“Once I got to the park, it was total chaos. We were on the streets marching, I was with other activists, and I just saw a sea of people marching with Confederate flags, shouting awful, mean things, spitting on me and my friends, pushing us, hurting us, hitting us.” - Paola Sanchez Valdez
“We’ve seen a couple of different patterns in the tips we’ve received. The first one, and I think probably the most common thing we see people report to us, verbal harassment or intimidation, with the phrase, ‘Go back to your country,” or ‘Get out of my country,’ or some variation on those two...I think one of the things that maybe didn’t surprise me but I like to share whenever I talk about the project is that these incidents are not restricted to any geographic area. We see incidents coming in from all over the country...Incidents of hate really happen everywhere.” - Rachel Glickhouse
“Donald Trump is taking the surveillance tools that we developed for the war on terror and using those tools to find and deport immigrants.” - Alvaro Bedoya
“What we have is amnesia in the United States and across the Americas about what our common history is, and we have amnesia about the contribution of mestizo peoples across the Americas.” - Robert Con Davis-Undiano
In this episode of Latino USA, Paola Sanchez Valdez was interviewed regarding the counterprotest she was a part of as an activist and student at UVA when white nationalists protested in Charlottesville. In the next segment, Rachel Glickhouse shared about the work of ProPublica’s work in documenting hate crimes. Later in the episode, Alvaro Bedoya spoke about immigration and surveillance, Robert Con Davis-Undiano shared about his book Mestizos Come Home! Making and Claiming Mexican American Identity, and Ruxandra Guidi spoke about her home country of Venezuela and her work as a journalist. When a national leader promotes building barriers, it should not surprise us that people are harmed by the emboldened hatred of white nationalist terrorists. Please take the time to listen to the linked Latino USA podcast.
#latinousa #podcast #podcastrec #whosecountrytisofthee #nadiareiman #paolasanchezvaldez #natalieromero #heatherheyer #charlottesville #uva #counterprotest #dismantlewhitesupremacy #endwhitenationalism #endxenophobia #propublica #rachelglickhouse #mariahinojosa #alvarobedoya #immigration #surveillance #robertcondavis-undiano #ruxandraguidi #venezuela #socialjustice #loveyourneighbor #justice #seekjustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #broadeningthenarrative
Account to Follow - Nov. 27, 2019
As you can see in Tina Strawn’s IG profile, she is an “antiracism and social justice advocate, educator, and activist.” She also leads antiracism and yoga trips to Alabama and has joined @speakingofracism as a co-host on the Speaking of Racism podcast.
I am thankful for Tina Strawn’s posts, the truth she shares, and the action steps she provides. In the short time I have been following her page, Tina Strawn has encouraged me and equipped me for engaging in the ongoing work of being antiracist in my personal life and in calling others to join in antiracism work to dismantle white supremacy in individuals and institutions.
#tinastrawn #accounttofollow #antiracismadvocate #socialjusticeadvocate #antiracismeducator #socialjusticeeducator #antiracismactivist #socialjusticeactivist #antiracism #socialjustice #advocate #educator #activist #endracism #dismantlewhitesupremacy #activism #blacklivesmatter #justice #tellthetruth #empathy #equality #reflection #action #loveyourneighbor #seekjustice #restorativejustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative
Additional Rec. - Nov. 28, 2019
Additional Rec. - “Thanksgiving: The National Day of Mourning” by Allen Salway
Today is Thanksgiving, and I wanted to share this article by Allen Salway (@lilnativeboy). I have included quotes below.
“Being a young, Native student in America during October to late-November is complete mental exhaustion. This time of year in particular, society continuously pushes us into oppressive climates where we are gaslighted through a series of holidays that either reimagine history, play on and exploit painful stereotypes, or both.”
“In 1637 the Pequot Massacre took place, when over 700 Native men, women and children were slaughtered in what's now known as Mystic, Connecticut. The following day, the governor declared a day of thanksgiving and held a feast to celebrate their victories in battle.”
“This holiday can be sugar-coated as much as people like to justify colonial violence, but note that it is a painful, annual reminder of our genocide and white supremacy — two of the very foundations of this country, alongside slavery. This day is viewed as the National Day of Mourning by several Native communities, which was started as a protest in 1970 — organized by the United American Indians of New England (UAINE) to honor our ancestors and highlight the struggles they endured then to modern times, as well as the acknowledgement of the racism and oppression experienced today.”
“To me, Thanksgiving is a reminder of our resistance as Indigenous People navigating this settler society that continuously tries to erase and destroy us, yet we are still here.”
Please read the full article, and at the end of the article, there are links you can click to support the work of Allen Salway and causes such as the Navajo Water Project.
#additionalrecommendation #recommendation #thanksgiving #thenationaldayofmourning #allensalway #indigenouspeoplearestillhere #supportindigenouspeople #navajowaterproject #empathy #equality #reflection #action #loveyourneighbor #love #humanity #learning #justice #socialjustice #seekjustice #restorativejustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #mourn #lament #repent #repair #tellthetruth #dismantlewhitesupremacy #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrativeBook Rec. - Nov. 30, 2019
Current Read - Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible’s View of Women by Sarah Bessey
“I want to be outside with the misfits, with the rebels, the dreamers, second-chance givers, the radical grace lavishers, the ones with arms wide open, the courageously vulnerable, and among even - or maybe especially - the ones rejected by the Table as not worthy enough or right enough” (Bessey, 2013, p.4).
“At the core, feminism simply consists of the radical notion that women are people, too. Feminism only means we champion the dignity, rights, responsibilities, and glories of women as equal in importance - not greater than, but certainly not less than - to those of men, and we refuse discrimination against women” (Bessey, 2013, pp.13-14).
“I loosened my grip on my opinions. I entered recovery for being such a know-it-all. I stopped expecting everyone to experience God or church or life like I thought it should be done. In fact, I stopped using the word should about God altogether...I learned the difference between critical thinking and being just plain critical” (Bessey, 2013, pp.49-50).
“In the Old Testament, the word ezer appears twenty-one times in three different contexts: the creation of woman, when Israel applied for military aid, and in reference to God as Israel’s helper for military purposes (in this context, ezer appears sixteen times)...God did not name women as secondary helpmeet assistants. No, friend - women were created and called out as warriors” (Bessey, 2013, p.78).
“You, sister - did you know? You are a warrior, alongside your brothers, on God’s mission in the world. Brother, did you know? You have an ally; you aren’t in this alone. And this calling of fellow warriors is not exclusive to husbands and wives in a marriage relationship: men and women together in the Kingdom of God are allies” (Bessey, 2013, pp.78-79).
“In Christ, there is no such narrow descriptor of biblical women - dependent on roles and chores, job descriptions and marital status, quieting our wisdom and intellect and voices, experiences and unique circumstances” (Bessey, 2013, p.99).
“I still don’t know how to live my life except on my haunches at the feet of Jesus, eyes fixed on his face. Nothing else ‘works.’ No formula, no method makes me feel so fully human and alive as the radical act of living loved. Once you taste Love, you are ruined for the empty shells of religious performance and conditions” (Bessey, 2013, p.105).
“I think you have a great women’s ministry when the women of your community fall wildly in love with Jesus. Church ladies like this are the overflow of women who are empowered to lead, to challenge, to seek justice and love mercy, to follow Jesus to the ends of the earth like our church mothers and fathers of the past. You have a great women’s ministry when there is room for everyone” (Bessey, 2013, p.132).
“We are creating a world where every woman can be who she is, without apology, in freedom. She is loved. She is rising. She is awake at last, and as the Chinese proverb says, when sleeping women awake, mountains move. She is secure in the love and freedom of her God; she knows the voice of Jesus down in her bones. And therefore, she loves” (Bessey, 2013, p.135).
“But as the people of God, we have a choice: we either make excuses or we make mountains move, one stone at a time, one after another after another. Radical faith looks a lot like faithfulness, and look at what God can do with that...Sometimes it’s the daily unsexy work of loving people and choosing justice, even if no one ever notices. But know this: God’s heart for humanity is good news for the poor, comfort for the brokenhearted, and release for the captives” (Bessey, 2013, p.148).
“I’m through wasting my time with debates about women-should-do-this and women-should-not-do-that boundaries. I’m out. What an adventure in missing the point. These are the small, small arguments about a small, small god” (Bessey, 2013, p.171).
This book brought me to tears several times. I am still in the anger and cynicism cycles as I am in the process of breaking free from toxic theology, but Jesus Feminist fueled hope as the words of Sarah Bessey were full of grace and kindness as she delivered truth.
#currentread #jesusfeminist #bookrecommendation #bookrec #sarahbessey #reading #learning #equality #feminism #feminist #womenarepeopletoo #faithjourney #jesuswasafeminist #endsexism #endmisogyny #endmisogynoir #enddiscrimination #evolvingfaith #deconstruction #reconstruction #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative
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