn.” remind me of two of Ibram X. Kendi’s stand out quotes from the text, How to be an Antiracist: “The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it—and then dismantle it. ” (page 9) and “Racism is a marriage of racist policies and racist ideas that produces and normalizes racial inequities.” (page 18)
Peter DeWitt: Moving Beyond Black History Month (Education Week, July 2020) - He shares his perspective that the contributions of black people is overshadowed by their white counterparts as the books and curriculum in schools do not reflect/represent children of colour. With regard to diversity and representation, he concludes, “This is yet another opportunity for schools, the media, and politicians to use more inclusive language and images that represent all of whom we are and focus on the contributions of all the people who make up the country. We need to be able to also discuss the painful past, understand where it came from, and figure out how to move forward together, regardless of our race. Too often, the conversations after protests go away until the next tragic racial event. We need to make sure that we engage in these conversations to prevent the next tragic racial event.”
Dexter Dias: Racism thrives on silence - speak up! (TED Talk, September 2020) - Dias, as a human rights lawyer, shares his experiences of fighting for people of colour who have lost their lives in state custody in the UK. Dias urges us all to educate ourselves about the notion of race as a social construct; to speak out against the social inequalities that are not because of race, but are justified by race; and to adopt an anti-racist stance to make “what was once visible, is made visible. What was once silenced, is shouted out loud and clear.” He urges us to speak up and take action against racism to engender change for individuals and society at large by concluding, “Racism wants to stay invisible. Expose it. Racism wants your silence. Make a noise. Racism wants your apathy. Make a commitment now to use your voice and your privilege and your power to fight for racial justice always, and to join the crescendo of voices calling for change. And to be part of the hope.”
Daveed Diggs: “What to My People is the Fourth of July?” (Movement For Black Lives, July 2020) - is a short video (less than 2.5 minutes) inspired by Frederick Douglass’ historic speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
Jennifer L. Eberhardt: How racial bias works and how to disrupt it? (TED Talk, June 2020) - She shares information referencing how biases targeting people of colour unjustly impacts people of colour in day to day life. With the view to curbing racial profiling, she talks about the role of creating points of friction.
Rachel Engel: An Open Letter to the International School Community: Our Role in the Black Lives Matter Movement and Anti-Racism Work (Medium, June 2020) - She shares her observations about the culture of international schools. She states “The fact is, the systemic oppression and brutalization of Black people is not a problem specific to the United States; it is a global one, one in which we are all complicit.”
Alicia Garza: Alicia Garza on writing the rules, the power of a ballot box and making Black people the heroes of their own stories (Ways to Change the World with Krishnan Guru-Murthy, October 2020) - She speaks about her role as an organizer and activist through the Black Lives Matter movement and other organizations. The focus is on personal engagement and action so as to enact change/policy change in society for the betterment of those who experience systematic racism/discrimination.
Guardian staff and agency: Penguin launches project to boost diversity in GCSE reading lists (The Guardian, October 2020) - In recent months, there had been reports referencing that an analysis of texts for GCSE English literature were overwhelmingly written by white authors and the concern that the prescribed texts were not representative of society at large. Learning of Penguin’s quest to expand diversity of texts in the reading lists for GCSEs, Bernardine Evaristo, who wrote Girl, Woman, Other for which she won the Booker prize, said, “This is an incredibly important, exciting and essential initiative that aims to redress an education system overwhelmingly delivered through a white filter that marginalises and excludes people of colour.”
Joseph Harker: It's clearer than ever that black history is everyone's history (The Independent, July 2020) - I wholeheartedly agree with his opening statement, “History isn’t about the past. More and more, it’s about the present. And black history isn’t about faraway people. It’s about our own country.” He also made reference to “... the “compensation” paid to slave owners after abolition was so vast that it took until 2015 for Britain to finish paying the bill”, details of which may be found here.
Hasan Kwame Jeffries: Why we must confront the painful parts of US history (TED Talk, February 2020) - This TED Talk, as summarized on the website, “emphasizes the need to weave historical context, no matter how painful, into our understanding of modern society -- so we can disrupt the continuum of inequality massively affecting marginalized communities.”
Kyla Jenee Lacey: White Privilege (WAN Poetry, August 2017) - This slam poem has a powerful message for those of us who have white privilege.
David Lammy: Climate Justice Can't Happen Without Racial Justice (TED Talks, October 2020) - He puts forth the notion that climate change can not be solved without addressing racial, social and intergenerational justice.
John Lewis and Bryan Stevenson: The fight for civil rights and freedom (TED Talk, November 2019) - This 20 minute conversation focuses on his belief in non-violence action to raise awareness and to lead to changes for the betterment of society at large.
Deborah Nicholls-Lee: Black Lives Matter: How Amsterdam is shining a light on its history of slavery (The Independent, June 2020) - She references the way in which black history is evident in Amsterdam in its architecture and arts, yet it is only recently with the introduction of tours and tourist attractions which are explicitly uncovering the role of slavery are more and more people being aware of black history.
Olivette Otele: Olivette Otele on a summer of race protests, imposter syndrome and the politics of memory (Ways to Change the World with Krishnan Guru-Murthy, October 2020) - Olivette, Professor of History of Slavery at Bristol University, is the first black female history professor in the UK. She references the notion of othering, the way in which history very much is focussed on the white narrative and how history very much intersects with current events, especially in Bristol.
The Atlantic: Anti-Racism in American Ibram X. Kendi with Yoni Appelabum (The Atlantic Festival Ideas Stage, September 2020) - Dr. Kendi (from the 47 minute mark) discusses issues of social justice surrounding equity, equality and systematic racism.
Jose Antonio Vargas: 3 questions to ask yourself about US citizenship (TED Talk, July 2020) - In discussing the notion of immigration and citizenship (including the history of the US as well as his and his family’s experiences), he poses three questions: Where did you come from? How did you get here? Who paid?
Light Watkins: The Life of Frederick Douglass with David Blight (At the End of the Tunnel podcast, October 2020) - This podcast, just short of two hours, focusses on various aspects of Douglass’ life including his escape from slavery, activism, and family and is most informative.
Matt Zalaznick: How one of nation’s biggest districts talks about race and racism (District Administration, October 2020) - This article discusses the implementation of the Courageous Conversation programme in Broward County Public Schools in Florida, the US. The embedded video from educators in Broward County is one in which educators share their learning as a result of - per the website’s description, a “protocol for effectively engaging, sustaining and deepening interracial dialogue.”
How can we - mindful of the knowledge gained through personal reading and research - authentically challenge the racial inequalities and discrimination that exist in our communities so to make the world a better place for all?
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