Hellobee Boards

My thoughts are pessimistic, unfortunately. We live in such a racist country I honestly have no idea what it would take.

What I am doing in my personal life is unfollowing a bunch of racist a-holes on Facebook. Not a widespread solution, of course, but it certainly feels right.

@meredithNYC: I'm doing the same. I unfriended a lot of people last night and will continue to do it. I'm okay with people having differing opinions but I'm not okay with blatantly racist memes being posted.

Personally, I think education regarding privilege, power, and inequality in this country needs to be more widespread. I didn't have my wake up call until I went to grad school, which was way too late in my opinion. We can't change anything if we don't start to educate people on why things are they way they are.

This case was eye opening for me in many ways. I honestly just want to spread compassion. That's all I can personally do - and raise my children to be loving, compassionate individuals.

@Freckles: Agreed. I don't think it is something we as a country can't eventually move past though. In terms of historical time frames, the American Civil Rights Movement was fairly recent. If you look at in comparison to the hundreds of years of hatred and prejudice against African Americans it makes it "easier" (for lack of a better term) to see why we, as a country, haven't completely moved past it.

I do not consider myself a racist at all. However, I openly admitted in the previous thread that I have some ingrained prejudices that I am working on moving past. I live in one of the most dangerous cities in America. Due to that fact, I am hyper-aware of my surrounding when I walk through the city alone at night. There have been instances, that I am not proud of, when I have instinctively grabbed my bag a little closer when a young-ish African American male is approaching me. I HATE that I have done that, and it something that I am working towards personally. Admittedly, I have done the same when a white male is approaching me, but, if I am honest with myself, I probably didn't have the same feelings of threat. So, I think the easiest thing we can do as individuals is to examine our own ingrained prejudices and work to move past them.

I also think that society as a whole needs to be better educated on both personal and institutional racism. African American history should be included in our school curriculum with the same amount of frequency as Caucasian history. I taught history, and had to go way above and beyond to locate my own sources and materials to make my classroom culturally responsive for all students. I know many teachers just follow the state curriculum, which mainly includes slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, and I think that is teaching our kids that black history is not as important as white history.

We also need to work on ways to break the cycle of poverty. Schools in impoverished areas are underfunded. The turnover rate is high and the schools lack basic materials. The kids are more likely to drop out of school and thus more likely to stay in a lower income bracket. There should be more programs to help empower students and keep them off the streets. We need to find ways to help the younger generation succeed.

I also think that voting is HUGE.

@Ra: when teaching black history it's important to start in Africa not just the middle passage when blacks came over in chains. Back students should be afforded the same opportunity to have pride in their history.

@Ra: this. Breaking the cycle of poverty is key. But watching my city "grow" into something best represented by Taylor Swift, and hearing what goes on in big and small government, I don't have a lot of hope for this town or this country.

@mrsjazz: I get so irritated when people start spouting off stats on black people and incarceration rates without understanding WHY. These aren't the greatest links as they're from HuffPo but just a couple of examples: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/17/racial-disparity-drug-use_n_3941346.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/van-jones/are-blacks-a-criminal-rac_b_8398.html

@Ra: I completely agree. I feel like so many reactions I've seen are coming from a place of complete ignorance of what it is like to be a POC in America, and the institutionalized racism that makes up the bigger picture. As a white woman, I of course cannot comprehend it myself, but I try to educate myself and not be blinded by my privilege.

I also have hope for eventual positive outcomes from the protests. It is easy to look at moments of violence and label it all as rioting, but the same thing happened during the civil rights movement. These events may be looked back on very differently.

Looking at other news sources other than mainstream television is vital. There are people on the streets providing play-by-play information that is incredibly important.

@Anagram: Agreed on all points.

Can I just say how much I appreciate this thread? I've been so filled with anger when on fb and other social media today. It is so refreshing to read the ideas of others trying to find ways to create positive change.

@anagram- I love that training idea! Totally looking into that more.
We need to start putting more $$ into education (including mandatory pre-K for all, start young so all kids have a chance to start Kindergarden on a level playing field-- not just those whose parents can afford fancy pre-K) and developing mentor/role model programs for under-represented populations. Instead we put tons of $$ later to support incarceration and its a cycle that is hard to break.
Pay teachers more and develop programs that encourage students of color to want to be teachers and be a positive impact on young people's development.
Instead of funding Pell Grants, the govt should put the $$ to help ALL families start 529 plans for their kids. Studies have shown that starting a college savings plan helps the student to show you believe in them and expect they will attend higher ed. Even if they are first gen.
I believe that education is the one thing that can hopefully help-- I work on campus that believes in diversity. It is amazing how young minds can be shaped when having real interactions with all races, socio-economic groups, sexual orienation, religion-- it truly does open minds and change lives.
The College Board is a great advocate of supporting young black men and providing access (I don't work for them). I am truly inspired by some of the work they do and it encourges me that there is still hope for the future.

I can talk more openly and comfortably with my students about race issues. I can learn to facilitate positive discussions about race in our country instead of shying away.
I generally avoid it, in part because I am the only or one of the only white people at all of my job sites and I don't want to misstep. But my students are hungry to talk about these issues and typically less offensive/defensive than adults. They ask me things like would I let my LO date a Native American and what do I think of Catholics like they are asking me to pass the salt, lol.

@meredithNYC: all around New Mexico. My students are predominantly Native American, Hispanic of Spanish descent (those families have been here for centuries) and Hispanic of Mexican descent (both new comers and those who have lived here for generations). I don't think I have any Caucasian students this year.
They talk openly about racism in the Native communities (the more full-blooded NA you are, the better) and many of the old world Hispanic families are prejudiced against the newer immigrants. And they always talk about how racist white people are. In an odd twist, my students sometimes have questions/comments (some very prejudiced) about African Americans because there are not many in central/northern NM. I'm from St. Louis and it blows their minds that the ethnic diversity there is so different from what they know.
PS- I walled you

@lizzywiz: I don't think it's odd that Hispanics and Native Americans hold prejudices against black people. Black & brown are not always on the same side.

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: oh, I meant that it was weird that they were asking old, white me about African Americans

@teawithpaloma-- I recently went to a College Board Forum and we got a sneak preview of this amazing program they partnered with called the First-Gen Roadtrip http://roadtripnation.com/index.php
We got to meet the first 4 participants and the stories are so amazing and inspirational.
I came home feeling like I have faith these young people can change things.

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: "Black students should be afforded the same opportunity to have pride in their history."

I have learned a lot about this issue for Native Americans. In my work, I have met amazing Native American activist women who taught me about food sovereignty, the decolonization of native peoples and the reclamation of their history, both the good and bad.
It has been fascinating and humbling to realize that when a people are discussed only in terms of what has been done to them (as well meaning outsiders might do when sharing a people's history) we are perpetuating the myth of stigma and victimization.

Being honest with ourselves about our biases and (even the most subtle of) racist tendencies. Examining why we feel that way, then actively working to change them. I really don't think anything will ever change without doing this. Too many people I know deny they are racist, yet make remarks or behave in a way that would indicate otherwise.

I am undecided on body cams, but I do think the cars should have cameras.

@looch: I'm glad you posted.We have lived in a diverse part of town, more low income than not, been the minority race where we live and work for 15 years. Mostly happily. But the schools here are absolute crap and I have 2 years to figure out where we're going to send my daughter. I feel strongly that the way to develop open mindedness is to expose yourself to diversity and ideas that challenge your own. How can she do that if we moved to homogeneous neighborhood? and how does that help improve the schools in the area we live in now? it's just running away from the problem.