I had lunch with Lorraine Wright. Catherine said she wanted to Zoom in for at least part of the time. Rebecca asked if there were some way she could come. I had to tell them no, it would just be Lorraine and me. If I were to give a take-away, just one way Lorraine changed me during our lunch, it would be that she pointed me to one of her favourite commentators, even sending me a link to Ana Navarro’s work on 19 Ways to Face Racism.
I took the article seriously, looking to find a way that I can do anti-racism work – not looking for work for others, but for myself to do the work.
In the “19 Ways to Face Racism” article is the following suggestion: “Read black literature, watch movies and documentaries about black America – titles like “12 Years a Slave”, “Roots”, “Malcom X”, “Selman”, “The Butler”, “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, and “The Loving Story”.
That sounds like something I can do in COVID-19 times.
I love film. I feel guilty about doing anti-racism work with tools that are so dear to me, dear in the sense that I know what a privilege both are: reading and watching film. I should be doing hard physical labour with an axe and a pick, but there it is for me – a way in to anti-racism work with tools I have and love.
I am going to use two other tools. One was given to me by Rebecca: a lesson about intellectual pedagogy. The 8 minute segment is just an offering to her students who want to see what their own work might look like when placed side by side with other theorists. She is teaching "How to do article summaries". I take that to mean film summaries as well.
I watched Rebecca’s you tube work quite a few times – once worrying about the “messiness” of her office. She reminded me that the work she does is complicated, that sometimes complicated may look messy to someone looking in from the outside. So I left that house keeping worry behind and decided to take one piece of foolscap and fully engage with some of the 40 films that the Cineplex is offering free right now. I am going to fill each paper with my own beliefs against the films I am seeing.
In a related way, I want to give voice here to my 10 years old self and what I was thinking then about race. This was in the late1940’s. At that time my church taught me that in a plan where Jesus would give his life to ensure all could have free will, those who sat on the fence, weren’t “all in” with God’s plan for Jesus, it is those who came to earth with a black skin. A cringe worthy teaching, but that is what I was taught.
At this point, the 2020’s, my church disavows that belief. It was a teaching of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints then that impacted me. I was afraid to look black people in the face. I knew they sat on the fence. I felt shame for them. If I were teasing this out, I might ask myself if there were an element of white superiority in that little 10-year-old, knowing about this fence-sitting attribute that caused a black skin. I don’t remember a feeling like that, though on reflection what else could it be. I had been taught, if blacks had just got off the fence and been on Jesus’s side, they would be white like me. Hard for me to write.
I didn’t articulate that feeling until this Sunday when I was speaking with other folks my age, who might at least know what it was like to have those beliefs as children. One person said that by the 1960’s they had already left that belief behind. So had I. But I was giving voice to the place where I will do some work. I will take on anti-racism work, look it square in the face, do some reading, some film watching, and some writing.
Arta
I took the article seriously, looking to find a way that I can do anti-racism work – not looking for work for others, but for myself to do the work.
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| The Hate U Give (2018) The first in a series of movies that I am going to watch about Black America |
That sounds like something I can do in COVID-19 times.
I love film. I feel guilty about doing anti-racism work with tools that are so dear to me, dear in the sense that I know what a privilege both are: reading and watching film. I should be doing hard physical labour with an axe and a pick, but there it is for me – a way in to anti-racism work with tools I have and love.
I am going to use two other tools. One was given to me by Rebecca: a lesson about intellectual pedagogy. The 8 minute segment is just an offering to her students who want to see what their own work might look like when placed side by side with other theorists. She is teaching "How to do article summaries". I take that to mean film summaries as well.
I watched Rebecca’s you tube work quite a few times – once worrying about the “messiness” of her office. She reminded me that the work she does is complicated, that sometimes complicated may look messy to someone looking in from the outside. So I left that house keeping worry behind and decided to take one piece of foolscap and fully engage with some of the 40 films that the Cineplex is offering free right now. I am going to fill each paper with my own beliefs against the films I am seeing.
In a related way, I want to give voice here to my 10 years old self and what I was thinking then about race. This was in the late1940’s. At that time my church taught me that in a plan where Jesus would give his life to ensure all could have free will, those who sat on the fence, weren’t “all in” with God’s plan for Jesus, it is those who came to earth with a black skin. A cringe worthy teaching, but that is what I was taught.
At this point, the 2020’s, my church disavows that belief. It was a teaching of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints then that impacted me. I was afraid to look black people in the face. I knew they sat on the fence. I felt shame for them. If I were teasing this out, I might ask myself if there were an element of white superiority in that little 10-year-old, knowing about this fence-sitting attribute that caused a black skin. I don’t remember a feeling like that, though on reflection what else could it be. I had been taught, if blacks had just got off the fence and been on Jesus’s side, they would be white like me. Hard for me to write.
I didn’t articulate that feeling until this Sunday when I was speaking with other folks my age, who might at least know what it was like to have those beliefs as children. One person said that by the 1960’s they had already left that belief behind. So had I. But I was giving voice to the place where I will do some work. I will take on anti-racism work, look it square in the face, do some reading, some film watching, and some writing.
Arta
I am at the lake. Location triggers old memories. You parenting in the 70s was my privilege. My 10-year-old self got to learn from a mom who had left behind racist teaching from her childhood. It would still be 2 more years before Spencer W Kimball would report receiving revelation that the restriction that only white men could have the preisthood. I knew that my parents disagreed with that restricton and the racist baggage accompanying it. Thank you for that childhood gift.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the reminder that the racist beliefs of our society are like weeds, and they require attention all of the time. you can't just think or wish the weeds out of a garden.
ReplyDeleteWatching the films about Black America doesn't seem like hard work. I have done 2 of them now. The work is picking up on the tip you gave me about article summaries. I am changing the pleasure of viewing to the work of making movie summaries -- not tellng about the plot, but writing down what is happening to me when I engage with the movie, the script, the director's viewpoint, etc. I have done two of the summaries now, Thanks for the short lesson on how to do that. I haven't used colour or line drawing as you have. I am waiting for that day to happen. I do have the felts and coloured pens by my side in case it just happens. And I am glad I don't have to share my summaries with others in the class. Now that would be raising a bar higher than I am ready for.
ReplyDelete