It is not my intent to demonize police officers—it is not fair. They are but small parts of the larger issue. Humanizing them is one of the things that the Community Police Relations Project has helped me to do. Working and hearing of cases of racial profiling can easily lead one to think that all cops are bad but the reality is that their actions are a result of the way in which they’ve been socialized. I find policies and laws that perpetuate these stereotypes and prejudices that facilitate racial profiling to be infuriating.
Recently, police harassment cases have been shown some light, as presented in a previous post. The Cypher that was part of last month’s Trolley night led to a chain of events that has reawakened the Memphis United group. Started in January, as a response to the planned rally by the KKK, organizations, groups, and individuals collaborated and committed to create an event “to engage in self-reflection, dialogue, education, training, and non-violent action to collectively re-envision and recreate our region as a fully welcoming and nurturing community” (Memphis United Facebook description). The Cypher incident happened on Trolley night, yet a few days prior a group of H.O.P.E. (Homeless Organizing for Power and Equality) members were harassed and arrested outside a weekly meeting at the Manna House on Jefferson. The previous evening, another H.O.P.E. member was banned from a public building downtown for attempting to use a public restroom. These events in addition to the various attempts by the police to prevent The Bridge vendors to sell copies of The Bridge (even though a permit was filed to allow the sale of the paper), resulted in a letter and series of upcoming actions led by members of Memphis United (scheduled for Dec. 17th if anyone is still in town).
These cases are few of the many that happen everyday due to the relationship of community and police relations which is why I have been attending and helping to facilitate CPR forums these past few months. Through the forums I have seen and had the privilege to listen to community members and the police express their interactions on the streets of Memphis. There are plans to create a ‘Plan of Action’ that will be presented to the City of Memphis, but my question to you all is, what would it take to improve community-police relations in Memphis (in addition to these forums)? Have you seen any other attempts similar to the CPR Project? What of the community members that aren’t able to attend the forums but have rich experiences and information that would be valuable to the project?
Ronald Weitzer, "Racialized Policing: Residents' Perceptions in Three Neighborhoods"
https://www.facebook.com/MemphisUnited?ref=br_tf
http://wreg.com/2013/10/24/neighbors-say-they-witnessed-police-brutality/
http://www.wmctv.com/story/23811561/rappers-claim-police-overacted-to
http://wreg.com/2013/11/16/memphis-group-works-to-end-police-harassment-and-profiling/
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Do You Know Why The Caged Bird Sings?
One school in Maryland has assigned students 3 books to help them learn about the Civil Rights Movement and the attitudes and relationships between whites and blacks. These 3 books are I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, The Help, and The Secret Life of Bees. 2 of these books are written by white women, and can not accurately portray the opinions and emotions that were felt by black women during this time period. Only one, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, is a narrative written by a black women, and thus is the only that can be appropriate to be used to teach about the civil rights movement. I know, from my own personal experience, that my high school uses The Secret Life of Bees, to teach about the period, and I remember at the time thoroughly enjoying the book. But also, I thought that it was an accurate depiction of race relations and that is exactly why this is a problem. We already know that children in our school system fall prey to the ‘master narrative’ that is presented to them in our textbooks, so why would we exacerbate that problem even further by giving them novels to read that are also inaccurate?
Some argue that these books, while not the most accurate, are spurring an interest in history, and the period, among students that otherwise would not have cared. These novels are engaging and endearing-they draw the reader in with their happy endings. While they may encourage children in school to actually read them instead of turning to sparknotes, how likely is it really that they will then look elsewhere for more information? These stories, with their positive endings are not in anyway representative of what actually happened, so if we present them as the truth it is likely that is what will stick with these kids for the rest of their lives.
It is not as if other viable alternative do not exist. Why not restrict the reading to just Maya Angelou, or include Alice Walker in the list of options? Why is American history afraid of listening to black women’s voices?
What do you think? Is it ever okay to give these books to our children, and present them as accurate, if it may spur further interest in the period-or is it too much of an injustice?
Class Struggle on Campus
I stumbled across this article and it is very interesting: http://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2013/11/27/the-challenge-of-being-poor-at-americas-richest-colleges/
The articles goes into detail about low-income kids on campuses with wealthier students. It reminded me of a talk I went to where our very own Anita Davis was talking about her campus climate surveys. She was saying that in the surveys, they don't get nearly as many race difference complaints as her office does class issues. Low income students feel very uncomfortable when the people surrounding them come from more economically advantageous backgrounds.
This is a very touchy topic, so I'll pick my words carefully. But has the race difference evolved into more of a class difference. What is a student to do when everyone around them wears designer things and goes on expensive outings? Is it even the responsibility of a college to dictate the climate around socioeconomic status of students. Is it the responsibility of the school to accept a more financially diverse student body?
I don't know. I just found it interesting to think about.
The articles goes into detail about low-income kids on campuses with wealthier students. It reminded me of a talk I went to where our very own Anita Davis was talking about her campus climate surveys. She was saying that in the surveys, they don't get nearly as many race difference complaints as her office does class issues. Low income students feel very uncomfortable when the people surrounding them come from more economically advantageous backgrounds.
This is a very touchy topic, so I'll pick my words carefully. But has the race difference evolved into more of a class difference. What is a student to do when everyone around them wears designer things and goes on expensive outings? Is it even the responsibility of a college to dictate the climate around socioeconomic status of students. Is it the responsibility of the school to accept a more financially diverse student body?
I don't know. I just found it interesting to think about.
An Emotional Rant on Truth
In class, we have discussed
some of the negative stigmas and ideas that have wrongly and unfairly
characterized people of color. This is an issue that I have grown to be
passionate about the more I’ve witnessed this theme that seems to overarch our
society, thus Rhodes College. It was not until recently that I found these
ideas to be much of an issue to try to critically analyze. There is a single
instance that perplexed and then infuriated me: I was having a conversation
with a friend about her descent, and she let a group of us know that she came from
a white, Louisianan mother and father from Egypt. Needless to say, My interest
was piqued, and in that moment I felt this indescribable, abstract connection
to her because she seemed so proud to say that she was half Egyptian. She told me
all about how her father makes an effort to visit Egypt often. Based on what
she was telling me, I asked her, “Does your family stick to any African
traditi-, “she interjected, “wait. I’m not African.” This threw me through the
tightest and most uncomfortable loop. She admitted she knew that Egypt was an
African country, but she didn’t consider herself an African. I finally broke
down and asked her if she was ashamed of the African label. Also needless to
say, I did not get a straight answer to that question.
I can
understand that this may not have been the most crucial occurrence but, I
cannot ignore the gaping hole of the delusion (this all in love) that causes
her to deliberately reject her African descent. Consequently, I can only
attribute her indignity to the internalized criticism of people of color in
general, not just those of America. The color of my skin holds so much weight.
The issue is greater than white privilege, overt racism, or institutionalized
discrimination. I believe that now the real underlying matter is untruth.
Frankly, I have lost patience with, what I believe is now, conscious disregard
for the truth. This is the truth: the only thing that separates me from my
white counterparts may be our diverging lifestyles, ideas, and internal and
physical characteristics- which also sets me apart from my African-American,
Indian, Mexican, or Asian neighbor. When America or humanity makes itself
available to the truth, an apparent change will take place. The barrier that we
have to break, however, is that we have to not be afraid of our comfortable
surfaces falling through. The more surfaces we break and fall through, the
closer to truth we get. This is not a scholarly writing, but in that regard, I
hope that my sincerity is taken to heart.
City of Memphis vs. Greene
This summer, I learned the reasoning behind why West Drive in
the Hein Park Neighborhood just east of Rhodes did not connect to Jackson
Avenue like most other streets—a 1981 lawsuit that went all the way to the US
Supreme Court. In the City of Memphis vs. Greene, the residents of Hein Park,
one hundred percent white, stated their reasons for wanting West Drive blocked
at Jackson were to reduce traffic flow through the small subdivision, increase
safety to children and students walking to school, and reduce litter, noise,
and pollution in their community as a result of the traffic. The plaintiffs’
argument said that the blocking was a violation of property rights and had a
racially discriminatory intent, as the overwhelmingly majority of residents
north of Hein Park were black. The Supreme Court held the closing valid, saying
that it did not support the Court of Appeals decision of invalidity due to
“adversely affecting respondents’ ability to hold and enjoy their property.”
There was no injury under Section 1982 of the Civil Rights Act.
A few years
ago, again in Memphis, history did not repeat itself. Residents near Goodwyn
Street proposed to have a barrier placed between the entrance of their affluent
neighborhood and the poorer, black neighborhoods south near Southern Avenue. The
Land Use Control Board denied the request. Of course, there were plenty of
obvious reasons from a traffic and city planning standpoint as to the denial,
but the race question was still brought up. Over twenty-five years after the highest
courts ruled a Memphis neighborhood street closing legal, a similar situation
had the opposite outcome. In Memphis’s largely segregated neighborhoods, does a
street closing allegedly restricting access to property violate civil rights? Do
you think the Supreme Court’s decision in 1981 was correct?
Why hasn't Black Demography Changed?
Before reading the article, "Living Apart: How the Government Betrayed a Landmark Civil Rights Law," I first looked an an interactive map at the top of the page. It was a map of the US and highlighted, by percentage, the black population living in areas of the US. As you scrolled across, the map changed, showing movement of this population across the years (1890-2010). At first the results were as expected, in the 1820 map the black population was solid 80+% in the south and east of the US. However, as I moved across the map, a interesting change, or better, lack of changed, startled me. Throughout he 1900's and even into 2010, the black population was still overwhelmingly concentrated in the south and east. While it was not a solid 80+%, it still had very concentrated pockets in these areas. We have discussed a number of limits to the mobility of back people from moving out of the south--such as money, family, home-pride, bonded labor, etc--but to see that the majority of the population has not more evenly dispersed across the country is baffling. This puzzle led me to the remainder of the article.
One of the main historically influenced discussed that possibly caused this lack of migration was the failure of the Federal government. Presidential tenures repeatedly denied, avoided, or delayed numerous movements to end segregation. A large example was President Nixon's administration declining to fight segregation and enforce Federal law and programs. President Obama is quoted saying that this could have cut segregation in half had the original effects/intents been successful. Additionally, the Obama administration has held a higher accountability for enforcing anti-segregation practices and has even denied federal funding to cities for their failure to meet desegregation efforts.
This brings me to a pondering thought, because of this failure of previous administrations, what will it take to be effective in overcoming lingering segregation? I found an interesting project done which colored certain cities by ethnicity and Memphis was one of the selected cities. It is evident in Memphis and in the other cities in the project that racial segregation, whether influenced by institutions, culture, economics, etc, still readily exist even in some of the biggest cities in the country.
Living Apart Article: http://www.propublica.org/article/living-apart-how-the-government-betrayed-a-landmark-civil-rights-law
Images of Cities colored by race (2010 census): http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/5560473024/
One of the main historically influenced discussed that possibly caused this lack of migration was the failure of the Federal government. Presidential tenures repeatedly denied, avoided, or delayed numerous movements to end segregation. A large example was President Nixon's administration declining to fight segregation and enforce Federal law and programs. President Obama is quoted saying that this could have cut segregation in half had the original effects/intents been successful. Additionally, the Obama administration has held a higher accountability for enforcing anti-segregation practices and has even denied federal funding to cities for their failure to meet desegregation efforts.
This brings me to a pondering thought, because of this failure of previous administrations, what will it take to be effective in overcoming lingering segregation? I found an interesting project done which colored certain cities by ethnicity and Memphis was one of the selected cities. It is evident in Memphis and in the other cities in the project that racial segregation, whether influenced by institutions, culture, economics, etc, still readily exist even in some of the biggest cities in the country.
Living Apart Article: http://www.propublica.org/article/living-apart-how-the-government-betrayed-a-landmark-civil-rights-law
Images of Cities colored by race (2010 census): http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/5560473024/
Thoughts in a Theater: Owning "Our" History
Reading through blog posts over the past month or so, I was
happy to see how many of us have seen 12
Years a Slave. So must of us understand the movie’s subject material and
have felt moved by it, described it, and recommended it as honest, necessary,
tough, thought-provoking, etc. However, I am curious to know if others had a
similar viewing experience as I did. About a month ago, a friend and I decided
to see it on a Friday night. Naturally, it was packed early on, and we found
two seats in the very front section. As it has been all semester, this class
came into mind as I looked around the dimming theater and saw mostly African
American faces. There seemed to be a group of ladies sitting directly behind us
as well.
As much as
I would have liked it to been, the theater did not stay quiet for long. At
certain points in the movie, the audience would collectively gasp, clap, yell,
and holler at the screen at the extremely emotional scenes…even at some points,
I believe, that were inappropriate to encourage. For example, when Northup is
building a wooden structure and comments that if it was done wrong, there was
something wrong with the instructor, the overseer attempts to physically punish
him. And, rightfully so, Northup defends himself. However, as the fine line
between self-defense and violence may have been crossed (as Northup continues
to violently beat and kick the supervisor), most of the audience cheered him
on. This fact stuck with me more than the scene had to offer, as did the ladies
behind me.
One lady
decided to voice her opinions throughout the entire film, and naturally, a few
surrounding her were not happy. As another woman directly on my left turned and
politely asked her if she could quiet down, that she was disturbing others
trying to watch, the lady responded with, “I can say whatever the hell I want—I
ain’t a slave no more.” She was black, and the woman in front was white.
This was
one of the major points of discussion with my friend as we exited the theater.
How much of the past can today’s African Americans take ownership? Can I own
that history just as much, as it is a part of my history as well? How many
years go by if this “ownership” varies with time…i.e., Civil War vs. Civil
Rights? Just a few thoughts…
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