Racism!
by Pamela Brewer and the MyNDTALK Audience
Racism has brought untold damage to the lives of numbers of people for years, for centuries. And still it grows. Lives and spirits have been ripped apart - a result of the overt and covert universal effects of racism.
This commentary is from the listeners of the MyNDTALK radio program, weighing in on the ways we can each - every day - right now, to OUR parts to end this crime, this shame, this sludge on our society.
First, I share with you a comment by a MyNDTALK listener who chose to discuss his views about racism.
"The summation to this question of racism and bigotry is about power. Power to control your god-given spirit by limiting your creativity of thought by boxing you in and limiting your knowledge of who you truly are - not White, not Black, not Hispanic, not Jew or Muslim, straight or gay, Republican or Democrat, but a true creation of God with all his power to create beauty and unity on this planet. Not separatism, classism, and every other ism that is created by man. So it becomes not just a psychological effect but more importantly, a spiritual effect that binds and enslaves man spirit with our flawed beliefs, ideas and concepts. Joe
The next excerpt is from a family who have chosen to work every day with their boys.
"We believe that African-American children, boys in particular, must be equipped to handle racism when they encounter it in ways that does not compromise their spirit, so our approach for attacking racism centers around exposure to and education for our sons. To do this, my husband and I routinely take them to the museums so that they can learn about Asian, Native American, African and African-American history and culture. We have filled our home with strong and positive images of African-Americans, so that they will feel pride in their race. As our pediatrician advised, we do not allow them to watch much television, but what I do allow them to watch depicts positive images of all races and cultures. We especially love HBO's Fairy Tales for Every Kid and Stories from the Cellar, and children's programming on PBS. All of these shows depict characters of various races in a positive light.
Neither of us read works from authors of diverse backgrounds while in school. To this end, we are building an audio, video and book library for the children. For example, our collection currently contains recorded speeches from Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. courtesy of WPFW Radio; music by Soul Live, Roy Hardgrove, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Etta James, Denice Graves, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and Dizzie Gillespie; books by Alice Walker, Isabella Allende, Edwidge Danticant, Amy Tan, Langston Hughes and Walter Moseley; and movies such as Roots, the Color Purple, Amistad and Akeelah and the Bee. We will expand this library over the years, so that our kids can draw on this wealth of knowledge when completing assignments in school.
In addition to building them up intellectually, we want them to feel comfortable interacting with people of all backgrounds. My husband and I take our sons to church regularly. We interact with our friends and their kids, and members of my large, extended family so that our sons can meet other positive Black people besides Mommy and Daddy. We chose to enroll our sons in a diverse school and we chose to live in a neighborhood full of people of various races, so that our sons could experience the full range of color of the faces of humanity
All of the steps that my husband and I have taken are deliberate. They take work and resources, but are important to raising well educated and well rounded kids. I think that if other parents took similar steps, eventually, we could end racism. We would live in a world where people feel pride in themselves and their culture, but also appreciate the opinions, perspectives and culture of others. This is our hope for our sons. T.H.
Here are more recommendations for ending racism from other MyNDTALK listeners:
1 Education - take the time to learn what racism is and what it does.
2 Learn and teach TRUE history - not history rewritten by racist or prejudiced beliefs.
3 Talk to each other honestly.
4 Laughing is as harmful as saying nothing when party to racist "jokes".
5 Learn and act on alternative methods of managing your anger or rage when subjected racism/ (and teach this to your children).
6 Do NOT take the comments/beliefs/actions of racists to be THE truth.
7 Speak up! Attack the (il) logic of racism!
8 Know (and own) YOUR true power.
9 Know that we are a culture of MANY cultures. Respect differences.
10 Don't give up!
11 Counteract. Do not attack.
12 Monitor the media and do NOT support racist media.
13 Learn about self-hatred.
Final comments from PB:
If you are a racist - know that you can - if you choose - change.
DO not make the racist's low self-esteem your own.
Do NOT be silent in the face of racism.
In different ways, both the racist and the victim of racism are greatly harmed each time the web and sting of racism is cast.
Thanks to David, Carmen, Marilyn, George, Chris, Ebenezer, Joe, TH and all who contributed to the discussion on the MyNDTALK program (live every Friday 3-4 PM ET @ www.wpfw.org) and thus, contributed to this commentary.
Future MyNDTALK programs and commentary will address the range of "isms" that serve to weaken this society and our lives.
|