What's "wrong" with this story?

Here's a brief quiz for you to try out.

Recently this story received some attention in Jacksonville FL.

Local Teacher's Run-In With Homeland Security Creates Insecurities

Click on the link above and read the story. The focus of the story is obviously Homeland Security, but see if you recognize anything else about the story, something not mentioned but certain comments hint at...

Now click on this link.

Racial slurs and Rape incident

ABC News:

Forty-six players of the No. 2 ranked Duke University lacrosse team have submitted DNA samples to police amid allegations of sexual assault at an off-campus party during spring break. Police are investigating the claim of a woman who says she was raped, beaten and strangled at an East Campus party hosted by the Duke lacrosse team on March 13

NewsObserver:

He recalled the racially charged statements at least one man was yelling at the victim. “When I was outside, one guy yelled at her, ‘… Thank your grandpa for my cotton shirt,’ ” Bissey said. After a few minutes, everything seemed to calm down, he said. One of the women headed back into the house, saying she forgot her shoes. Days later, Bissey learned one of the young women reported being raped.

Sports Illustrated:

There have been angry protests in Durham and on the Duke campus for several days since the alleged incident was made public, indicating that there were existing racial, sexual and athlete-student (not to be confused with the nefarious term “student-athlete'’) tensions long before March 13.

Invisibility of racism

Author Peggy McIntosh has come up with a theory that relates to color blind racism called "The Invisible Knapsack". This theory states that many of us who are white and not poor experience a whole set of priviledges that are not available to those of color and the poor. As we awknowledge these special priviledges, we can begin to dispel them and live on more fair footing with the rest of society. This is called "unpacking the invisible knapsack". Some of these priviledges are as follows:


1. I can, if I wish, arrange to be in the company of people of my race most
of the time.
2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and
who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.
3. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing
housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.
4. I can be reasonably sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral
or pleasant to me.
5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, fairly well assured that I will not
be followed or harassed by store detectives.
6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see
people of my race widely and positively represented.
7. When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am
shown that people of my color made it what it is.
8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify
to the existence of their race.
9. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on
white privilege.
10. I can be fairly sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the
only member of my race.
1 1. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another woman’s voice in
a group in which she is the only member of her race.
12. I can go into a book shop and count on finding the writing of my race represented,
into a supermarket and find the staple foods that fit with my cultural
traditions, into a hairdresser’s shop and find someone who can deal
with my hair.
13. Whether I use checks, credit cards, or cash, I can count on my skin color
not to work against the appearance that I am financially reliable.
14. I could arrange to protect our young children most of the time from
people who might not like them.
15. I did not have to educate our children to be aware of systemic racism for
their own daily physical protection.
16. I can be pretty sure that my children’s teachers and employers will tolerate
them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about
them do not concern others’ attitudes toward their race.
17. I can talk with my mouth full and not have people put this down to my
color.
18. I can swear, or dress in secondhand clothes, or not answer letters, without
having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty,
or the illiteracy of my race.
19. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race
on trial.
20. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to
my race.
2 1. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
22. I can remain oblivious to the language and customs of persons of color
who constitute the world’s majority without feeling in my culture any
penalty for such oblivion.
23. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies
and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.
24. I can be reasonably sure that if I ask to talk to “the person in charge,” I
will be facing a person of my race.
25. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be
sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race.
26. I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys,
and children’s magazines featuring people of my race.
27. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling
somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out of place, outnumbered, unheard,
held at a distance, or feared.
28. I can be pretty sure that an argument with a colleague of another race
is more likely to jeopardize her chances for advancement than to jeopardize
mine.
29. I can be fairly sure that if I argue for the promotion of a person of another
race, or a program centering on race, this is not likely to cost me heavily
within my present setting, even if my colleagues disagree with me.
30. If I declare there is a racial issue at hand, or there isn’t a racial issue at
hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person
of color will have.
3 1. I can choose to ignore developments in minority writing and minority activist
programs, or disparage them, or learn from them, but in any case, I
can find ways to be more or less protected from negative consequences of
any of these choices.
32. My culture gives me little fear about ignoring the perspectives and powers
of people of other races.
3 3. I am not made acutely aware that my shape, bearing, or body odor will be
taken as a reflection on my race.
34. I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or selfseeking.
35. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my
co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my race.
36. If my day, week, or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode
or situation whether it has racial overtones.
37. I can be pretty sure of finding people who would be willing to talk with
me and advise me about my next steps, professionally.
38. I can think over many options, social, political, imaginative, or professional,
without asking whether a person of my race would be accepted or
allowed to do what I want to do.
39. I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race.
40. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that people of my
race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen.
41. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work
against me.
42. I can arrange my activities so that I will never have to experience feelings
of rejection owing to my race.
43. If I have low credibility as a leader, I can be sure that my race is not the
problem.
44. I can easily find academic courses and institutions that give attention only
45. I can expect figurative language and imagery in all of the arts to testify to
46. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them
to people of my race.
experiences of my race.
more or less match my skin

Just something to think about as you go about trying to fight racism in everyday life.

Sharing our feelings

So, I had this idea.

When doing Anger Management type stuff and learning how to communicate, you learn a good structure to sharing your feelings:

"I feel.... when you..." and sometimes you throw in a "because..."

Inspired by a site where people make sort of collage-like postcards and send them into a website, I thought it would be really neat to do something similar using this 'sharing your feelings' structure, as it relates to RACISM.

For example:
"I feel like scum, when you write me off as another white male, because I have a unique experience too."

But, it would be much more creative and interesting if you used some artistic abilities and did a collage or something similar and sent them into to me.

UPDATE: We NOW have an Up and running website for this activity:

I Feel...When you...

Racial profiling at Walmart

It happens a lot of places and it rarely makes it in the papers.

What do you think about this one?

Suggested Resources

I have compiled a few resources that I have found to be helpful in understanding and dismantling racism:

Internet Sites:

Colorlines: www.colorlines.com
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People: www.naacp.org
Southern Poverty Law Center: www.splcenter.org
International Action Center: www.iacenter.org
Human Rights Watch: www.hrw.org
National Coalition on Race and Sports: www.aimovement.org/ncrsm/
Congress of Racial Equality: www.core-online.org

Books:

Racist America by Joe Feagin
Amazing Grace by Jonathan Kozol
Racism Without Racists by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
In the Name of Hate by Barbara Perry
Killing the Black Body by Dorothy Roberts
Black Boy, and Native Son by Richard Wright
The Black Image in the White Mind by Robert Entman and Andrew Rojecki
Peoples History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Movies:

Crash
American History X
Slam
Amistad
Mosters Ball
House of Sand and Fog
Do the Right Thing
Glory
Higher Learning
The Color Purple
The Joy Luck Club
Lackawanna Blues
and of course, Roots
*please keep in mind that some movies on this list have racist subject matter but have redeeming qualities in that they provoke thought and discussion related to race

Color Blind Racism: Part 2

Anti-black images are a staple of color blind racism. Without these sub-conscious images constantly bombarded at us, it would be hard to maintain racist ideology through generations. The media (and by media I mean all facets- movies, music, sports, news, television programs, etc.) plays a major role in perpetuating such images. Think for a second about what immediately comes to mind when you hear the following words: welfare queen, high-crime neighborhood, drug dealer, economically disadvantaged, and ghetto. I can imagine that at least one word in that list conjured up an image of a black person, if not all the words in the list. These are ways in which the media is able to further separate the black and white divide without obvious racist intentions. A second proponent of racism is the idea that as an individual, "I am not racist." This is entirely untrue. In our society every one has been socialized at some point to think in racialized terms. Most people think of racists as KKK members, or even an individual who openly discriminates. Yet as a white person, one has the ability to not take their race into account in everyday interactions which leads to the dangerous view that racism is dead. Racist attitudes can be conscious, sub-consious, or even half-conscious (only in certain situations for example).
Well, if everyone is racist to some degree, what exactly can be done?
There are many ways to fight racism within yourself and with others on an everyday basis:

1. Watch movies, sports, news, and listen to music with critical ears and eyes. Think about white girls who are kidnapped who are in the National headlines, then think about how many black girls go missing that we hear about. Think about what news anchors are really saying when they use terms that conjure up racial imagery (I.E.. Ghetto, welfare queens,violent crime, high-crime neighborhood, black suspect, etc.) Pay attention to how black women are portrayed in the media: are they treated like sexual objects? Think about interracial loves scenes in movies, do they even exist? Think about how black actors are portrayed. There are many ways to keep your mind open to racist behaviors in the media, and once you start to catch on you'll soon notice it's everywhere!

2. Ask questions. The best way to counter racist thoughts, comments, and jokes is to ask a person why they would say what they said. Many people will find that in their explanation, they will discover the racist intentions behind their comments if they haven't already. This helps to breach the topic with those close to you without the other person reacting with anger or in self defense.

3. Become informed! I cannot stress this point enough. Read up on the origins of racism, slavery, discrimination, and prejudice. A few of my favorite authors who have repeatedly attacked racism with literature include Joe Feagin, Jonathan Kozol, Howard Zinn, and Richard Wright among others. Some are more in-depth than others, and some teach important lessons about racism through fictional stories. What ever you do to educate yourself, just make sure you get information from many sources and not just the history books that we use in our school system.

4. Discuss racial issues with those around you. Once you delve into yourself and can openly see racist mentality implanted since birth, tell others. The likelihood of change increases as these issues are discussed more, especially in the public forum.

5. Become an active member in an anti-racist organization. Many organizations hold workshops, have open forums for discussion, and supply literature on how to combat racism in everyday life. Many people have been changed for the better because of activities sponsored by these organizations. Check on the internet for organizations near you.

6. Remember that dismantling racism takes a lot of time and energy. It's hard to change years of socialized thinking over night. It won't be easy, and it will undoubtedly make a person uncomfortable, but the only way anything is ever changed is by stepping out of your comfort zone. Stand up when you see discrimination happening, but also be aware that there are consequences for those in our society who go against the norm. Everyone can contribute to change, it just takes a little time.

Color Blind Racism: Part 1

"I never owned a slave, so I'm not a racist"

"I don't see color, I just see people"

"There's no more segregation and everyone gets along, so why do we even need to talk about racism?"

"I have lots of friends who are black, so I'm not racist"

Sounds familiar? These are phrases that stem from the idea of Color Blind Racism. Color Blind Racism is the new form of racism that exists in our society. This form is discreet, it is hidden, it isn't the KKK, or slavery, or even legal segregation. This is the belief that everyone is the same and we should just treat everyone the same rather than promote programs that make special opportunities for people of color. Color Blind Racism is just as damaging as overt racism, and has just as real consequences for people of color. Part two will cover the ramifications of color blind racism, examples of color blind racism at work, and how to confront color blind racism in everyday life.

Origins of Racism

The origins of racism belong to of course slavery and class struggle. The ruling elites who created this country complete with the bill of rights and constitution decided it in their best interest to make sure that poor whites and slaves did not join together to topple the newly founded government and racism as we know it was born. Nat's Rebellion was a catalyst to the idea. To this day, racism prevents lower class blacks and whites from joining together to work for what is best in their class interest. If everyone who is suppressed managed to overcome their differences, they'd change the entire country. For more complete information feel free to contact myself, or read Racist America by Joe R. Feagin.