There were several sources and/or authors cited by the Reverend. Could I get more information on these sources for further reading?
--Nikole Hannah-Jones. (Waterloo native, Pulitzer-prize winning journalist.)
--White Fragility (Robin DiAngelo)
--White Rage (Carol Anderson)
--The Great Spiritual Migration (Brian D McLaren)
--“The American Dream and the American Negro,” and “White Man’s Guilt” in The Price of the Ticket (James
Baldwin)
--The Color of Compromise (Jemar Tisby)
--Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (Waterloo & Cedar Falls). Community Development, City
Government.
--Institute on Assets and Social Policy. Brandeis University.
--Poor People’s Campaign – Rev. William J Barber (just google it). This is representative of the unfinished
work of Dr. King – the task of tackling economic injustice and eradicating crippling poverty
How do we rewrite the history if it is part of inner being? No matter what race we are? I feel he is saying we have very little hope of change because of all our inner histories?
No, precisely because we carry this history around with us, we cannot escape this history. History in the present. It informs present day action. It obligates us to engage in deep societal change if we believe we’ve hurt, maimed, killed and “genocided” people. But therein lies the choice. Will Blacks continue to engage in acts of political resistance against white supremacy, racist institutions? Or will we assimilate (or capitulate)? Will Whites, who have historically done everything they can to protect their “wages of whiteness” or “privilege” begin to join forces with Blacks, Indigenous people and other people of color to change the world as we know it? Dismantle racism? Fight against white supremacy? What is the cost?
Hope is real, and the infinite possibility for societal transformation is upon us – again. What will we do with this moment?? I expressed my cynicism, not because of our “inner histories,” but because historically we as community like to engage in superficial changes and not deep, radical change that Dr. King called for. For instance, corporations like to buy chrome books for students, universalizing the educational experience, so to speak, but those kids don’t have access to broadband digital access when they go home. Hannah-Jones pointed out that every student in Detroit got chrome books – and they are still performing poorly as a collective. The point: Too often we attack symptoms of larger systemic issues (poverty, lack of access to meaningful healthcare) and think that we are really doing something. One writer once said: If you want to keep the status quo, you must give the impression of change in order to keep things the same.
How do we inspire educational achievement for African Americans specifically? To me this will rewrite history the fastest. by improving income and wealth disparities. In my family it truly started with the parents. How do we inspire parents who do not have enough food to feed their children to have their children be educationally successful? And more successful than the parent?
Education attainment certainly plays a role in improving income for individual families. But the larger issue is the vast wealth and income inequity that exists in community. At the risk of over-simplifying, one cannot attain a good education if she is always irritated because she’s hungry, or because the bed she sleeps on is uncomfortable, or because she is playing a care taker role for both parent and siblings, and the burden is overwhelming for a child….Individuals are making the capitalist dream work for them. But the scores of people who are not are really being shut out of the system.
Why can’t we create a world where everyone thrives? Why do some in Atlanta have to be the recipient of Tyler Perry’s charity for free groceries or a car? Why can’t everyone who needs extra groceries or anyone who needs a car get one? Why does Bill Gates provide scholarships for a select few students –who typically are already doing well!- - as opposed to providing everyone with a free education? Especially if we believe that educational attainment is a great equalizer, to some degree?? I don’t necessarily agree with that, but, for the sake of argument.
Last Update: 07.22.20