Instagram Posts from the Week of Oct. 27, 2019

Podcast Rec. - Oct. 29, 2019

Past Listen - Scene on Radio: Episode 32: How Race was Made (Seeing White, Part 2) (Released March 1, 2017)

“We know, for example, since the human genome project, that we are what percentage genetically the same as human beings? 99-point-what? Nine. 99.9 genetically the same. There is more genetic variation in a flock of penguins than there is in the human race. There is more genetic variation within groups that have come to be called races than there is across groups that have come to be called races...Anthropologists finally say, and it is way past due, that race is anthropological nonsense. Is that the same thing as saying it’s not real? No. No, because it’s real. It is powerfully real. It’s politically and socially real. So we need to know, how did we get it. And what we say is, we constructed it.” - Suzanne Plihcik

“And so I basically make the case that [Gomes de Zurara] was the first articulator of racist ideas. And in order for him to articulate racist ideas, he had to basically combine all of the different ethnic groups that Prince Henry was enslaving into one people, and then describing that people as inferior. And so presumably, then, though he did not necessarily speak as much about whiteness, he certainly created blackness. And blackness of course cannot really operate without whiteness.” - Ibram Kendi

“So, most of us have heard the news about the genome project but I don't think it's really sunk in in the culture at all, has it, that we are, for example, that you and I are – I think geneticists think that every human on the planet is no more than 50th cousins with every other human on the planet. We haven't gotten much in the habit of thinking that way, have we?” - John Biewen

“I mean I think that's totally wrong you know but it is confusing, it's like race isn't real biologically but it is very real as a way that society has been structured. The effects of race as a social construct are real. The reason we can't stop talking about it is because we can predict wealth distribution, police killing, all kinds of other sort of life expectancy factors, health issues, based on race, access to schools, because society has been organized around a concept that is not biologically real. And then there's another thing about race to me that's also confusing, which is that we want people to understand race as like this systemic thing, this structural thing, that is in institutions and in patterns of the way rights and resources are distributed, and it's like a structural thing. It's not about just attitudes, like your distant cousin who's a bigot. Right? But we also do use the term racist for that too.” - Chenjerai Kumanyika

In this episode of Scene of Radio, the Seeing White series continues as the history of the invention of race is explained. This episode provides the context for understanding how race was made, why it was made, how it has been used, and how this social construct continues to be used today. Has anyone else listened to this series? I would love to hear your thoughts.

#johnbiewen #chenjeraikumanyika #ibramkendi #suzanneplihcik #nellirvinpainter #sceneonradio #seeingwhite #podcast #podcastrecommendation #podcastrec #howracewasmade #endracism #antiracism #antiracist #endwhitesupremacy #dismantlewhitesupremacy #history #lament #repent #repair #empathy #equality #listening #learning #justice #socialjustice #restorativejustice #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative



Account to Follow - Oct. 30, 2019

As you can see in the IG profile, “The Witness is a black Christian collective that engages issues of religion, race, justice, and culture from a biblical perspective.”

The mission statement on their website is “We invite you to be part of this diverse collective addressing the core concerns of black people from a Christian frame.” I have learned a plethora of new information through the podcasts and articles, empathy is always fostered, and action steps are often explicitly given. The work of the people who are part of The Witness has transformed me, and I am deeply grateful. 

Follow @thewitnessbcc if you aren’t already, and support the work being done through The Witness.

#thewitness #thewitnessbcc #accounttofollow #religion #race #justice #culture #biblicalperspective #christian #love #politics #empathy #equality #reflection #action #loveyourneighbor #checkbiases #antiracism #antiracist #humanity #learning #socialjustice #seekjustice #restorativejustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #repent #repair #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative



Additional Rec. - Oct. 31, 2019

Additional Rec. - “'Sister, Where Did You Go?': The Native American Women Disappearing from US Cities” by Hallie Golden

The topic of missing and murdered Indigenous women is devastating, and it needs to be addressed more in mainstream media and politics. Soon after it was published, “'Sister, Where Did You Go?': The Native American Women Disappearing from US Cities” was shared in the Be the Bridge group I am a part of on Facebook. I will share some quotes below from this article.

“According to FBI figures, Native Americans disappear at twice the per capita rate of white Americans, despite comprising a far smaller population. Research funded by the Department of Justice in 2008 found Native women living on tribal lands are murdered at an alarming rate – more than 10 times the national average in some places. But with nearly three-quarters of American Indian and Alaska Natives living in urban areas, those crimes are not confined to reservations or rural communities.”

“Of 506 cases of missing and murdered Native women the UIHI report identified as having taken place in those 71 cities – a total it admits is a vast underestimate – some were tied to domestic violence, sexual assault, police brutality or a lack of safety for sex workers, but the overall reasons for this epidemic are much broader. At its core, campaigners say, is institutional and structural racism, gaps in law enforcement response and prosecution, along with a lack of data.”

“With arms wrapped around one another, the group gathered in a large circle surrounding McLemore’s family. They then released their messages as two eagles flew overhead and a quartet of women drummed and sang: ‘Sister, sister, I want you to know. You’re so strong and beautiful. I gotta know, where did you go. I think of you every day. Since you’ve gone away.’”

#additionalrecommendation #recommendation #sistersisterwheredidyougo #indigenouswomen #missingindigenouswomen #murderedindigenouswomen #honoringmissingandmurderedindigenouswomen #empathy #equality #reflection #action #loveyourneighbor #endracism #enddiscrimination #endviolence #checkbiases #checkassumptions #humanity #learning #socialjustice #seekjustice #restorativejustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #lament #repent #repair #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative



Fun Fact - Nov. 1, 2019

Fun fact 15: My favorite song is “Three” by Sleeping at Last.

When I first heard the song “Three” on the Sleeping at Last Podcast,” I sat in silence as tears slowly trailed down my face. Listening to Ryan O’Neal explicate his reasons for the lyrics and instruments and hearing Chris Heuertz describe the Enneagram type 3 made me feel so seen, known, understood, and loved. There is a song and podcast out for each type, and I think everyone should listen to all of them.

Have you listened to Sleeping at Last’s Enneagram song for your type?

#funfactfriday #funfact #favoritesong #three #sleepingatlast #enneagram #enneagram3 #enneagramsongs #sleepingatlast #sleepingatlastpodcast #ryanoneal #chrisheuertz #empathy #humanity #listening #learning #broadeningthenarrative



Book Rec. - Nov. 2, 2019

Current Read - Blue Rage, Black Redemption: A Memoir by Stanley Tookie Williams

“These memoirs of my evolution will, I hope, connect the reader to a deeper awareness of a social epidemic that is the unending nightmare of racial minorities in America and abroad as well. Throughout my life I was hoodwinked by South Central’s terminal conditions, its broad and deadly template for failure. From the beginning I was spoon-fed negative stereotypes that covertly positioned black people as genetic criminals - inferior, illiterate, shiftless, promiscuous, and ultimately ‘three-fifths’ of a human being, as stated in the Constitution of the United States” (Williams, 2004, p.xvii).

“My cultural awareness was zero. I needed a complete black history course and a thorough deprogramming. I had been duped into believing that all black people were inhuman and inferior, that we had made no contribution to the forward thrust of civilization. Negative black stereotypes were broadcast or implied by the news media, magazines, institutions, television, newspapers, books, and every other medium you can think of...The more I was indoctrinated by lies about my blackness, the more I grew to detest myself” (Williams, 2004, p.39).

"I was a normal child in an abnormal environment" (Williams, 2004, p.43).

"Like some of the urban schools I had attended, Juvey was a warehouse for incorrigible youth where they would vegetate and sink into ignorance and confusion. It also served as conditioning and preparation for a youth's inevitable step toward prison - as though it was a boot camp, training recruits for the next level of armed services. At the facility I learned absolutely zip, but it was very professional in teaching me to be more indifferent and embittered. Some of the dispassionate turnkeys were more diabolical than gang members; they appeared to suffer from mental disorders while taking out their frustrations on us" (Williams, 2004, p.67).

"With each incarceration, there were no life lessons learned. I simply entered into nothing, then was released, having been refined in bitterness and misdirection to slip further toward ruin" (Williams, 2004, p.76).

"The black community generally was blind to it's defiant youth creating increasingly aggressive street gangs. Mislabeled by some as a 'lost generation,' we were instead forgotten prodigies who disappeared, children buried alive in a sandbox. We did what was necessary to exhume ourselves. Though we must share the blame, we were products of a culture that bastardized us" (Williams, 2004, p.85).

"Bonded by our commonality - low economic status - the Crips became my family. I placed Crip above and beyond all else, even my life. Survival in this community meant slim pickings for a black youth such as myself, but as a Crip I could strive to be legendary" (Williams, 2004, p.106)

"If I wasn't undergoing near-death experiences in the gang area then I was clashing with the other maniacal foes, the 'hood cops, who could now identify me on sight. Like other blacks from my neighborhood, it was instinctive for me to run from the cops to avoid harassment, getting set up, brutalized, or killed. I knew that cops had carte blanche to violate my rights or blow me away, which made me nervous. Black people have known for many, many years that some white cops are racist, despite society's bland denials...I had become the cops' prime target. It was a perilous badge of distinction. My mother, aware of the cops' dangerous potential, feared that one day she'd receive a call that cops had murdered me. In South Central it was common for mothers to not only worry about street elements devouring their son, but also to worry about death-by-cop" (Williams, 2004, pp.110-111).

"According to Bob, one cop had said, 'Tookie's kind can never change. He's antisocial, among other things.' That statement was the general consensus of many other cops on the west side but their opinion never mattered to me. I was never antisocial. I was selectively social and refused to socialize with just anybody. The cop's trite statement reminded me of the time when a county 'voodoo' doctor had labeled me as antisocial and a fifteen-year-old revolutionary. Odd, because back then, I couldn't even define revolutionary, yet alone comprehend its concepts. His analysis of me was a typical racist stereotype used to describe every homeboy I knew. Instead of defining me as a defiant teenager, his amateur opinion tagged me as a revolutionary" (Williams, 2004, p.143).

"Though it was hypocritical of me to try to convince them not to live foul when I was living fouler than foul, I tried anyway. It didn't matter that I was unreachable, unsalvageable, and unethical, there was still something inside me that wanted better for them than I had for myself" (Williams, 2004, p.155).

"We had no legitimate dreams or attainable visions, only a cruel future, one capable of poisoning our souls. I never knew Raymond's ambitions, but in our small world, ambitions were rare, and mostly fantasy" (Williams, 2004, pp.233-234).

"It was a felix culpa (fortunate fault) that a citizen with a video camera captured the public flogging. Mainstream society would not have believed the brutal police injustice that black people know all too well" (Williams, 2004, p.277).

"In this setting - authority versus prisoner - the chances of my succeeding in atoning and changing were very slim. But I didn't have to stand alone. Treach and Evil were undergoing the same transition, from thug to thinking black man with a purpose. This is a concept - redemption - that criminologists, prison authorities, psychologists, and law enforcement officers refuse to believe unless the transformation is accomplished under their 'spirit breaking' guidelines" (Williams, 2004, pp.279-280).

"Still, there are racists posing as liberals, conservatives, moderates, and religious folks who believe black men are inferior, are incapable of atonement and an overall change. I know I'm expected to languish in violent stupidity on death row until my execution, but I cannot. This prison environment is not a reflection of me, nor am I addicted to its deadening and vicious manipulations" (Williams, 2004, p.302)

"Although I am on death row, my life has new meaning. I no longer feel as if my existence is of no consequence. It was only natural that in my reawakening and cleansing I discarded the old and adopted the new. With the exception of my mother and Barbara, everybody else had written me off the moment I was sentenced to die. And I was mentally dead up to the precise second I made the conscious decision to redefine and redeem myself. And so... I am alive. The maze that once appeared to have no exit has been forced open for passage" (Williams, 2004, p.304).

"As long as I remain imprisoned, I will continue to be challenged to remain a human being and not a beast. Just because I chose to readjust my thoughts and behavior, the small claustrophobic world of death row did not shift. Death row is constructed for punishment and execution, not for reform" (Williams, 2004, p.306).

"Her soft voice and angelic smile masked the grief of having a son on death row. I know that under the cloak of darkness, back at home, the emotional camouflage disappears as she crumbles into a weeping mother, sharing tears with a huge number of other lamenting mother's throughout South Central, as well as California and the nation" (Williams, 2004, p.321).

My friend Greg asked if I could post about Tookie Williams and suggested I look up his books. Greg explained that Tookie Williams was one of the original founders and leaders of the Crips in California, and he turned his life around on death row after being convicted of murder. My search led me to Blue Rage, Black Redemption: A Memoir. I highly recommend reading this book about the life and transformation of Tookie Williams, who was tragically and unjustly executed on December 13, 2005. Thank you for the recommendation, Greg.

#currentread #bluerageblackredemption #memoir #bookrecommendation #bookrec #stanleytookiewilliams #tookiewilliams #reading #learning #empathy #equality #socialjustice #massincarceration #endmassincarceration #endthedeathpenalty #redemption #seekjustice #restorativejustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #broadeningthenarrative