tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76797338132130071702024-03-13T03:16:31.542-07:00R is for RaceMarianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-6127876923587156922023-06-05T07:29:00.002-07:002023-06-05T10:05:56.684-07:00WOKE WOKE WOKE WOKE WOKE<p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I remember when I first heard the term, “woke” applied to race relations. Several years ago, a good friend who is African American told me I was woke. She meant it as a compliment, and I took it as one.</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-f28c881f-7fff-1f92-2e3b-6dd6b3821e54"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“More people need to be woke,” I remember her saying.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“First they have to wake up,” I replied. “Maybe the saying should be, “wake up and stay woke.’” We both laughed.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unfortunately, we're not laughing anymore, because through what I have to admit is a brilliant act of appropriation, that term has taken on a different meaning. When I hear or read it now, it’s often used as an insult toward people who hold a progressive view on issues involving racial and other types of diversity. And by that, I mean people who believe that racism still exists on individual and systemic levels and that we should talk about it because the way to make something better is to examine it in the light, not make believe it doesn’t exist. Someone once said that there are two problems that disappear if you ignore them long enough. Newsflash: racism isn’t one of them. (They’re snow and adolescence, if you’re wondering.)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, woke. The term is now often used with disdain to describe people who want to—I don’t know, what? Take down the American government (ironic in light of the events of January 6…)? Take away childhood innocence? Make life harder for white people (also ironic)? Teach our kids to hate our country?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ridiculous, of course. None of these things is true, and as we teach our kids, saying something is true doesn’t make it true no matter how many times you say it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I think it’s time to take back the word. What does it mean to be woke?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If WOKE means I understand that events don’t happen in a vacuum, then I’m woke.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If WOKE means I believe that the present is connected to the past, then I’m woke.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If WOKE means examining the past to understand the present, then I’m woke.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If WOKE means I don’t project my experiences on to others, then I’m woke.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If WOKE means I believe what people tell me about their experiences, then I’m woke.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If WOKE means being honest, no matter how painful, then I’m woke.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If WOKE means having the courage to talk about uncomfortable topics, then I’m woke.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If WOKE means respecting and valuing the ideas of people whose experience is different from mine, then I’m woke.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If WOKE means having empathy, then I’m woke.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If WOKE means wanting a fair and just society, then I’m woke.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If WOKE means examining past policies and practices that helped some and hurt others, then I’m woke.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If WOKE means giving extra help to folks who need it because of those past policies and practices, then I’m woke.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If WOKE means being aware of unearned factors in my background that have helped me succeed, then I’m woke.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And most of all, if WOKE means listening, if WOKE means caring, if WOKE means loving, then, please Lord, wake me up and keep me woke.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Revelation 3:2 -</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.</span></p><div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-27895696579772978332021-06-14T10:23:00.006-07:002021-06-15T02:50:24.840-07:00What is Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Why are People Against It?<span style="font-family: arial;">Critical Race Theory (CRT), a lens through which race relations in the U.S. may be viewed, has been around for decades, but is only now making it into mainstream news. As a researcher and teacher about race in education, I was tempted to hope this was a good thing. After all, the recent uproar regarding the teaching of race through the lens of CRT in K-12 schools at least shows that people are thinking about racism. Since, as James Baldwin once said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced,” the outcry against CRT in racism education does show that people are grappling with an especially uncomfortable topic. Unfortunately, recent actions in some places restricting how racism is taught seek to shut down, rather than encourage, honest conversations from multiple perspectives about the effects of racism in our current, everyday lives.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I’m thinking, of course, about the recent ruling by the Florida Department of Education banning the precepts of CRT in the schools. The governor of the state has declared that not only is the lens of CRT unnecessary, it is actually damaging in that it teaches kids to hate each other and to hate our country.* </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Wow. That’s pretty strong stuff, and if it were true, I, too, would be concerned. But, of course, it isn’t true. The purpose of teaching about racism isn’t to stir up</span> <span style="font-family: arial;">hate, but to foster understanding of the experiences of people of color, the systems that perpetuate racial inequity, and the responsibility we all have to work toward racial healing that can only come about when we face the past and try to do better in the future. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>So what is CRT?</b> As I tell my students, it’s okay to be against something, but first you have to know what that something is before you can be sure you’re against it. Since I used CRT as the organizing framework of <i>Race Among Friends,</i> my book based on research with high school students who explored race as part of their literature curriculum, I’ll draw from that text in my description of CRT. Originating in legal scholarship, CRT examines the intersection of race and power and, over the last several decades, has become a tool to analyze and critique inequity in general and, particularly, in education. Here are the key concepts of CRT that I used in my analysis of what went on among the high school students I studied: </span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">While CRT recognizes that factors like gender and social class are also important in explaining inequity, it views racism as a contemporary and persistent problem.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Critical race theorists believe that the experience of racism on one level or another is typical for people of color. Hence, although it would be great if we could be “colorblind,” that doesn’t work because if we can’t admit that race still affects people’s lives, we can’t do anything to correct or improve that state of being. Therefore, being colorblind only benefits the group with the vested interest (whether consciously or unconsciously) in maintaining the status quo.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">CRT stresses that racism is not only about individual prejudice (although that certainly still exists), but insists we look at the past and present systems that keep us from racial equity. These systems can work on the large scale or in more contained environments. For example, I found that the system called “tracking” (separating students based on supposed academic ability) within the individual school I studied stopped African American students from reading certain literature that would have benefited them. Moreover, the white students at the school were also affected by this practice because they were kept from hearing the voices of their classmates of color on the very issue that affected them most. Although my specific area of study was race in education, CRT looks at other systems as well, such as housing, health, criminal justice, and voting rights. It requires that we analyze policies and practices in these areas in terms of their effects on people of color.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Because racial inequity still exists, societal transformation toward racial equity is the goal of analysis through CRT.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Lastly, critical race theorists note the importance of hearing the voices of people from groups targeted by racism (in its past and present forms). This can’t happen until whites become aware of how race continues to function in our society and commit to seek real change. Hence, the term, “woke,” has become a sometimes maligned buzzword describing this awareness. </span></li></ul><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>So what’s all the hoopla about?</b> Why are some people so upset over CRT? Basic arguments against the use of CRT in schools say that talking about race makes things worse because it stirs up divisions among students and that the goal of CRT is not, as I stated above, to move us toward racial equity, but to make white students feel guilty (hence, CRT is racist against whites) and to make all students hate our country (as someone who has studied race in education for a number of years, that seemed like a new one to me until I remembered the “love it or leave it” backlash against the anti-war protests of decades ago). Another, perhaps more insidious argument says that CRT damages students of color because it relegates them to the category of “oppressed” and therefore, I guess, limits them from achieving their full potential. So, according to this argument, CRT is racist against students of color, as well. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Like CRT itself, the sentiments behind these arguments are not new, and can be understood through the lens of another theory (perhaps the next to be banned), called <b>Racial Identity Theory.</b> Racial Identity Theories (there are actually more than one) look at how identifying with membership in one or more racial groups influences people’s identity—how they think of themselves as evidenced by beliefs, feelings, behaviors, etc. I won’t go into the detail of these theories because it would take too long, but I will say that according to white racial identity development theory, it is not unusual for whites to experience feelings of anger or guilt when faced with the idea that racism still exists and that whites, whether they know it or not, benefit from it. (This is where the idea of “white privilege” – yet another term to be banned— comes from. White privilege doesn’t mean that all whites are racist, or that all whites are rich, or that whites haven’t worked hard to earn their money or societal positions. It does mean that as members of the dominant culture we (whites) benefit from the systems that keep people of color from many societal advantages. And, it's important to remember that not all members of the dominant culture are <b>equally </b>privileged because other factors like gender, social class, religion, etc., are important, too). </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">As I was saying, the feelings of anger currently aimed at CRT are not new. Many of the white students I worked with during my research felt as if they were being blamed for racism, although that was not our intent (as we explicitly stated many times). So, although I’m saddened, I can’t say I’m totally surprised at the current furor in some circles over CRT. The anger is not new, but has merely found a new channel of expression. It’s easier to be mad at a theory such as CRT than to be angry at the actual inequity it seeks to expose, especially if that inequity is not aimed at my particular group. As a white person, it’s painful to admit that something as ugly as racism still exists and, what’s worse, that I might benefit from it. That acknowledgment may require a collapse and restructuring of things I believed to be true. So, when first faced with these ideas, it’s not hard to understand why whites might react negatively. However, according to Racial Identity Theory, if we look at these feelings of guilt, blame, and anger as part of the developmental process of figuring out our racial identity, we can hope that whites will be able to grow past these feelings and eventually come to understand their important role as allies to people of color. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">So, while the anger isn't new, what is especially tragic is the focus of that anger toward the making of school policy that forbids teachers from engaging in developmentally appropriate and open conversations about race among K-12 students.
At the proper age and developmental level, our students deserve to grapple with these tough issues. Does everyone have to agree on everything? No, but all students should be given the opportunity to express their points of view, based on their experiences, and to come to understand the points of view of their classmates and peers. All students deserve to hear about how race affects the lives of those around them. This can’t happen if we shut down conversations about present racial inequity, no matter how uncomfortable or angry those conversations make us feel. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">If parents believe their children are being "indoctrinated" by a particular perspective that they disagree with, a more productive response would be to insist on a curriculum that encourages healthy, respectful discussion and debate about the topic from multiple standpoints. This would serve the dual purpose of exposing students to multiple perspectives and of modeling civil discourse among concerned citizens, something severely lacking in public dialog of late. Isn't that one of the goals of education?</span></div><div><br /></div><div>*<a href="https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/state/history-curriculum-standards-take-center-stage-for-fla-dept-of-education" target="_blank">More info about Florida ruling on CRT</a></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div>Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-2006035123868410282021-01-10T08:47:00.000-08:002021-01-10T08:47:05.856-08:00How could this happen? In-group bias, that's how.<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>
By now I'm sure you're saturated with social media posts, news broadcasts, and videos depicting and analyzing the chaos at the Capitol as rioters overtook police and stormed the Capitol building last Wednesday, January 6, 2021. I'm also sure that you, like me, are horrified. As you watched the unfolding images, maybe, also like me, you couldn't help but compare the police response that day to that of the Black Lives Matter protests (I'm speaking about the many peaceful protests here, not the looting and burning that followed). I'm sure you've seen the comparison images, so no need to repeat them here. <div><br /></div><div>"How could this happen?" many of us are asking. On one level, we know that the seeds were sown over the course of many months as false information about the election results were disseminated by a variety of sources. Why do I say the information was false? Because there was no credible evidence given in any of the 60 lawsuits that followed the election contesting its results. But my goal here is not to go over that again. As someone who studies race relations, I'm interested in something more immediate: what is at the root of the very different police responses to the Capitol protest-turned-riot and the BLM protests over the summer? </div><div><br /></div><div>It's pretty obvious that the Capitol Police were under-prepared last Wednesday, even though the plans of some groups and individuals toward insurrection were no secret--they were well-publicized on social media. These people thought their actions so justified they didn't even try to conceal their identities, as evidenced by the many videos and photos they posted of themselves and others breaking the law. The question is, why were the police so woefully under-prepared?
According to Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who oversees the House committee in charge of the Capitol Police, that group expected a peaceful protest, a protest that would be "pretty vanilla"* (interesting use of terminology, but hold that thought for a moment). So sure were they that violence would not be an issue that the leadership of the Capitol Police twice turned down offers of help from the Pentagon days before the event.** Maybe hindsight is 2020 (or 2021), but how could they be so wrong? Why would they ignore ample warnings to the contrary? </div><div><br /></div><div>In-group bias, that's why. According to the American Psychological Association, in-group bias is "the tendency to favor one’s own group, its members, its characteristics, and its products, particularly in reference to other groups."*** In-group bias may be a "natural" tendency (or it may seem natural because we've grown up in a racist and racially divided society), but when we allow it to go unchecked, we end up buying into stereotypes and acting on implicit beliefs about the motivations and actions of those in the "outgroup." People from any background can experience or act on in-group bias, but when that group is in authority and has power...well, we saw the result last week. </div><div><br /></div><div>Am I saying the Capitol Police are outwardly racist?<b> Of course not. </b>They are public servants (many of them people of color) putting their lives on the line, trying to do their jobs, and remember that these concepts should be applied group-wide and not individually. I'm saying that those in leadership, those who rejected the offer of help, were displaying in-group bias when they thought this "vanilla" protest would remain nonviolent. If the color symbolism in the adjective "vanilla" doesn't jump out at you, well, I don't know what to say, but I'll try. Vanilla = white = perceived peaceful by other whites = in-group-bias. No one in leadership imagined that a group of government-supporting (our current President being the head of our government) white people would forcibly break into the Capitol with weapons and zip-ties (ready to take hostages) and wreak the havoc that resulted in five deaths (one being Brian D. Sicknick, Capitol Police officer). We white people just don't do things like that, right? That's what in-group bias would have us believe. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you need an in-the-moment example, take a look at this video clip of the riot. You may not like the news outlet or the commentator or his analysis, but that's not the point. Watch what happens in the clip between 5:14 and 6:19. <a href="https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=msnbc+capitol+riot+video&qpvt=msnbc+capitol+riot+video&view=detail&mid=2E4D93370065ADD5D06D2E4D93370065ADD5D06D&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dmsnbc%2Bcapitol%2Briot%2Bvideo%26qpvt%3Dmsnbc%2Bcapitol%2Briot%2Bvideo%26FORM%3DVDRE">MSNBC video</a> As the rioters try to break through glass doors, three white male officers bar their way. They are completely outnumbered and obviously in danger. One of the male protestors (presumably white) can be heard pleading with them to move out of the way. "Bro," he begs, "I've seen people out there get hurt. I don't want to see you get hurt...we will make a path [for their safe escape, I guess]...I want you to go home." The three officers finally move out of the way (which is another issue), the rioters begin to break through the glass, and suddenly a gun appears on the other side of the doorway. A few seconds later a shot is fired--it's unclear what happens after that. </div><div><br /></div><div>But there you have it. "Bro." In the middle of a violent break-in intended as a government takeover, the rioters had the presence of mind to protect their "bros"-- members of their own racial group. There's a sense of camaraderie in the rioter's plea that can't be missed. Bro, go home. We don't want you to get hurt.
</div><div><br /></div><div>The takeover of the Capitol last Wednesday should teach us much on many levels about the danger of false information and the responsibility of our leaders to tell the truth. But we ignore the role that race played in how the events unfolded at our own peril. </div><div><br /></div><div> *https://www.politifact.com/article/2021/jan/08/black-lives-matter-protests-and-capitol-assault-co/</div><div><br /></div><div> **https://apnews.com/article/capitol-police-reject-federal-help-9c39a4ddef0ab60a48828a07e4d03380</div><div><br /></div><div> ***https://dictionary.apa.org/ingroup-bias</div>Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-2019972325638075902020-06-24T08:46:00.000-07:002020-06-24T08:47:43.019-07:00White People, What Can We Do?So, here we are again. America, are we ever going to get this right? I have to admit I've wondered if our country can or will ever recover from the sin of racism: a sin so evil, so brutal, so ugly, and so etched into the fiber of our society since before its inception that, for some, it is all but invisible. However, in the many, many posts I've read over the last several weeks, I do believe I'm beginning to see a glimmer of hope, a subtle shift in sensibilities. For the very first time I'm seeing the question from white people, "What can we do?"<br />
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It's an important question, not for the anticipated content of its response alone, but for the sense of surrender it signals. Okay, I get it, the questions implies. Racism is real. Black lives matter can no longer be dismissed or ignored. Black lives matter--there, I said it. Okay? Now, what can I do?<br />
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There are many things we can do--maybe you've seen the lists floating around cyberspace. They usually begin with listening, something that I, personally, am not always good at, but yes, first and foremost we need to listen to the perspectives of people of color. We need to grow past the immature, egocentric thinking that says, what I do or do not experience is what everyone else does or does not experience. So, of course, we need to listen and learn from the experiences of others. But there's something else we need to do.<br />
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We also need to talk -- TO EACH OTHER -- about race. We should not expect people of color to bear the burden of our education. It is painful and not their responsibility. Racism is a white problem at its core. White people started it and white people need to end it. One way we can do that is to educate ourselves and each other about how the policies and practices born from our racist history continue to marginalize and disenfranchise people of color today. The good news is that education has never been easier or more convenient: TED Talks, movies, blogs, articles, books, etc. are only a click away.<br />
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So white people, let's talk.<br />
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<br />Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-57849472333096120452020-05-31T07:14:00.000-07:002020-05-31T07:49:33.263-07:00White People, Don't Miss the PointSocial media burns with the streets<br />
Over the image of George Floyd<br />
Choking under the knee of oppression.<br />
Sadness, fury, disgust,<br />
Tears, empathy, prayers,<br />
A thesaurus of emotion<br />
Washes through social media like a flood-bloated river<br />
Bloated with concern.<br />
<br />
But white people,<br />
We need to be careful.<br />
Be careful not to miss the point.<br />
From the depths of the swollen waters<br />
A message floats to the top: not all cops are bad.<br />
People compelled to point out<br />
Remember, not all cops are bad.<br />
It's a very important point--<br />
Bears repeating and so we repeat it:<br />
Remember, not all cops are bad.<br />
<br />
Yes, true, good point.<br />
Of course, not all cops are bad.<br />
Police, our first responders<br />
Enter danger like I enter the grocery store<br />
Run toward while we run away<br />
Immersed in crisis every day--<br />
A child shot<br />
A burning house<br />
A drunken brawl<br />
A food distribution<br />
A car wreck<br />
A Covid struck community.<br />
It's a hard, hard job,<br />
And we appreciate their service.<br />
Of course, not all cops are bad.<br />
<br />
But white people, don't miss the point.<br />
Don't let the point be overshadowed<br />
By the tent of defensive posturing<br />
By a point that is not the point<br />
By a point that helps us miss the point.<br />
Who's good, who's bad, how many<br />
What percent<br />
White people, that's not the point.<br />
<br />
The casual knee that stopped the breath<br />
The pleas, heartbreakingly polite<br />
Please. He said please.<br />
He'd been taught well<br />
By the mother he called at the end.<br />
<br />
That knee wasn't just a knee.<br />
That knee was attached to a culture<br />
A system<br />
Just another day on the job<br />
Ho-hum.<br />
That knee was attached to a failure of leadership<br />
That knee was attached to a tolerance of abuse<br />
That knee was attached to a fear of brown bodies.<br />
If George Floyd had been a dog<br />
The Humane Society would have been called.<br />
<br />
White people, don't miss the point.<br />
We don't need to defend the good cops<br />
This isn't about them.<br />
This isn't about how many good cops<br />
How many bad cops.<br />
This is about how many times.<br />
How many times before a cultural shift<br />
Roots out oppressive knees<br />
Before they put on the uniform<br />
Before they hit the streets<br />
How many brown bodies have to die?<br />
White people, don't miss the point.<br />
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<br />Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-37050050449878554112019-07-10T10:36:00.000-07:002019-07-10T10:36:15.425-07:00Still the Elephant in the RoomThe other day a friend (it's always fun when you can count former students as friends) posted about a troubling interaction he had with a police officer after he rolled through a stop sign. My friend admitted his fault -- he was clearly guilty of sloppy driving. Here's the exchange, used with permission:<br /><i><br /></i><div>
<i>Officer: Do you know what you did wrong?<br />Me: I rolled through the stop sign, sir.<br />Officer: Don’t lie to me—if you lie to me again I’ll arrest you right now! You ran the stop sign...you took your foot off the gas and then put it back on the gas. Do you work here?<br />Me: Yes, Sir.<br />Officer: Does your company know you drive through stop signs?<br />Me: No, sir.<br />Officer: Do you think they should know you drive through stop signs?<br />Me: Yes, sir.<br />Officer: If you do it again, I’ll tow your vehicle and arrest you on the spot!</i><br /></div>
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I think we can all agree that this officer was out of line. My friend admitted guilt immediately and responded politely and respectfully. There was certainly no need for this over-the-top verbal display of authority. As you might expect, my friend received many responses to his post that ranged from sympathetic to outraged. What interests me most though, is that the vast majority of responses ignored the elephant in the room: the fact that my friend is brown-skinned and the cop was white. </div>
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Interesting, yes, but not really surprising; race is still the elephant in the room that most of us don't want to acknowledge. </div>
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Maybe you're thinking, there's no proof that race was the issue here. Maybe age or gender are more relevant in this situation. Maybe that cop would have been just as rude to a young, white guy. I have to admit that's a possibility. Or, maybe the cop was just having a bad day. Short of the use of racial epithets, there is no way to know if race plays a part in any interpersonal interactions. But the "maybes" here are the point. If you are part of a population that has faced discrimination historically, you can never really know for sure if your race (or some other cultural or physical characteristic) is influencing the interaction. I found this phenomenon to be real during research for my academic text, <i>Race Among Friends</i>, and I tried to explore it more fully through the characters in my novel, <i>The R Word. </i><br /></div>
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Somewhere in this recounting, there's a so what. As a white person (and, therefore, a member of the dominant culture), I can't know what it's like to live in the world of maybe. If I'm verbally harassed by a white cop (unlikely because of my gender and age), I know it's not because I'm white. If I'm critiqued by my white employer, I know race has nothing to do with it. If I'm given the worst seat at a restaurant, if I'm followed around a store, if I'm asked for ID at the bank, no matter who's right and who's wrong, the room is free of elephants. <br /></div>
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Although my friend didn't mention race initially, in a later post he admitted that he did have race in the back of his mind, and because of that, he feared the situation would escalate. Thank God, it didn't. There isn't much I can do to help my friend, but I can understand and empathize. I can try my best not to let my own internalized prejudices rule the day during my own interpersonal interactions with people who are different from me. It may not be much, but it's something, and something is better than nothing.</div>
Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-31818939748652888872018-11-25T07:44:00.000-08:002018-11-25T07:44:38.494-08:00Words You Can't Say on FacebookRecently, a Facebook friend had the unpleasant experience of having a post censored by the FB powers that be. She'd used a certain term to describe someone caught behaving badly in a video. The term pointed out the person's white heritage paired with a synonym for that stuff you throw away. For the Charades lovers out there -- two words, rhymes with "light hash" and "slight rash." (I'm making myself stop now. Sorry.) Anyway, you all know the term, and I won't repeat it here because, well, I don't want to risk the same censorship and deprive all three of you from reading this post. 😼<br />
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The point here is not to debate whether Facebook should or shouldn't censor posts or what words or ideas should be censored. While that is a worthy topic, it's really not my thing. As a person who thinks and writes and teaches about race, what caught my attention was the term itself. Of course, I've heard it many times, but I never stopped to think about what, exactly, makes it objectionable in racial terms. Of course the term is derogatory, but does it qualify as a racial slur, or is this just another example of an over-sensitivity about race? After all, the person in the video <i>was</i> white, and as I've pointed out before, simply noticing someone's race or using one's racial background as an identifier does not make one racist. So if I were to say, "the white guy in the picture is my cousin, Fred," I would not consider my comment to be racist in any way, shape, or form.<br />
<br />
In previous writings I've also explored the phenomenon of insider/outsider status in using words that are widely considered to be racial slurs. As brilliantly depicted in the "Blackish" episode, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUQrwXdw1jw" target="_blank">"The Word,</a>" some people believe that what might be okay when said by an insider is definitely not okay from a person outside the group. (Note: watch the episode and you'll see that not everyone within the group agrees.) Since the person using the term banned on Facebook was of the same racial background as the person in the video (both white), does the insider rule apply here?<br />
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Maybe you think it should. Or maybe you're thinking, finally, someone sticking up for white people, even if they are light hash. But here's the problem -- while certainly meant as an insult, the term itself does not disparage white people in general. In fact, it does the opposite, because really, what is the purpose of pointing out race as part of the insult? Prefacing the disparagement with the person's race is implying that white people are supposed to be better. It's a way of saying, "look at that white person, acting beneath his or her noble race." The term itself is an example of whiteness serving as the invisible "norm" against which all other races are judged. So, when you think about it, a term meant to disparage a white person behaving badly also disparages everyone who isn't white in its assumption that whites are inherently meant to behave better. Of course, all this is subliminal, as are most of the really damaging racist ideas we hold.<br />
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Words matter. Words can hold meanings on levels deeper than we may realize.Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-17733380101981575612018-08-19T09:20:00.000-07:002018-08-19T09:20:29.529-07:00"Reverse Racism" -- Getting Past Fifth GradeIn years past, when one of my kids (who shall remain nameless) would be reminded not to repeat a small or large infraction, s/he would respond in the same way. "Mom, I haven't done that since fifth grade!"<br />
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"Don't be late for school."<br />
"I haven't been late since fifth grade."<br />
"Be careful not to lose that library book."<br />
"Mom, that was in fifth grade."<br />
"Answer your cell phone when I call."<br />
"I always do, ever since fifth grade."<br />
Etc.<br />
<br />
I was forced to conclude that either my memory was implacably fixated on one particular school year in this person's life or fifth grade was a very bad year.<br />
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More likely, though, my child's response reflected the desire to be seen in the here and now only and not through the lens of our history together. Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way. History matters. Whether in the family, the classroom (you teachers know - that kid who calls out once, you ignore. But that kid who interrupts you at every turn, you can't ignore), or in society at large, history matters. People don't behave in a vacuum. Newton's Third Law of Motion tell us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction (I learned that in fifth grade). And while it's easy to accept that fact when talking about physical objects, sometimes it's not so easy when thinking about the events that have shaped the beliefs, policy, practices, and general racial atmosphere of our country. For a lot of us, when it comes to race we want to remember the bad stuff as ancient history. We want to put racism in a pre-civil rights movement box and keep it there as securely as my child kept memories of wrong-doing in the secure vault known as the fifth grade.<br />
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It's this desire that leads to a certain argument, or discourse, usually heard among whites, called the "reverse racism discourse." I've written about it before, in this and other spaces. The discourse has been documented often in critical race scholarship, but you don't have to read the texts to know what I'm talking about. I'm sure you've heard the argument, or maybe even used it yourself. It goes like this -- a better qualified white person didn't get some kind of benefit (job, scholarship, whatever) because a less qualified African American, Hispanic, etc. got it instead. Therefore, whites are now the endangered race because their skin color is standing in the way of opportunity. It's important to note that usually a presumption is being made here. All the facts of the particular situation are not usually known, but the speaker presumes that the person who got the position was under-qualified. But more importantly, the person arguing the reverse racism discourse is speaking from the vacuum of fifth grade, so to speak. If policies are in place to help traditionally marginalized people to advance, they are there for a reason -- to equal the playing field in a historically white dominated society. When it comes to race, is the playing field equal yet? Not by any sociological indicator -- education, employment, housing, wealth, income, health, incarceration, etc. (BTW, the argument can be extended to gender -- not long ago a good friend of mine bemoaned the fate of men because of the #MeToo movement. She was genuinely worried that men would suffer and somehow become second class citizens because of the movement. I assured her that I think they'll be okay.)<br />
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Recently I was surprised to read the reverse racism discourse from a pretty well-known author in the Scifi-Fantasy world. (I'm not sure why I was surprised. I shouldn't have been. I've been doing this long enough to know that racial tensions are prevalent in every aspect of our society.) He complained about discrimination in the writing/publishing world. Now, there's ample evidence that this area has been dominated by whites since its inception. Speculative fiction, in particular, has long been a white man's domain, with a few notable exceptions. But over the last several years people have worked hard to raise awareness and we're starting to see some change. We know that change always brings backlash, and the reverse racism discourse is part of that backlash. The writer was complaining that white men aren't being considered equally in certain genres. (Side note -- was he complaining 20 years ago when women's work wasn't being considered? Doubtful that he even noticed.)<br />
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Maybe this author is right, and the pendulum of opportunity has swung too far in the other direction. I'm sure he believes what he's saying is true, although I've included a link below that says otherwise.* But even if his claims are true, the problem with his argument is that it ignores the history of discrimination that has made the shift in focus necessary. Hopefully, a day will come when thinking about race and gender in publishing or other areas of opportunity won't be necessary, because the playing field will be equal. Education, training, and opportunity for advancement will be equitable. But to paraphrase one of my favorite male fantasy heroes, that day may come...but it is not this day. This day, we fight. We fight to break free of fifth grade thinking. We fight to recall our history in its completeness, good and bad. We fight to remember the mistakes of the past so we can create a better future.<br />
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*<a href="https://medium.com/fireside-fiction-company/blackspecfic-571c00033717" target="_blank">Info on diversity in science fiction</a><br />
<br />Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-10840582217001770392018-06-17T06:50:00.000-07:002018-06-20T05:20:18.001-07:00Suffer the Children: Sunday Morning Sermon<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">As I write this, it's Sunday morning, time for church. Time to sing
with eyes opened or closed, holding a hymnal or reading from a screen,
accompanied by an organ or a full out rock band. In whatever style, across our
country millions of Americans are attending church services.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">My wish for this Sunday morning is that every pastor, minister, or preacher would speak the same words and read the
same verses from the scriptures on which they've based their lives.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Mark 19:14.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength...</span><span style="color: black;">Love your neighbor as yourself.' There
is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." Ps. 82:3-4.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Heb. 13: 1-2.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I could continue, but I trust you get the point. The scriptures are filled with admonitions toward love, care, and empathy, the opposite of the behavior the United States is showing toward asylum seekers at our southern border. Now, I'm not so naive to think that open borders are possible. I understand that, for various reasons, borders must be maintained and protected, and my purpose today is not to argue or recommend specific immigration policy of a larger scope. But, as a person of faith who values the scripture, as a mother, and as a human being, it seems more than obvious that separating children from their parents as a deterrent and perhaps punishment is cruel, ungodly, and unscriptural. And to use the Bible as a justification for this practice is reprehensible. This has nothing to do with following the Bible. This is about something else. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've read some pretty heartless reasoning on this topic lately, and at its core is the stripping of the humanity of those in question. These aren't refugees or asylum seekers, they are "criminals" who have given up
the rights to their children by their criminal behavior. This is dangerous
reasoning with a long history. Throughout the ages, the only way humans have been able to treat other
humans so cruelly is to make them less than human. These are not parents
seeking safety for their children. They are criminals who don't deserve our
empathy. Of course, it becomes much easier to treat people
badly if you believe "They are not our friend...they're bringing drugs.
They're bringing crime. They're rapists." Oh yeah, some of them might be
good people, but good people don't commit crimes, and since these people engaged in a criminal act when they entered the country illegally, they are criminals. And so the circular reasoning
continues.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's true, the Bible does say we should obey the law. Christians in the early church were instructed to mind their own business and live quiet and productive lives (I Thess 4:11), but this instruction came after praise for being "taught by God to love one another" (v. 9). The Old and New Testaments also give many accounts of people who broke human law (secular and religious) in order to follow God's law. Jesus was among these people. And let's remember that there was only one group of people that Jesus criticized harshly -- the Pharisees, and it was because, as he pointed out, "they don't practice what they teach" (Matt. 23:3). I'm sure you can see some parallels here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, this Sunday morning I wish that all believers in Jesus (along with folks of other faiths) would be encouraged to practice what we teach and to invite our government officials to do the same. We are in a position to love our neighbors, to defend the weak, to show hospitality to strangers, and to care for the children, owners of the Kingdom of heaven.</span></div>
Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-86328079818200614852018-04-12T15:00:00.000-07:002018-04-12T15:00:34.453-07:00Worlds Collide but Never TouchA few years ago I gave a talk at several locations entitled, "Living in More than One World." The focus of that talk was race relations, and in it I described the need to understand and empathize with those whose experience as racialized beings differs from our own. Today I'm going to wonder from the topic of race to explore another way that I, personally, navigate two very different worlds: worlds on opposite ends of the political spectrum.<br />
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My first world of church going and teaching is a conservative one. I'll call it Conservo World. Many of the inhabitants of Conservo World hold very traditional beliefs about a wide variety of subjects ranging from race relations to abortion to sexual orientation to gender identity and lots of other topics, and although most hold no animosity toward individuals, they sincerely believe they must do their part to make the world a better place (or at least keep it from becoming a worse place). In that world I have many wonderful friends who are kind, caring, decent people.<br />
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World number two is mostly comprised of graduate school friends and academic colleagues outside of religious institutions, who, for the most part, land to the left of liberal on the political front -- it's Libero World, indeed. The folks of Libero World (some religiously oriented, but most not) see themselves as progressives and so believe they must do their part to bring about needed change and make the world a better place (or at least keep it from becoming a worse place). They often see themselves as outside of herteronormativity either by practice or belief. Again, in that world I have many wonderful friends who are kind, caring, decent people. I've been navigating these two worlds somewhat successfully for a very long time.<br />
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Something happened the other day, though, that made my usual smooth navigational system blink. I was at an academic conference populated by Libero World folk and the session leader said something that caught my attention. She mentioned, almost in passing, that fantasy and science fiction are mostly liberal spaces -- in others words, produced and consumed by the folks of Libero World. As a tried and true fantansy/scifi nerd, you can bet I shook off the descending conference ennui and sat up straight at that. Many images flooded my mind, including:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>standing in line for an hour at the premiere of every <i>Lord of The Rings</i> movie, next to Conservo World friends</li>
<li>watching the youth group leader of our conservative church chase my sons across the church lawn, all of them waving lightsabers around</li>
<li>listening to the rants of conservative friends of all ages when the latest iteration of <i>Star Wars</i>, <i>Harry Potte</i><b>r,</b> the <i>X-Men</i>, etc., didn't come up to their expectations</li>
<li>giving in to my students' begging to show the latest Marvel trailer on the big screen in our classroom</li>
</ul>
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I could say lots more, but mostly I thought of an organization I joined about a year ago called Realm Makers, populated by Christian writers of speculative fiction. I've been to their conference where hundreds of Conservo World folks dress up quite creatively to attend a banquet as Wolverine, Steam Punk characters, Harry Potter -- you name it. They have a very active Facebook group through which they dissect all kinds of scifi fantasy minutia, along with supporting each others' writing efforts. These are hardcore fans, folks, and I bet they'd be quite surprised to hear that their passion resides in mostly a "liberal space." </div>
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What would make this presenter see fantasy and science fiction as a liberal domain? She was kind, professional, brilliant and well educated, but she knew nothing (kind of like Jon Snow) about evangelical pop culture tastes. My guess is that she sees conservative Christians very narrowly, probably buttoned up in straight suits and long skirts and knocking at people's doors with Bibles under their arms.</div>
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When the conference was over I went back to the classroom and my content that morning dealt with gender identity. We talked about gender typicality and gender constancy. As I defined these terms, most of my students looked at me blankly. Sadly, a few smirked uncomfortably. But when I described the risk kids who fall outside of traditional gender norms face at school, they became sympathetic and gladly agreed that their role as teachers will be to protect all the children in their classes. Their ethic of care, the same ethic of care I heard over and over at the Libero World conference, was obvious.</div>
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What's my point? We have more in common than we think. We may disagree on many issues, and sometimes our beliefs are so polar opposite it's hard to see any common ground. In the media and sometimes on the streets these worlds collide. But if we gave up our assumptions, just for a minute, and took the time to find out a little more about the reality of our lives, if we took the time to touch instead of banging against each other in anger, we might be surprised at how much we are alike.</div>
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As for me, I'll keep traveling back and forth between these two worlds, going left to right, depending on the issue. Mostly I land just enough in the middle to make both sides mad at me. So if you felt yourself bristling at this essay, that's fine. I'm right where I'm supposed to be.</div>
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<br />Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-36643203790957728602017-11-13T06:13:00.000-08:002017-11-13T06:13:29.905-08:00Morgan Freeman "Solves Race Issue"I've been thinking a lot about Morgan Freeman lately, not because he's one of my favorite actors (he is), but because his name has come up on a few occasions as I discussed the issue of racism with a group of people. A few times now someone in the group brought to my attention that Morgan (is it okay if I call him that? I feel like I've known him forever) commented in an interview that he's against the celebration of Black History Month, and that the way to solve America's race problem is to ignore it. Here the interview clip if you're interested: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3cGfrExozQ" target="_blank">Morgan Freeman Interview</a>.<br />
<br />
Now I know that Morgan Freeman cares deeply about race relations in America. The film, "Prom Night in Mississippi" leaves no doubt that Morgan is aware of and concerned about racial tension in America. The documentary shows what happens in the actor's home town, Charleston, Mississippi, when he offers to pay for the high school prom if students, parents, and school officials will allow the event to be racially integrated. Yes, that's right. In 2008, Charleston held it's first racially integrated prom and Morgan Freeman paid for it. It's a fascinating story and I recommend viewing the film.<br />
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So why would a person who is obviously concerned about the persistence of racism within the fabric of American culture make such a statement about Black History Month, and why would he propose ignoring race as a way to move past racism? While it's not my job to explain other people's ideas (actually it kind of is, because I'm a teacher, but you know what I mean) it seems obvious to me that Morgan is not advocating for a colorblind approach as it has existed in the U.S. for decades. White people have been ignoring race for a long time now, with unfortunate results for people of color. I believe the actor's point is that Black history is part of American history and should be fully integrated into school curriculum, not pulled out once a year as a tokenistic celebration that most people (read: white people) ignore. When that happens, perhaps it will signal that we CAN stop talking about race the way Morgan suggests. Personally, I hope and pray for the day when all individuals are granted equal access in education, employment, housing, and are treated equally in our criminal justice system. But that day has not yet arrived.<br />
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But what I find most interesting is not what Morgan Freeman said about race. Whether I agree or disagree, he's only one person and he's entitled to his opinion. What fascinates me is not the <i>what,</i> but the <i>why</i> -- why do white people quote this one African American voice during discussions of racism, while ignoring the multitude of other statements, essays, books, articles, films, etc., that relate a different point of view? (BTW, a few years ago white people were quoting Bill Cosby in much the same way.) Why do they embrace one person's advice while ignoring the voices of so many others? What do they have to gain?<br />
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Derrick Bell, a famous critical race scholar, coined the term "interest convergence" for the phenomena we're witnessing here. Bell said that white people will support equal rights only when it suits their own interests. So, as a white person I can happily ignore any opinions about racism that don't support my view of myself as a non-racist person, but jump on those voices that I agree with, that make me feel better about myself. After all, if a prominent African American actor like Morgan Freeman says I should ignore race, who am I to argue? I can use Morgan's statements, even if he doesn't exactly mean what I want him to mean, to prop up my own distaste of facing racism on individual and institutional levels. And I can feel good about doing so, all the time allowing my own motivations to remain unexamined.<br />
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<br />Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-66022282883684231922017-11-12T07:05:00.001-08:002018-06-17T06:51:08.616-07:00Morgan Freeman Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-27457612140083057472017-08-14T11:12:00.000-07:002017-08-14T11:12:21.292-07:00Writing While White<div class="MsoNormal">
One doesn’t have to look far to find evidence that racism is
alive and well in the U.S., where schools and the population in general are
becoming increasingly diverse. Equally apparent is that some folks just aren’t
having it. When, recently, white nationalists, neo-Confederates, and members of
the Ku Klux Klan took to the streets of Charlottesville with their message,
“white lives matter,” I have to say I was shocked but not surprised. I felt a
visceral sense of shock and disgust at the news photo of torch-carrying whites,
gathered en masse, shouting their message of exclusion. But I was not surprised
at the message itself, because while the current political climate may have
emboldened these individuals, their argument is nothing new. I’ve heard the reverse-racism
discourse, the argument that whites are the new victims of racism and somehow
need protection, many times from white friends, family, and students – people
who would never take up a torch and march in defense of their perceived white
supremacy. In fact, when I bring up the topic of racism in my classes I’m more
surprised if students (usually white but not always) <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">don’t</b> launch into the reverse-racism discourse in the form of anti-affirmative
action arguments than if they do. Most of these students have heard these
arguments all their lives and have come to internalize the idea that if a
person of color (excluding Asians – there’s a whole separate discourse for
that) has advanced to an important or prominent position, he or she probably
got there at the expense of a white person who worked harder and was more
qualified.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my
ethnography of high school students called <i>Race
Among Friends</i>,<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7679733813213007170#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span></span></a> I
found that the reverse-racism discourse was prominent during class discussions
of multicultural literature. Even among students who were deeply invested in
their cross-racial friendships at this small, racially diverse school, the idea
that racism is over and that African Americans use the “race card” to gain
unfair advantage persisted. When I
started to think more deeply about the fiction these students had read in
previous grades, the “classics” of the multicultural literature “canon,” it
wasn’t hard to see, at least partly, why these attitudes endure. Many students
are still reading the texts on race that you and I read when we were in school: <i>The </i><i>Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn,<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7679733813213007170#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ii]</span></b></span></span></a></i>
by Mark Twain, and <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i>,<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7679733813213007170#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iii]</span></span></span></a>
by Harper Lee. Both of these works still form the foundation of the
multicultural canon in many school districts. Both were written by whites, and both
depict the internalized racist attitudes that I (as a writer and as a person) and
many whites struggle to recognize and overcome.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Much has
been written about the racial language and images of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Huck</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mockingbird</i>, and
I won’t take the time for an in depth analysis here, other than to say that both
represent a complicated mix of brilliantly written narrative and hidden
racialized meanings played out by the stories’ characters. For example, while
some teachers and school districts still struggle over Twain’s use of racial
epithets, Jane Smiley<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7679733813213007170#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and Toni Morrison<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7679733813213007170#_edn5" name="_ednref5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
point out that it was Twain’s depiction of Jim, the full-grown African American
slave companion of Tom and Huck, as a child-like pawn in the hands of two white
adolescents, with no voice and no say in his own future, that is truly
problematic. Likewise, in the case of the much loved novel (and movie) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To Kill a Mockingbird, </i>the very title
suggests an unexamined racism far more subtle than whether or not the
characters use “the N word” (as my students say) in the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The title comes from Atticus’ admonition to
his son, “Shoot all the bluejays you want…but remember, it’s a sin to kill a
mockingbird” (Lee 90). Miss Maudie, a neighbor, clarifies: “Mockingbirds don’t
do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s
gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts
out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (90). So, who are the
mockingbirds in the story? Lee creates a cast of “respectable Negros” who, like
the proverbial mockingbird, know their place and don’t bother anyone. I had to
smile a little last year at the distress of some readers over the depiction of
Atticus in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mockingbird</i> sequel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Go Set a Watchman.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7679733813213007170#_edn6" name="_ednref6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vi]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
</i>How could this book depict the beloved Atticus, pillar of racial justice,
as racist? Unfortunately, Atticus’ passively racist proclivities were always
there; perhaps we weren’t looking carefully enough to spot them. While it's
true that he did his best to defend Tom Robinson in court (putting himself and
his children at risk), Atticus never completely disassociated himself from the
racism of his time. He told his daughter that racists "are still our
friends" (76) and are "entitled to full respect for their opinions"
(105). He made light of the role of the Ku Klux Klan (147) and excused the head
of a would-be lynch mob as "a good man" who "just has his blind
spots along with the rest of us" (157).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My point is
that even when white fiction writers are attempting to be anti-racist, it can
be difficult for us to fully understand how deep and hidden our attitudes about
race are, and we may inadvertently perpetuate racial stereotypes through our
work. Lately I’ve been reading a young adult fantasy novel. I’m about 100 pages
in, and so far there is one dark skinned character, a man, in the story. He’s
described as dark, muscular, and altogether gorgeous; his sensual masculinity
jumps off the page and, of course, the white female protagonist is immediately
attracted to him. Okay, I know there needs to be some kind of romantic
attraction to satisfy readers, but the way this character fulfils the trope of
the powerful black male who protects and dominates the white woman is so
obvious that it’s startling. Am I saying the author is racist? No more than I
am, because I’m guilty, too. A few years ago I published a young adult novel<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7679733813213007170#_edn7" name="_ednref7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
that explores the awakening of a white teen who comes to understand racism as
she forms new relationships with teens of color. I tried my best to vary my
characters in appearance and personality and to make them rich and complex. At
the beginning of the story, Rachel, my protagonist, meets a group of five
students from other school districts who will become her close friends. As I
was writing, I decided that I had too many characters to suit my purposes, so I
had to make one go away. Guess who left the group? The one Asian-American
character in the story. Without realizing it I fulfilled the stereotype of the
silent Asian, the “model minority,” who fades quietly into the background. How
frustrating that even when I was trying to explore and expose racism, my own
internalized dispositions about race popped out and got the best of me. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t
think that white people should stop including characters of color in their
works, nor should we stop exploring racism in our writing. On the contrary,
now, more than ever, whites need to name and expose racism in all its forms. We
are at a wretched, horrifying place in our country where racist views are being
accepted and promulgated by mainstream authority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, as I concluded in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Race Among Friends</i>, we whites must think, write, and perhaps most
importantly, teach with deeper introspection, examining our own hidden
attitudes about race first, lest we perpetuate the very attitudes we seek to
expose. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 6"/>
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<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7679733813213007170#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Modica, Marianne. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Race Among Friends</i>.
Rutgers University Press, 2015.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7679733813213007170#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Twain, Mark. <i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Brandywine Studio Press, 2008.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7679733813213007170#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lee, Harper. <i>To Kill a
Mockingbird.</i> New York: Warner Books, 1960.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn4" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7679733813213007170#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Jane Smiley, <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">"Say
It Ain't So, Huck: Second Thoughts on Mark Twain's 'Masterpiece'" </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/wiki/Harper's_Magazine/ref=wp_la_43?ie=UTF8&searchSource=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%2Fref%3Dwp%5Fbts%5F1%3Furl%3Dsearch-alias%253Dstripbooks%26field-keywords%3Djane%2Bsmiley%26x%3D0%26y%3D0&qid=1301221028&sr=1-2-wp"><i><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Harper's Magazine</span></i></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> 292.1748
(Jan. 1996): 61-67.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn5" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7679733813213007170#_ednref5" name="_edn5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Morrison, Toni.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Playing in the Dark. </i>New York: Random
House, 1993.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn6" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7679733813213007170#_ednref6" name="_edn6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Lee, Harper. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Go Set a Watchman</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2016.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn7" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7679733813213007170#_ednref7" name="_edn7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Modica, Marianne. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The R Word</i>. Endless
Press, 2015.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-30446205564152551982017-02-07T13:28:00.002-08:002017-02-07T13:28:52.488-08:00Immigrant Anxiety is Nothing NewI recently had the pleasure of sharing my talk about "Living in More than One World" at Calvary Church in Wyncote, PA. (I feel a little like the Sigourney Weaver character in one of my favorite movies, <i>Galaxy Quest</i> -- I have one sermon, and I'm gonna preach it!) Anyway, I'm thankful for the opportunity to share with such a responsive group of people.<br />
<br />
Just a quick synopsis of my message for context's sake -- during the talk I explore three stories of people who had to learn to live in more than one world. Story #1 looks at the early life of Moses from the first few chapters of the book of Exodus. Story #2 takes a peek at Ryan King, the protagonist of my middle grade novel,<i> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/King-Me-Marianne-Modica/dp/0986225053/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486402557&sr=8-1&keywords=king+me+by+marianne+modica" target="_blank">King Me!</a> </i>Finally, story #3 describes my own journey as a white person who needed to learn that my experience is not universal. During this part of the talk I explore the unearned, invisible privileges my whiteness affords me.<br />
<br />
As I was reviewing my notes in preparation, the story of Moses jumped out at me for its relevance to our current world situation. Written thousands of years ago, this second book of the Pentateuch begins with the story of an immigrant population, the Hebrews, who suffered great oppression at the hands of their host country. Maybe you know the story -- Joseph and his family migrated to Egypt because of a famine (in other words, they were refugees). The Hebrew population flourished there, and after several centuries a king came to power who wasn't too happy about the presence of the Hebrews. Why? There might have been lots of reasons, but the text tells us that the king was worried because, in his mind, there were just too many Israelites around. "Come," he said, "we must deal shrewdly with them, or they will become even more numerous and <span style="font-family: inherit;">if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country" </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">(1:10). Sound familiar? This very rationalization was used to place over 100,000 Japanese people, the majority of whom were U.S. citizens, in camps during WWII. As our government has since admitted, many Japanese children, women, and men suffered because of anxiety and fear fueled by racism. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tragically, some haven't seemed to learn from either the ancient or recent past. It's becoming common in some circles to conflate the categories "</span>immigrant<span style="font-family: inherit;">," "refugee," and "terrorist" as if the words are interchangeable. Of course, they are not. The world is a scary place, I get it. We need to be careful, okay, I think we can all agree on that. But when we let fear take the place of rational thought, when apprehension outweighs logic, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">when anxiety overpowers compassion,</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">we may find ourselves in an endless loop, repeating variations of the same sad, terrifying story. I know, the U.S. is not forcing anyone into slavery or relocating them to internment camps. But the recent so-called travel ban was so swiftly and poorly executed that, to me, it seemed more an expression of anger and anxiety than an attempt at national safety. Other more horrifying recent suggestions take us closer to the loop, such as watches on Muslim neighborhoods and a required Muslim </span>registry.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Since I started with a </span>sci-fi quote, I guess it's fitting I end with one. From Battlestar Galactica (also found in Ecclesiastes 1:9 and apparently in <i>Peter Pan </i>by J.M. Barrie) -- "All of this has happened before and will happen again." But does it have to? Maybe I'm hopeful, or maybe I'm just stubborn, but I don't believe we're destined to repeat our mistakes. We can stop the loop if we insist our leaders take actions based on logical, reasonable analysis of facts tempered with compassion, and not on rhetoric peppered with conflation and deflection (honestly, some of the arguments I'm hearing lately wouldn't pass muster in a freshman college writing course). Regardless of our political persuasion or who we voted for, we can agree that the role of government is to keep citizens safe. But we can do better than instituting sweeping orders based on fear and devoid of nuance. We must.Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-32558707574762339042016-11-13T10:37:00.000-08:002016-11-13T10:37:52.779-08:00OK, You're Not Racist. Now Prove It.<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's been a few days since the election and it's taken me that time to put my emotions in check and gather my thoughts. As a person who believes that her faith compels her toward social justice, this has been hard for me. I'm going light on social media these days, too, because I'm tired. Maybe you feel the same. So much has been, is being, and will continue to be said about this election that really, what can I add? But there is one thing I want to say before, for my sanity and inner peace, I need to move on. So here it is, for what it's worth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Several of my friends have posted that they voted for the Republican nominee, but please don't call them racist. Please don't make assumptions about them because of how they voted. Okay, I understand. People make assumptions about me all the time and I don't like it either. Plus, I've learned that calling people racist is not the way to keep dialog open, which has always been my goal. And the truth is, I know these people well. They're my friends and I really don't think they are racist (most of them, anyway). So, maybe they voted the way they did because they want more jobs, or they're pro-life, or they want change, or they don't like the Affordable Care Act, or they felt they had no other choice because as much as they don't like him, they don't like her even more. Okay, whatever. I suppose there are many reasons a person could vote for someone who promotes dangerous stereotypical ideas about entire populations. Let's face it, most of us don't agree with everything any one candidate says or stands for, and when it comes down to it, most of us vote based on an overall philosophical or religious stance, not on everything the candidate or party promotes. I get that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But here's what I don't get. During the days, weeks, and months leading up to the Republican primary there were so many choices. T</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit;">here were so many people who I considered to be more wor</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit;">thy candidates -- people who were experienced, reasonable, didn't insult others, people I could have lived with. Perhaps you voted for one of them. How did it happen, then, that the one candidate who continually spewed insults and basically acted like a seventh grader (apologies to seventh graders everywhere) became the Republican nominee? How is it that the majority of people who voted in the Republic primaries voted for the one person who created such a toxic environment? There were so many other choices. </span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit;">Therefore, I can't help but believe that while you may not be racist, somewhere out there, somebody is. Somewhere out there are a large number of people who agree with the incindiary comments he made about whole groups of people throughout the election season. That is what frightens me the most. </span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, here's my challenge. If you're truly not racist, prove it. Demand from your President a reasonable and compassionate approach to immigration. Demand that law enforcement personnel be both supported AND accountable for their actions. Demand that whatever replaces the Affordable Care Act take into account people who can't afford insurance premiums and who don't make enough money to create health savings accounts. Demand that equitable education for all our children be a priority. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And don't put up with those people within your sphere of influence who will feel emboldened by the election results to perpetuate stereotypes or make racist statements in their everyday conversations. Whether during a conversation with Uncle Whoever at Thanksgiving dinner or with your neighbor while you're out raking leaves, shut it down in no uncertain terms. You might say something like, "Yes, I agree we need more jobs, but I don't agree that all Muslims are terrorists. That's </span></span><span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ridiculous." Or, "I agree that we need to secure our borders, but I know that most undocumented immigrants are hard working people who are trying to find a better life and support their families." </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With power comes responsibility. With control comes accountability. Now is your time. Prove it.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-4952619031728839572016-09-23T08:51:00.000-07:002016-09-23T08:51:52.835-07:00Hearing the HurtI had a hard time sleeping last night. It was the voices.<br />
<br />
No, I'm not losing it (yet). The voices I heard were real - they were the voices of people who shared openly and honestly last night at a community forum on race. Twenty-five or so folks of diverse racial backgrounds met in a small room at a public library to talk about race relations. I spoke a little but mostly I listened to the voices of African American neighbors in pain. Here's some of what I heard:<br />
<br />
"Why did it take me so long to get a job? I have a degree and ten years of experience. I was told several times that I was the most qualified. So why did it take me so long to get a job?"<br />
<br />
"Why do I have to see Confederate flags in people's windows when I walk to work? Do they understand what that symbol means? Why do my kids have to see that symbol of hate when they walk to school every day?"<br />
<br />
"The N-word is flown like crazy here. Why is there so much anger in this area?"<br />
<br />
"I was raised to respect authority. I'm proud to have served my country in the military. Why do I have to be afraid when a police car slows near me?"<br />
<br />
"Why was my daughter treated so poorly by some of the white athletes at her high school? And why didn't the administration do anything about it when I complained?"<br />
<br />
As a white person, I can never fully understand what it must feel like to live with questions like these every day of my life. As a white person, I have the privilege of pulling race out of my back pocket when I feel like dealing with it and keeping it safely tucked away there when I don't. As a white person, I don't have to live with the hurt. But I hear it. And I'm sorry.Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-55586743631179110472016-09-15T09:37:00.001-07:002016-09-18T12:39:02.081-07:00Colin Kaepernick and The Anger<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have you noticed that conversations about
race often result in anger? And, for better or worse, social media has provided
a ripe environment for the expression of that anger. Take, for example, the latest
controversy over the decision by several NFL players to use body language
during the playing of the National Anthem to express dissatisfaction over the treatment
of people of color in this country. Most players are “taking a knee” (a
position associated with prayer in religious traditions and with quiet respect
for an injured player in sports), although a few have sat or raised fists in
protest. None of this is new, of course. A very long time ago some kids at my
high school sat when the National Anthem was played during school assemblies to
protest the war in Vietnam. I was one of them. Back then, no one seemed to care
all that much, at least in my New York City public school. There were no
cameras recording our every move and as long as we were quiet, the teachers
didn’t say a word about it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today, however, this kind of stuff is making
some folks very angry. I’m not afraid of anger – in fact, I find it to be a familiar
companion. It doesn’t take much to annoy me and I’m usually perfectly happy to
tell you how the world would be a better place if only people did things my
way. Though I try to be a nice person, I can be a little crotchety and you’ll
want to keep your distance if I’m hungry – “hangry” is the better term. But the
kind of anger I’m talking about is a much stronger emotion. It’s much deeper
than my flittering annoyance – it lives in a hidden place where it smolders
quietly, ready to explode when someone primes the pump. Some of the nicest
people I know, kind, caring people, can let loose a rage on Facebook that
leaves me concerned and a little perplexed. And while I think that anger can
benefit us if it spurs us to some needed action, it can also blind us. Left
unexamined, anger can block other important emotions like empathy, kindness,
and supportiveness. It can hinder our ability to understand someone else’s
perspective. So, anger should be fully explored. Where is the anger that
surrounds issues of race coming from? What’s at the bottom of it, and why is it
so tenacious? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let me give you an example of some fairly
explosive anger I witnessed first hand over the topic of race relations. I was
researching 11<sup>th</sup> grade honors students’ responses to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Bluest Eye</i>, Toni Morrison’s
devastating depiction of Depression era racism in the U.S. The book especially
focuses on the emotional damage inflicted on African American women by the
dominance of white beauty standards. The students’ responses formed the basis
of chapter four in my book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Race Among
Friends</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you’ve read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Bluest Eye</i> you know that the content is enough to make anyone
angry. African Americans in the novel are treated deplorably, but the treatment
of the children is especially hard to take. Reading that book could and should
make anyone angry. If it doesn’t, we’re either heartless or we’ve shielded
ourselves from anything other than happy, positive feelings (unless something
goes wrong that directly affects us personally, of course. Then it’s okay to
feel angry or sad). So, one might have expected the African American students
in the class to respond to Morrison’s text in anger. Reading the brutal details
of how one’s ancestors were treated simply because of the color of their skin
could, understandably, make one angry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I’d like to start this paragraph with the
words, “Imagine my surprise,” but the truth is I was not surprised at all at
what happened in that classroom. Because I’ve been talking about race for a
long time in a variety of settings, I wasn’t surprised at who got angry and who
didn’t. It wasn’t the black kids who got angry. It wasn’t the kids who had to
read about people of their background being degraded and humiliated who lashed
out in anger at their classmates. It was the white kids. And they weren’t angry
about the treatment of the characters in the novel, either. No. They were angry
that we were reading the story at all. In their view, racism was over and they
were sick of hearing about it. Slavery happened a long time ago – why couldn’t
people just get over it? Why couldn’t the young girl in the story who was made
to feel that her blackness made her ugly just look in the mirror and say, “I’m
beautiful”? The deeper we delved into the book, the angrier the white kids
became. “Why are you trying to make us feel guilty?” they demanded to know.
Racism was not their fault. Racism was over. And the more we pointed out ways
that racism is not, in fact, over, the more strongly they resisted. When their
African American “friends” in the class tried to explain their point of view,
many white students simply could not or would not understand. Their anger stood
in the way. So what was going on here? What was the source of all this anger? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Back to those NFL protests – why does the
peaceful protest of a few football players generate such an intensity of anger
for some? Is it the form the protest is taking – the perceived disrespect to
the symbols of our nation? What would be a better form of protest? Picketing?
Stopping traffic? A work stoppage? A boycott? Disruption of a government
function? How about instituting a government shutdown with possible loss of pay
for thousands of veterans? For some, the symbols of the flag and the National
Anthem have been elevated to religious status and any deviation from the proper
body language (even not placing one’s hand over one’s heart during the Pledge)
is an insult that cannot be tolerated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But I think there’s more going on here. I
believe that the anger expressed through social media over the NFL players’
protest is comparable to that of those 11<sup>th</sup> graders reading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Bluest Eye</i>. Deep down, some folks
just don’t understand what the protest is about. These folks may be angry
because they feel national symbols are being disrespected (although Colin
Kaepernick, the 49er who started it all, has repeatedly said he intends no
disrespect), but they are also angry at the claim that racism still exists.
Just like those high school students, they don’t understand what all the fuss
is about. Some of them might believe that if anyone is being discriminated
against, it’s whites – whites who don't get jobs, whites who don’t get scholarships,
whites who don’t get whatever, because less deserving black people get them
instead. And it is often the case that when whites perceive a potential loss of
their position of dominance, anger is the result. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This also explains why some whites simply
cannot understand the Black Lives Matter movement, no matter how many times
it’s explained to them. Admitting that racial discrimination still exists and
that whites hold an advantaged status may require the willingness to give up
that unearned advantage. For some, this takes the idea of racial justice
entirely too far. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I heard a young black male put it this way.
He shook his head in quiet resignation and said, “Black Lives Matter has been
around for a long time now. It’s been explained over and over. I’ve come to
realize that if people still don’t understand, it’s because they don’t want to
understand.” Note, this young man was not angry, only painfully resigned. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So I’ll end by encouraging us all to examine
our anger. Think about where your anger is coming from. For those of Christian
faith, remember that the Bible instructs us to “Be angry, yet do not sin. Do
not let the sun set on your anger, and do not give the devil a foothold” (Eph.
4:26 & 27). If a desire to hang on to the status quo is fueling your anger,
it might be time to take a closer look. We all feel angry sometimes, but if we
let that anger block our ability to think logically, to feel empathy, or to
understand someone else’s perspective, only trouble will result.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-63036898162590710002016-07-08T18:50:00.001-07:002016-07-09T11:33:16.611-07:00What's Wrong with "All Lives Matter"You don't need me to tell you about the horrific events of this week. We all watched the videos of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile being killed at close range by police officers. We haven't heard the story from the officers' points of view yet, but the videos seem pretty damning. They seem to show two more shootings of black men who posed no immediate threat to the cops who shot them. Horrible. What's more horrible is that if these cases follow form the cops will probably be exonerated. I'm still shaking my head over Freddie Gray - did the man break his own back? So far, none of the cops involved have been held accountable, although there are still more trials coming. Many similar instances have given rise to a movement that birthed the slogan, "Black Lives Matter." It's not okay to shoot African Americans who pose no immediate threat and get away with it because black lives matter. Seems pretty straightforward to me.<br />
<br />
So why is it that more often than not, at least in some circles, when I say "black lives matter" someone answers "all lives matter"?<br />
<br />
To those who have answered this way, I pose the following questions:<br />
<br />
What do you mean by "all lives matter"?<br />
What do you think I mean by "black lives matter"?<br />
And really, why does any of this matter?<br />
<br />
When I say "black lives matter," and you say, "all lives matter," do you think I mean "black lives matter more than any other lives?" I think you must. So let me explain with an example I've heard somewhere along the way:<br />
<br />
Say there are a row of houses and the house on the end is on fire. The other houses are in no immediate danger, but, being a fair minded person, I proceed to spray all the houses with water. While I do this the house on the end, the one that is actually on fire, burns to the ground. All houses matter, but not all houses needed that water. Sort of reminds me of my last blog post about funding education - equality is not the same as equity.<br />
<br />
Of course, "blue lives matter" too. We're all sick about the police shootings in Dallas. No one is saying that all police are bad and our hearts go out to the friends and families of those five officers who were killed. Our prayers go forth for those wounded in this horrific crime. But that doesn't change the fact that African Americans are at greater risk for profiling and excessive police force in this country. Black lives STILL matter.<br />
<br />
Now, there's something else going on here too, because I don't think for a minute that if you respond to "black lives matter" with "all lives matter" it's because you don't understand that black lives are at risk. Instead, you choose to respond defensively, as if you have somehow been personally attacked or accused of racism. The goal of saying "all lives matter" is to take the focus away from the black lives at risk and place it on yourself. It reminds me of a little kid standing next to a drowning friend, saying, "Wait, I matter too. I need attention!" even though it's the other kid who's just gone under for the third time.<br />
<br />
Let me say it clearly. The response "all lives matter" is not okay. It mitigates the experience of people of color who are at much great risk of becoming victims of excessive police force than whites.<br />
<br />
My friend Lori put it this way. The problem with "all lives matter," she says, is that "all lives DON'T matter in this culture...It cheapens the struggles African Americans face when people use that 'all lives matter' slogan. If all lives mattered, people of color would not be disproportionately killed, imprisoned, and discriminated against."<br />
<br />
So please, think twice before you respond to "black lives matter" with "all lives matter." Ask yourself, what's your motivation for saying it? Why is it so hard to empathize with the people who are hurting? Do you think black people just like to complain, and that in their complaining they're taking attention away from you? How would you feel if you believed that you or your loved ones were unfairly targeted by the people sworn to protect them? And if nothing else, recognize that your experience is different from the experience of others around you. Listen and try to learn something.<br />
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Yes, all lives matter. That's <b>why </b>black lives matter. Tragically, so far they haven't seem to matter as much as other lives. Words are important. Please stop saying "all lives matter."<br />
<br />Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-2248087392170967652016-06-26T06:53:00.000-07:002016-06-26T06:53:41.777-07:00School Funding: Is it "Fair"?Last week the governor of New Jersey proposed a new formula for school funding to make it "fair." (I have to admit that as much as I enjoy watching his rants on youtube, I've never been a big fan of this particular politician, mostly because of his unsuccessful attempt to give away Rutgers/Camden. But that's another story.) Anyway, under the proposed new plan all school districts would receive the exact same amount of funding per student. Behind this change is the idea of lowering real estate taxes, which are incredibly high in that state. You can read more about the school funding proposal here: <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/christie-announces-new-school-funding-plan-1466552933" target="_blank">http://www.wsj.com/articles/christie-announces-new-school-funding-plan-1466552933</a>.<br />
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On the surface this may seem like a good idea. Fair means equal, right? That might make sense if all else in the lives of school children were equal, but of course, it is not. Because of our past and current policies and practices that limit opportunities for some and privilege others, the lives of children across our country are certainly not equal. Yes, I know -- personal choice of parents and family members matters, too, but that doesn't change the fact that poverty has devastating effects on children. Let me say that again. Poverty has devastating effects on children.<br />
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Here's another example of how something that seems "fair" is a bad idea. We recently read in our local newspaper that our local taxes will be going up -- again. Why? The school district is building a new early learning center and elementary school. It's tempting to think - Wow, why should we be forced to pay for it? Our kids are older now and they won't reap the benefits of the new school. Why should we have to pay more taxes? It's not fair. Following that line of thinking, why should people who have no children, or people who send their children to private school have to support the public school system with their taxes?<br />
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I guess we have to ask ourselves, are we a nation that believes in free, public education, or do we want to go back to the days when only the affluent were educated? The answer is obvious - an educated population creates a healthier, more productive society and benefits us all.<br />
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Back to the new funding proposal. The proponent of the plan was quick to explain that children receiving special education services would not be affected. Their current level of funding would remain secure. So, there seems to be an understanding that children with special needs require extra support. Ironically, there's a saying in the world of special education -- "<i>Fair</i> means giving each person what he or she needs." In other words, "fair" does not mean "equal." Equality is not the same as equity. Check out the picture below for a visual of how this works:<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aRRupj8y1DY/V2_b_4yc_VI/AAAAAAAAAQw/-oqaBpnp_l8QyOBnVUnRRRnjdfBdjUvjQCLcB/s1600/IISC_EqualityEquity-720x540.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aRRupj8y1DY/V2_b_4yc_VI/AAAAAAAAAQw/-oqaBpnp_l8QyOBnVUnRRRnjdfBdjUvjQCLcB/s320/IISC_EqualityEquity-720x540.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now, is it possible that money dedicated to poor districts is not being spent wisely? Yes. Perhaps we need to look more closely at initiatives like the Harlem Children's Zone for some answers. Poor children need support within the school <b>and</b> within the community at large. Is it also true that middle class people need tax relief? Yes. But across the board cutting of funds dedicated to poor school districts is not the answer. And doing so in the name of "fairness" is, well, just wrong.<br />
<br />Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-83261591301227467602016-06-13T09:44:00.000-07:002016-06-13T09:44:31.257-07:00In this corner: Hate v. HateI had to turn off the news this morning. I just couldn't watch for another second. My heart goes out to the victims of the Orlando shooting and their families. I'm also angry - for better or worse, that's how I tend to respond. It's been heart-wrenching to hear the report of what happened during the early morning hours of June 12 - people crawling out to safety while others hid, texting their loved ones goodbye, victims helping other victims as best they could, sobbing parents still waiting for word of their children, not knowing if they are dead or alive. It is horrible to watch and for my own mental health I had to turn it off for a while. At the same time, I had to lay aside what I'd planned to post about today, because how can I write a blog about racism and not deal with this event?<br />
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Yes, I know, the shooter didn't seem to have race in mind as he chose his victims. I know that he targeted members of the LGBT community. I know that race, sexual orientation, and gender identity are not the same issues, and although (of course) I believe that ALL people deserve to be treated with respect, I'm not trying to tie the shooter's hateful actions to racism. That's not where I see racism in this sad, complicated, infuriating mess. Instead, I'm talking about the responses I've heard from political figures and from every day people. Tragically, that's where racism has reared its ugly head.<br />
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We're all asking the same question - how do we prevent this from happening again? For some, fear and anger (and remember I'm angry too - I get that) lead to one conclusion, one group to blame - Muslims. The shooter was Muslim and declared his allegiance to a militant Islamist group. What could be more obvious? We need to ban Muslims from entering the country (never mind that the shooter was born in New York). We need to keep a closer watch on Muslim neighborhoods. And any idea of taking in refugees from Syria or anywhere near it - well, unthinkable. These people are clearly our enemies and we need to protect ourselves against them. And so, for some (many of them Christian believers like I am) the response to hate is more hate.<br />
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Meanwhile, back in Holland, not far from the recent terrorist attacks in Belgium and France, something quite different is taking place. The church I attended while there, a church that is part of a conservative Pentecostal denomination, is welcoming refugees with open arms. They have totally shifted the focus of their ministry toward helping the large group of recently arrived that are in need. Rather than pulling back in fear and anger, people of faith are doing whatever they can, sometimes opening up their homes and taking in people to live. As a result, there are so many new converts in the church that they had to begin an English speaking service (English being the language the Dutch citizens and the refugees have in common).<br />
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We can learn something here, I believe. I know that not everyone in the Netherlands or in other European countries agrees on their country's refugee policies. I'm sure that these countries have their own particular set of problems and I'm not trying to say that they are better than we are. But I saw with my own eyes how, rather than respond with bigoted statements based on stereotypical ideas, people of faith are responding in love. Our country needs to be smart. Our leaders need to fight terrorism on physical and psychological fronts. But we can't do that by promoting racist ideas against the entirety of a religious group. We can't fight hate with hate.<br />
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<br />Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-43093050958653596502016-06-13T08:09:00.000-07:002018-06-17T06:51:08.426-07:00Slavery and The Holocaust<div>
It's been almost two weeks since I arrived home from Europe, tired but satisfied. My soul was fed during that trip by both the beautiful sites and the time I spent with friends. My friends and I took a road trip from Zaandam (outside of Amsterdam) through Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, and into Italy. Although we didn't plan to stop in Germany, we wound up spending a night in the small city of Darmstadt on our way back to Zaandam because it's located at about the half-way mark and because my friend has a special interest in the city. She is a tour guide at the Corrie ten Boom House in Haarlem, The Netherlands. The ten Boom family hid Jews in a secret closet during the Holocaust and saved many lives before they were found out. You can check out the Corrie ten Boom House and learn more of their story here: <a href="https://www.corrietenboom.com/old/information.htm" target="_blank">https://www.corrietenboom.com/old/information.htm</a></div>
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During my research for <i>Race Among Friends</i>, I witnessed how high schools students in the U.S. studied the Holocaust with great empathy and respect. They were highly attentive while visiting The Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C., and still talked about Elie Wiesel's <i>Night</i> a year after they'd read it. High school teachers know how hard it is to get students to even read the assigned work, let alone discuss it during the following school year, so clearly these students were deeply impacted by this curriculum. I was fascinated to learn, however, that the very white students who couldn't seem to get enough of the Holocaust were not so interested in learning about American racism toward African Americans. Instead, they were frustrated and angry and created distinct discourses to proclaim that racism is over and that they were tired of talking about it. <div>
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I asked one of the kids in my study, Anthony, and African-American honors student, about this phenomenon among his classmates. </div>
Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-18387315543846226032016-06-06T07:32:00.000-07:002016-06-06T07:32:23.608-07:00On Being Neutral
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Some
of you may be aware that I just returned from a European holiday. We visited
six countries in 15 days - quite a trip! My friends and I explored several
museums, but we had what I thought was our most interesting interaction with
the docent at a small, out of the way place in Basel, Switzerland called The
Jewish Museum. The museum is so small that we almost missed it, and I had a
hard time finding its online presence as I sat to write this blog.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The
Jewish Museum is not a Holocaust museum. Instead, it chronicles the lives of
Jewish people who live in the area and shows their successes and their
diversity. There were a few artifacts from that terrible time, of course, and
as we viewed them our conversation turned to Switzerland's stance regarding
Jews during WWII. We explained to the docent (who spoke English and spent
lots of time with us) that as American school children we'd all learned that
Switzerland remained "neutral" during that war.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Our
docent (who was German and commuted to Basel for work) gave us a wry smile and
said (my paraphrase), "Yes, I guess you can say they were neutral. When
the Jews fleeing other countries came to the Swiss border they were turned
away, although the Swiss authorities certainly knew what would happen to them.
If you call that neutral, they were neutral." She went on to note that
Hitler had much money hidden in Swiss banks - "I guess that's being neutral,
too," she added.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The
purpose of this post is not to pass judgement or to make you hate Switzerland.
So before you swear off Swiss cheese (which is actually produced in the U.S.),
understand that my goal is to examine this concept of "neutrality"
and to apply it to American race relations today (you knew I would get to
that). Some of us, especially if we are white, may feel that we take a neutral
stance on issues of racial justice. We have nothing against people of color in
general. We may feel badly about racism as a general principle but be confused
as to if and how it really exists and what we can or should do about it. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Critical
race scholar and psychologist Beverly Daniel Tatum* proposed the following idea
that I think applies well to the concept of neutrality. She said there are only
three possible positions toward racism. We are either:</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">1.
Actively racist. I could mention some names here, but I'll stick to one we'll
all agree on - the fictional Archie Bunker (although my students have no idea
who he is). This is the person who makes racist comments, tells racists jokes,
and fits people into neat little stereotypes based on racial background. Make
no mistake, active racism is alive and well but is so politically incorrect
that you'd be hard pressed to hear it expressed in mixed circles.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">2.
Passively racist. This is the "neutral" category. I'm against
racism (kind of, although I might argue that it no longer exists or that whites
are the victims of racism, too), but I don't do or say anything to speak out
against it. Maybe I'm confused (there are two sides to every story), maybe I'm
uncomfortable, maybe I just want all this unpleasantness to go away. But, like
the Swiss who turned Jews away at their borders, we can't do nothing to help and claim neutrality. Our
paralyzed position is a form of passive racism. My Christian readers might
relate this to the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:30 - </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">"Whoever is not with me is
against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters."</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">3.
Actively anti-racist. Here's the one I want to be. People who are anti-racist
think deeply about racial justice and do the best they can to show their
opposition within their particular sphere of influence (again, from Tatum).
This looks different for different folks - voting, writing, teaching, talking,
not laughing at racist jokes, asking honest questions and trying to
understand a perspective other than our own. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">When it
comes to family arguments, neutrality may serve you well. Keeping your car in
neutral may save your transmission stress. And when it comes to buying
carpets, neutral is always best. But when we talk about injustice, past or
present, neutrality is not the way.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">*<i>"Why
Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" And Other
Conversations About Race</i>, Basic Books 2003.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-51867202102412286062016-03-07T08:28:00.000-08:002016-03-07T08:28:58.799-08:00They! (Run! Giant Ants on the Way!)When I was a kid I watched an old B level horror film on TV called <i>Them!</i> Some of you older folks (ahem) might remember the giant mutated ants crawling through the barren desert, terrorizing people I can't remember - I only remember the ants. Although I'm sure that by today's standards the special effects were pretty schlocky and the actors completely forgettable, the one thing that does pop into my consciousness periodically is the title -- <i>Them! </i>Not very imaginative, I agree. But the title stuck in my head, and I think of it whenever I hear people use the word "they" in a specific way. I'll explain.<br />
<br />
In my role of teacher educator I get to talk about theories that try to explain how young children and adolescents think, and how that thinking influences their actions. Theorists have been saying for a long time that young children are <i>egocentric</i> in their thinking; i.e., they mostly see the world from only their own perspective. If you've ever played checkers with a three year old you probably found that he or she was more interested in lining the checkers up or stacking them in a pile than in using the strategy needed to actually win the game. Others express this differently - they say that young children aren't able to think about thinking - they have no "theory of mind" that explains how people's actions are based on what they believe to be true. So, kids may not understand how people's thinking affects what they do. Example - "Max put his candy in the cupboard and went out to play. While he was gone, Max's mom took the candy out of the cupboard and put it in the kitchen drawer. When Max comes in, where will he look for his candy?" You and I would say in the cupboard, right? That's where Max left it, so that's where Max will expect it to be. But children three and under will say that Max will look for the candy in the drawer, because <i>they </i>know it's in the drawer. Most kids won't get that people act on what they believe to be true, not on what the child knows is actually true. It's almost as if young kids assume that everyone knows what they know, feels what they feel, and has experienced what they have experienced. That's what <i>egocentric</i> thinking, a hallmark of early childhood, is all about.<br />
<br />
By the time kids hit four or five this egocentricity starts to subside, and most are no longer fooled by the "false belief" test I've explained above. However, egocentric thinking can continue in adolescence in two different forms. The first is called "the imaginary audience" -- this is where adolescents believe that "everyone is watching me" and probably judging everything I do. What will "they" think if I don't wear the right clothes, talk the right way, do the right stuff? The second form of adolescent egocentrism is called "the personal fable" -- again, "they" are watching me, but it's because I'm so special and unique. This makes me invulnerable. Sure, I'll jump off the roof into that snow bank - what a great idea! I know I won't get hurt because nothing bad can ever happen to me (after all, everyone is watching - I'm too important to get hurt).<br />
<br />
One of the great things about getting older is that adolescent forms of egocentric thinking subside, and you no longer care what "they" think. You think I'm fat? Tough noogies, pass me a cannoli. My hair's too big? Cry me a river, I like it that way. You're embarrassed when I burst into song in public? Get over it - the world needs more singing. For some, though, the egocentric thinking of childhood and youth persists and informs their political opinions. Instead of fading, egocentric thinking takes the form of what I call "the imaginary enemy"-- clearly, <i>they </i>are out to get us.<br />
<br />
You've heard it, I'm sure -- "Build a wall, because <i>they </i>are criminals and rapists." "Check religion before you let <i>them</i> in the country, because <i>they</i> are terrorists." "<i>They </i>want entitlements because <i>they </i>are lazy." "<i>They</i> know how to work the system." <i>"They</i> are taking away our religious freedom." "<i>They </i>don't really care about their children" and on and on and on. Eeek, it's <i>Them! </i>Run! The imaginary <i>they </i>is out to get you, and if <i>they</i> have their way our great country will crumble as sure as those fake Hollywood boulders under the weight of the giant ants that consumed helpless Americans like you and me back in the 1954 movie.<br />
<br />
Now I'm not saying that America doesn't have enemies. But focusing on the imaginary enemy, the vague fear and resentment of <i>they</i> that thrives on misconceptions, stereotypes, and unexamined racist attitudes is not going to help us defeat our enemies, whether philosophical or physical. And what scares me most is not the bombast I hear from politicians because, let's face it, most politicians will say anything to get elected whether they actually believe what they are saying or not. What scares me is when I hear the <i>they</i> language being used by regular people, some of them friends, and some of them folks who are in professions dedicated to serving people from poor communities, many of whom, due to past and present institutional racism, are people of color. How do you work with people every day, supposedly dedicated to helping them through education, religion, and social services, and come away convinced that <i>they </i>don't actually deserve the help you are providing?<br />
<br />
I'm tired of hearing the <i>they</i> language tossed about so lightly in this presidential election cycle. Egocentric thinking is understandable in young children and even in adolescents, but people, it's time to grow up.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-25780194859436209522015-10-18T07:01:00.002-07:002015-10-18T07:02:26.583-07:00Race Among Friends is here!<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I’m happy to announce the release of my book, </span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Race Among Friends: Exploring Race at a Suburban School, </i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">published by Rutgers University Press</span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. Race Among Friends </i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">is an ethnographic study of high school students reading multicultural literature at a “friendly” suburban school. I found that beneath the surface of the many cross-racial friendships among students, racial tensions festered and sometimes flared in dramatic ways. </span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Race Among Friends</i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> would be an appropriate read in college or graduate level diversity courses, or for teachers in racially diverse schools. It will be available from RU Press, Amazon, Barnes & Nobel online, and IndiBound in November. Check out the links here:</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0813573432?keywords=race%20among%20friends&qid=1445176646&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Race Among Friends on Amazon.com</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu/product/Race-among-Friends,5632.aspx" target="_blank">Race Among Friends at RU Press</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780813573434" target="_blank">Race Among Friends at IndieBound</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/race-among-friends-marianne-modica/1121861193?ean=9780813573434" target="_blank">Race Among Friends at Barnes and Noble.com</a>Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679733813213007170.post-32981341171688325462015-07-14T07:48:00.000-07:002015-07-14T07:48:20.613-07:00Say It Ain't So, Atticus: Go Set a Watchman and the Problem of RacismYou've probably heard that the long awaited sequel to Harper Lee's classic depiction of American racism, <i>To Kill a Mockingbird,</i> was released today. The novel is still widely read in schools, and many of us remember Gregory Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch, the tall, handsome lawyer who stands up for racial justice, with the warm, fuzzy nostalgia for simpler times that black and white movies create.<br />
<br />
Imagine our dismay to find that in <i>Go Set A Watchman</i>, Lee's sequel, Atticus Finch is a racist. Apparently Atticus positions himself against desegregation and says some pretty intolerant stuff. Say it ain't so, Atticus! How can a character who so exemplifies racial justice in our collective memory turn out to be racist in a story set two decades later? What caused this change and how do we, as readers, deal with the deafening crash of a white role model plunging from his pedestal?<br />
<br />
I'd like to suggest that maybe Atticus Finch should never have been placed on that pedestal to begin with. The problem we lovers of Lee's classic text face is not that the character, Atticus, changes so drastically from one novel to the next. The problem is that we've read the character and <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i> in general through the lens of what we wanted, hoped, and perhaps needed the novel to say about racism and not what it actually says. Just like its curricular counterpart, <i>Huck Finn</i>, <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i> stops short of being the antiracist novel we'd like it to be. In fact, Lee's depiction of African Americans in the story firmly establishes them not as equals, but as lesser beings far beneath the white characters, albeit deserving of their protection.<br />
<br />Let's start with the title, which appears in the text in the following scene. As Scout and her brother, Jem, practice shooting with their new air rifles, Atticus tells them, “Shoot all the bluejays you want…but remember, it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Confused, Scout asks a neighbor, Miss Maudie, what he means. Miss Maudie explains, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (p. 90). What does Lee mean by this metaphor? Who are the mockingbirds in the story? <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
First, there's Tom Robinson, the black man accused of rape and defended by Atticus at trial. We see through the circumstances of Tom's arrest that he, like the proverbial mockingbird, knows his place and doesn’t bother anyone. Tom, we're told, was walking along, minding his own business, acting as a “respectable Negro” (p. 192) should, when Mayella Ewell asked him for help and subsequently accused him of rape. At the end of the story Lee further cements the mockingbird metaphor through an editorial printed in the town newspaper that “likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children” (p. 241). In Tom, Lee gives us an African American figure who is both without voice (he must rely on a white attorney to defend him) and without physical prowess (due to an injured arm). He is the quintessential “respectable Negro” of the time, the mockingbird who doesn't cause trouble and whose role it is to serve the whites in the story. The only other time the mockingbird metaphor is used in the text is in reference to Boo Radley, who, though white, is mentally disabled, and whose very name, “Boo,” symbolizes an invisible, ghost-like, and voiceless creature. <br /><br />Lee then extends her view of the “respectable Negro” by showing us the opposite when Scout and Jem visit their maid, Calpurnia’s African American church. As they arrive, Scout relates, the “smell of clean Negro” (p. 118) welcomed them; it's hard to read that phrase and not cringe, but for Lee, presumably cleanliness denotes respectability. Although the white children are given deferential treatment by most of the congregation, one person, Lula (who I guess didn't smell as clean), protests their presence. Lee uses weapons imagery in Lula’s description -- she's “bullet-headed with strange almond-shaped eyes, straight nose, and an Indian-bow mouth” (p. 119). To make her even more frightening, Lee tells us that from Scout’s perspective, Lula “seemed seven feet high” (p. 119). Unlike the other African Americans in the story, Lula is clearly depicted as a dangerous figure. While her anger at the children’s incursion into her space might be understandable given the circumstances of Tom’s false accusation and the blatant racism of whites throughout the novel, Lula’s voice is not tolerated. Calpurnia, who views Lula’s anger with amusement (thereby infantilizing her), calls her a “nigger,” and ultimately Lula is sent away by her own kind as punishment for her “fancy ideas an’ haughty ways” (p. 119). Again, it's hard not to cringe. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Once rid of Lula’s threatening presence, the children are free to experience the singing of the congregation, led by Zeebo, the town trash collector and Calpurnia’s son. Scout and Jem are amazed at how, without musical accompaniment or songbooks, “Miraculously on pitch, a hundred voices sang out Zeebo’s words” (p. 121). Though they are unskilled in other ways (Calpurnia tells Scout that most of the congregation can’t read), this group of “respectable Negros,” it seems, sing very much like the mockingbirds who, as Miss Maudie explained, “don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy” (p. 90). </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And so <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i>, supposedly an antiracist classic, has some serious problems in its depictions of African Americans. But what about Atticus himself? While it's true that Atticus does his best to defend Tom Robinson in court (putting himself and his children at risk), he never completely disassociates himself from the racism of his time. He's careful to explain to Scout that racists "are still our friends" (p. 76) and are "entitled to full respect for their opinions" (p. 105). He makes light of the role of the Ku Klux Klan (p. 147) and excuses the head of a would-be lynch mob as "a good man" who "just has his blind spots along with the rest of us" (p. 157).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So it should come as no great surprise that the Atticus of <i>Go Set a Watchman</i> is less than satisfying as a white antiracist role model. By today's standards the antiracism of <i>To Kill a Mockingbird </i>and of the character Atticus Finch are weak at best. That's why we need to stop reading the novel through the lens of today's standards. Instead, we should view it and its sequel for what they are: stories of how white people dealt with race during a time when white supremacy was assumed, even by the authors of those stories.<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>
Marianne Modicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13654063420243244070noreply@blogger.com0