Thursday, November 24, 2016

Presidential Election Results and Effects

I found it helpful to read this the morning after the president election this year, I was incredibly sad:
Our Unknown Country by Paul Krugman, read here: nytimes.com

Dealing with the election of Donald Trump by Nathan J. Robinson


This is video is powerful. It isn't directly about the election, but is directly about racism that Trump's behavior is bringing even more to light.
How do you Identify Racism? The Angry Eye with Jane Elliott


We need to be prepared for increased racial attacks as some folks are feeling empowered to show racist behaviors. Here is A Bystander’s Guide to Standing up Against Islamophobic Harassment (and Other Types of Harassment, Too) by Maddy Myers.

We had a "No Racism in Natick Rally" on Nov. 19, 2016. See more about this rally, and why we had it, here in a Boston Globe article. My handmade sign "No racism. Full stop." was quoted in the article.


On the Saturday after the election, Saturday Night Live had Dave Chappelle on as the guest host. This is his stand-up monologue. I don't usually catch this show, but I wanted to see what they would do with the election results. They didn't disappoint. I like various things Dave Chappelle said, including, "We've been here before." and about the wording of Black Lives Matter not being the best, but that "MacDonald's already took: You deserve a break today."  The last works are also really poignant.


Spoken Word Artist: Jonathan Mendoza

I wrote this in October:
I could have heard Jonathan Mendoza at the Natick "Old Souls" open mic last Friday. We didn't go because of a long drive with a bad travel jam on the way back home from a parent visit.
I found many videos of him sharing his art online and I regret that I didn't go. I hope I can see him again another time.

Update:
I got to see Jonathan live last weekend! He was at the Dylongso Awards sharing "Brown Boy, White Boy." It was powerful. I said "hi" to him afterwards and shared that I watched many of his videos online and regreted not seeing him in Natick in October.

Here is another great piece by Jonathan Mendoza:
"Eggs"




Harry Potter and White Privilege

Here is a podcast audio recording from chapter 12 of The Mirror of Erised: listen here

Casper ter Kuile and Vanessa Zoltan are talking about the Invisibility Cloak and how it is a metaphor for white privilege.



Black Lives Matter!

This article is from the huffingtonpost.com:

The Real Reason White People Say ‘All Lives Matter’ 

Dear fellow white people, let’s have an honest talk about why we say “All Lives Matter.” First of all, notice that no one was saying “All Lives Matter” before people started saying “Black Lives Matter.” So “All Lives Matter” is a response to “Black Lives Matter.” Apparently, something about the statement “Black Lives Matter” makes us uncomfortable. Why is that?

Now some white people might say that singling out Black people’s lives as mattering somehow means that white lives don’t matter. Of course, that’s silly. If you went to a Breast Cancer Awareness event, you wouldn’t think that they were saying that other types of cancer don’t matter. And you’d be shocked if someone showed up with a sign saying “Colon Cancer Matters” or chanting “All Cancer Patients Matter.” So clearly, something else is prompting people to say “All Lives Matter” in response to “Black Lives Matter.”

read the rest of the article here



Marijuana and Racial Bias

Massachusetts recently had a ballot question to legalize marijuana. I was torn on how to vote. I was learning from neighborhood meetings that marijuana is really bad for the developing and learning minds of children and youth...and the law as written had many flaws. But I also know that black and brown youth are disproportionately arrested and enslaved (put in jail) due the criminalization of marijuana.

Read this link is from ACLU.org:

THE WAR ON MARIJUANA IN BLACK AND WHITE
Billions of Dollars Wasted on Racially Biased Arrests
read article here

and read also a very well researched book: The New Jim Crow, for more info.




Monday, November 21, 2016

Supporting Indigenous Peoples in various ways

National Day of Mourning is coming up this Thursday. While others celebrate Thanksgiving, I will be recognizing this day instead. Learn more here: www.uaine.org

How you can still support the National Day of Mourning even if you can’t come to Plymouth


Indigenous Peoples Day: more info here: www.indigenouspeoplesdayma.org


Support efforts against the Dakota Access Pipeline. This is the site I used to support the efforts of the protesters fighting for their sacred lands and fresh water. Water is life!: Sacred Stone Camp


How Non-Indigenous Activists Can Support Indigenous People by Kai Minosh: www.blackgirldangerous.org


Free Leonard Peltier. He has been unfairly imprisoned for 41+ years. Leonard Peltier needs to be released or get a fair trial. I just wrote to President Obama asking for this. Will you help? More info here on the website about freeing him: www.whoisleonardpeltier.info.
Here is the letter from Leonard Peltier for today's NDOM: Day of Mourning: Statement by Leonard Peltier. 24 Nov. 2016