AntiRacist Class

PERSONAL STORIES & ACCESS TO EXPERT OPINIONS ON ENDING RACISM IN AMERICA

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3 questions to ask yourself about everything you do

How you respond to setbacks is what defines your character, says Stacey Abrams, the first black woman in the history of the United States to be nominated by a major party for governor. In an electrifying talk, she shares the lessons she learned from her campaign for governor of Georgia -- and some advice on how to change the world. "Be aggressive about your ambition," Abrams says.

For those of you who admire the incomparable Stacey Abrams, and those who have no idea who she is, do yourself a favor and listen to this 12 minute video. Her enlightening story explains her unyielding drive, and may open your eyes to inspire change, as well.

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California task force will consider paying reparations for slavery

In a year of national protests against racial injustice, state lawmakers approved Assembly Bill 3121 to force the state to begin to confront its racist history and systemic disparities that persist today.

Progress!

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House passes bill that would make natural hair discrimination illegal

The U.S. House of Representatives passed The Crown Act to end hair discrimination nationwide.

It’s crazy to think that America is the kind of place where you need a law to prevent discrimination based on a person’s natural hair texture, but it is. This legislative progress is a great step toward ending racial bias. The more exposure, the less fear, the less fear the less racism.

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“Why Protest?”

This is a questions that I’ve encountered lately, and perhaps the simplest way to answer this is to ask: What do you do if your house is on fire, and the firemen refuse to put out the flames, or there are no hydrants in your neighborhood? What do you do if your house is being robbed, but the police refuse to help or worse, decide to hurt. What do you do if a mob kills a child and many men who are suspected, and often innocent, of whistling at white women? In the 1960′s people protested, and with much gratitude to civil rights leaders of the time, conditions improved in many respects. So, what do you do when a child playing, in a park with a toy gun, is shot and killed by police? What do you do when a child is shot dead by police, or by a neighbor? What do you do when police annihilate a young woman while she sleeps in her home? What do you do when a police officer is the criminal, and the judge refuses to hear the case, and the government doesn’t address the problem? What do you do when this happens with increasing frequency of men, women and yes children--- without justice being served or even remotely addressed? Some people shout Black Lives Matter. In a time where there seems to be complete disregard for a human being, people march. Marching masses bring attention to the issue. People otherwise oblivious to the issues have the opportunity to take notice, and ask what it’s all about. When roadways are blocked the majority is inconvenienced, and the simple act of existing in a space collectively often brings about change from those typically unwilling lawmakers, in order to return to unencumbered daily life. 

Peaceful Protest Power:

https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/7-times-protests-changed-us-history/

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190513-it-only-takes-35-of-people-to-change-the-world

https://acleddata.com/2020/09/03/demonstrations-political-violence-in-america-new-data-for-summer-2020/

Some of the Slain:

https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/us/in-tamir-rice-shooting-in-cleveland-many-errors-by-police-then-a-fatal-one.html

https://youtu.be/s78szANlt-c

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32740523

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(noun) The practice or act of intentional and blatant avoidance, disregard or disagreement with facts, empirical evidence and well-founded arguements because they oppose or contradict your own existing personal beliefs. This practice is most commonly found in the political or religious ideologies of "conservative" Americans. Many times it is practiced due to laziness--people not wanting to have to do the work to rethink their opinions, the fear of the unknown, the fear of being wrong, or sometimes simply close-mindedness. alt. form: willfully ignorant

Good news! This is curable!

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The New Reconstruction

The United States has its best opportunity in 150 years to belatedly fulfill its promise as a multiracial democracy.

We’re making progress!

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“I’m terrified at the moral apathy.”

-James Baldwin

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“I don’t want anything to change!”

I must admit that I’ve been incredibly naive, and perhaps even allowed my hopelessly optimistic outlook to get the best of me. I genuinely thought that if more people understood the prejudice, discrimination and systemic issues that the Black community faces regularly, then they would be on board with helping to end this race war once and for All. I thought that people just needed information and details to understand that our paths are not parallel. I thought that there was a misunderstanding that simply required communication in order for logic and reasoning to prevail. But I was, I am, wrong.

Although many white people were missing information surrounding Black experiences in America, having that information for some has only caused them to double down on their denial that racism even exists. It’s ironic that those who hold racist beliefs, are many of the people denying the existence of racism today. I have learned that many people, when asked about making changes for racial equality, don’t want anything to change. They are angered, and even enraged at merely broaching the topic. They see no reason to make changes to end police brutality, they see no reason to make changes to end disenfranchisement, improve housing, healthcare or educational opportunities and quality, nor do they see any reason to make changes to ensure that whites who murder black people are punished. This apathy, this indignant disregard saddens me and frightens me all the same. How can this be? The America I love is full of hope and possibility. It’s the land “for the people by the people”.

So despite those who insist on the status quo also known as maintaining racism, we must band together and continue to forge our way with renewed vigor, “For Liberty and Justice for All”.

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The Debate Over Systemic Racism: Why It Divides and Why It Provides Hope

The killing of George Floyd has opened the door to a far more profound and difficult national debate than anyone could have imagined on the day he died eight weeks ago.

“Seeds of Hope” I openly admit that I am not even remotely a fan of the Wall Street Journal, as they often report opinion as fact, but this piece of actual journalism may be valuable to many to see the facts.

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Letter to a White Man

It wasn’t until relatively recently that I began to recognize the racist ideas that I’ve carried with me for much of my life. While I’ve…

This white guy wrote a letter to his former self that may speak to you in ways I haven’t been able to. For some this letter is infuriating, and for others it bridges the gap to understanding. What do you think about it?

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A Direct Attack on ALL of Our Civil Liberties

I am gobsmacked by what is happening in our nation. This here is blatant disenfranchisement, and an assault to each and every American’s civil liberties. It’s not only shocking that it’s happening, but that the person in charge, the one making the decisions, can verbally and publicly admit it without consequence!

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-admits-he-wants-block-usps-funding-sabotage-mail-voting-2020-8

https://www.koin.com/news/usps-responds-to-viral-photo-of-mailboxes-removed-in-portland/

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“This just reinforces the Black stereotype instead of healing their so called cause.”

A little boy, Cannon Hinnant was senselessly murdered in broad daylight by a Black man with a gun, high on drugs (as alleged by his mother in one report). This was a horrific incident! Period! Help me to understand why this is being compared to the Black Lives Matter protests and racial discrimination. The two are completely unrelated. This race blaming happens all of the time. When a crime is committed by a Black person, some whites say, see that’s why I hate Blacks, that’s why blacks need to be locked up, etc. But what kind of sense does that make? Really, I want to know what the thought process is? Do they also say “I hate men!? Maybe we should look at gun access, drugs or mental illness. Isn’t the murder of Cannon a senseless tragedy that should be disturbing to all of us? It’s not only possible, but probable for a decent and woke individual to think that justice should be served for this heinous crime AND also think that black lives matter. The two are not connected in any way, and thankfully Cannon’s grieving father already knows that. Black people are looking for equality, for fairness. I’m not saying let him off, at all. I’m saying make the punishment the same for Black criminals and white criminals. There are white people repeatedly, who have been videotaped murdering unarmed Black men, women and yes children, often without provocation. Black people who have committed the same crimes, or worse have been falsely accused, have received harsh sentences while white criminals walk free. Egregious generalization defies logic. Right? If we look at American history where white people raped, murdered and stole land from Indigenous People; bought, beat and enslaved Africans, vandalized and burned Japanese-Americans’ homes and businesses before forcing them into substandard living “camps” including horse stalls (one per family), then maybe the stereotype would be that all white people are...

What Happened:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/14/cannon-hinnant-killing/

https://www.the-sun.com/news/1311660/darrius-sessoms-cannon-hinnant-north-carolina-murder/

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Freedom House Ambulance Service - 99% Invisible

Back in the 1960s and 70s, in the city of Pittsburgh, there was a nickname for guys like John Moon – The Unemployables. This nickname meant that you simply could not get hired, no matter where you went for a job. Moon grew up in Pittsburgh’s largely Black and economically depressed Hill District. In better

Listen to this podcast episode about how the ambulance service started.

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“Is it my responsibility to help everyone in need? Besides, it’s not fair that I work when people on welfare don’t want to!”

It’s true that there is a huge wealth gap between Blacks and Whites largely due to the effects of generational wealth and discrimination, leaving the majority of Black people at the poverty line; however it is NOT true that majority of “welfare” recipients are Black.

In 2019, 59 million or 19% of Americans received one or more forms of welfare. When I say welfare, I’m referring to all of the federal programs called Safety Net Programs. These public assistance programs include food stamps and housing assistance, among many others. I’m broaching this subject because I’ve heard many comments including the quote above as a reason for steering clear of politicians with policies to help the poor. Some politicians use fear and anger to drive votes by saying that the majority of tax dollars go to Safety Net Programs, but that is not even close to being true. As of 2019, only 8% of the tax budget went to Safety Net Programs. The number of American citizens receiving welfare has continued to drop since 1996. Majority of public assistance recipients receive aide for less than one year, and majority of food stamp/SNAP recipients work. The amount of aide is relatively small, but the huge impact keeps many people out of poverty which in turn saves tax payers millions. Seeking out the facts is such an important step to take before forming an opinion. Otherwise, aren’t you just making assumptions?

Where Taxes Go:

https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/policy-basics-where-do-our-federal-tax-dollars-go

Welfare Misconceptions:

https://www.thoughtco.com/who-really-receives-welfare-4126592

Welfare Explained and Listed by Race:

https://www.nap.edu/read/9719/chapter/8

Who’s on Welfare:

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-welfare-black-white-780252

Welfare Dependency:

https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/70301/900288-Time-on-Welfare-and-Welfare-Dependency.pdf

Positive Outcomes from LBJ’s War on Poverty:

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2014/03/31/86693/the-safety-net-is-good-economic-policy/

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How to Solve a Problem

Step 1: Identify and recognize the problem.

Step 2: Understand why it’s a problem, even if it’s not a problem for you.

Step 3: Determine potential responses.

Step 4: Choose a response that solves the problem without harming anyone.

With the problem of racism, it’s most unfortunate that many people cannot get past Step 1. It’s astonishing to me that so many people do not recognize that racism exists in America today. I hope to shine a spotlight on examples by telling you about my personal experiences. It’s certain that everyone who recognizes racism will not invite change. However, I am seeing encouraging reminders of anti-racists everywhere speaking up against hateful words and unjust tomes—no that’s not true, that didn’t happen, the real story is, etc. If we all come together to spread awareness about the quiet and constant discrimination that exists, then maybe we will be one step closer to solving this multi-layered problem that hurts us.

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Black women and girls ordered to ground, handcuffed in mistaken stolen-car stop

The police officers in Aurora, Colorado, apologized to the group when they realized they had mistaken their car as stolen.