Generational Activism

Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter movement documentary shows the progression of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and how it gained social media attention. It shows how the movement got to where it is today and how it gained momentum. Today, Black Lives Matter is such a huge topic of conversation in politics, media, and everyday life. It is important to acknowledge that this movement has had a long and hard history to get the attention it has today. The protests, the burning of buildings, the marching has been happening for years now. More recently we have been hearing names such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. But it is important to remember that the movement began with people like Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Tamir Rice. 

Even before the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement was the Civil Rights movement. Even after the Civil Rights era, inequities are still VERY present and activism didn't stop. Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter movement spoke about how young people on social media are are huge factors as to why the BLM movement has so much success. Some young people even were bashing older people at the protests for staying in their cars and not getting as involved. While some people may feel that this is strictly a young new movement, is that the beliefs of BLM as an organization? What if we learned from our elders activism and worked together, or are we already doing that at the leadership level? 

Mighty Times: The Children's March is another tv special documentary that starts much further back in Birmingham Alabama in 1963. The part of this documentary that really stuck with me was "D" Day in Birmingham. "D" Day of the Civil Rights movement was mainly attended by young people and children. These young people grew up and are still alive today. Are they still advocates for change? Are they active in the BLM movement? This led me to questions about Generational Activism and why young people seem to always be the forefront of any protest or movement. 

I found a really interesting article that looks at how generation plays a role on beliefs about many social issues such as climate change, the NFL protests, gender wage gaps, gender neutral pronouns, the government's role and size, etc. Below is the generations and how they are defined for the purposes of the data I was looking at.

One of the many studies conducted was asking people of different generations and political leanings if Black people are treated less fairly than White people. The results are shown below.

It is interesting to me that nearly the same percentage of Democrats recognize inequities across the generations. Republican responses range from 20%-43% in agreement that Black people are treated less fairly which is a large range. Of Republicans, younger people are more likely to recognize inequities than older generations. In terms of protesting and advocacy, this makes me question how politics plays a role in social movements like BLM and what will happen as Millennials and Generation Z get older and have more roles in politics. In terms of this data, it's hard to tell if Republicans beliefs changing to become more conservative as they get older, or if their beliefs have been stagnant and the younger people are learning more.

 

Examined Life

Examined Life is a YouTube video following two people, Judith Butler and Sanaura Taylor, as they walk through San Fransisco and engage in a conversation about ability and physical impairment. Judith Bulter is a famous philosopher asking questions and educating herself on ability. Sanaura is woman who is diagnosed with arthrogryposis. The way that this interview was conducted reminds me of a man named Christopher Ulmer who used to be a special educator who now runs a YouTube channel and non-profit organization called "Special Books by Special Kids". He interviews children about their disabilities and what it is like to be in their shoes. It is a very kid friendly channel where you can get a glimpse of many different children with varying conditions and appreciate their diversity.

Sanaura had unique definitions of physical impairment and disability that I has not heard of in this way before. Sanaura said that her diagnosis was her physical impairment, and the disability was the political issue. The image below shows a similar idea of how there is a medical and social definition of disability and how they differ.

The intersection of gender expression and physical movement was also a unique viewpoint. Sanaura said that as a child she was told that she walked like a monkey and Judith told the story about the teenager that was thrown off a bridge for the way that he walked. They were talking about how abnormalities make people uncomfortable and that people will start to dehumanize something that they are not comfortable with, such as telling Sanaura that she walked like a monkey. This made me think of how we often call people that are brain dead "a vegetable". Is that also an inappropriate and dehumanizing phrase? I appreciate the view point and will have to continue to check myself to ensure that that language that I choose is appropriate. 

Ability seems to be one of the social issues that is often forgotten about. Able bodied individuals often forget the privilege that comes with their bodies. Hearing Sanaura say that she moved to San Fransisco because it was the most assessable city made me realize what is privilege it is to not have to consider things like that. 

As a teacher, I often think about ability in terms of academic ability and learning disabilities. I regularly plan lessons to ensure that my students are able to access the information I give them in the way that best works for them. Why don't we as a society also ensure that everyone is able to access information and physical spaces in the same way? 

Final Project Proposal

I am choosing option 3 which is as follows:

Choose a particular practice, policy, or educational discourse that is dominant or popular that impacts your work/field and write a critical analysis of it using ideas and arguments from at least three readings. A critical analysis considers how the object of investigation in your paper reinforces existing power relations and inequities, whether intentionally or unintentionally doesn’t matter. We’re concerned with impact. It asks Who benefits from this? Who harmed? How and Why?

I am choosing to investigate the education model of "intentional diversity". I work at Blackstone Valley Prep High School and our school is set up to be intentionally diverse. Blackstone Valley Prep is charter school trying a new system of education by bringing together students from different cities of Rhode Island (2 urban and 2 suburban) together in an intentional diverse school setting. By implementing this charter, we are actively going against the normal education system, but what are some inequities in the new system we have created? This topic directly affects my work and the students that I interact with. 

While writing my critical analysis I will use personal experience with caution to not get lost in storytelling. I will also use the reading, Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria by Tatum in order to analyze how "intentional diversity" could be used ineffectively and students call still associate with people of their like identities. I will also use some aspects of the Indian Boarding Schools by Bollinger to prove the point that lumping students of like identities and teaching them a white washed curriculum is not appropriate because of the possibility of deculturization. I also will touch on the idea that even though you are lumping together students coming from families of different race, ethnicity and income, there are still systematic things that have white people (especially white males) at an advantage. To help get this point across, I want to refer to the video called "The Unequal Opportunity Race".

"Intentional diversity" is going to be an interesting topic to analyze because the intention is clear and explicit. The impact will vary by implementation. The goal is for everyone to benefit and for no one to be harmed. The big question will be, "Does this actually work?". I will analyze my school and what works, and try to think of what could make it better. 

"I Am Not Your Negro- James Baldwin and Race in America"

"The story of the Negro in America, is the story of America. It is not a pretty story. What can we do? Well, I can tell you. I don't know how it will come about. It will be bloody. It will be hard. I still believe that we can do with this country, something that has never been done before. We are misled here because we think of numbers. You don't need numbers, but what we need, is passion." The quote is a James Baldwin quote narrated by Samuel L. Jackson in the documentary I Am Not Your Negro; James Baldwin and Race in America. The idealist in me would like to believe that George Floyd was the tipping of the iceberg and that change will begin to happen. James Baldwin was right. The protests will be bloody. The mission has been hard. I am conflicted by the almost "trendiness" factor of the current protests and movements (especially on social media platforms), but I am still glad to see people coming together for a common cause. Like James Baldwin wrote, the passion is important. The number of people advocating for Black Lives Matter movement right now is high. The passion in people is what will keep the movement going and make significant change. 

Also said in the documentary, "White people are astounded by Birmingham (in 1963). Black people are not... This is happening all over the country... There is no difference between Birmingham Alabama and Los Angelos." In the 1960's, white people were surprised by racism and police violence against the black community. In response to recent current events, I am noticing the similar reactions of many white people; shock. Just because this is new to white people, this is the everyday experience of black people in Birmingham, Los Angelos, and even Minneapolis, Minnesota.

At another point in the documentary, while Lorraine Hansberry was speaking to Robert Kennedy, she said that she was concerned about a civilization that produced a photograph of a white cop standing on a black woman's neck in Birmingham, Alabama. The documentary showed the photo of the woman on the ground, surrounded by white officers. The photos of George Floyd with a police officer kneeling on his neck, and the photo of a black woman with a police officer standing on her neck are eerily similar. In both photos, there are multiple police officers standing around the scene, seemingly okay with the actions that are taking place. These two photos are differing by almost 60 years, but the content is the same. The parallels are uncanny. How is it possible that this is still occurring? 

Lastly, after learning more about James Arthur Baldwin in the documentary, I was reading some of his poetry which can be found here. I appreciate, especially during pride month, his intersectionality advocacy work. Even though his sexuality was semi-mysterious, he has a large following of black, gay, authors who are inspired by him and his writing. 

White is NOT right

The two articles, Deculturalization and the Claim of Racial and Cultural Superiority by Anglo Americans by Joel Spring and The Indian Boarding Schools by Michelle Bollinger, share a theme of assimilation to white culture. Joel Spring highlights many different examples of what he calls "cultural genocide" dating as far back to the civil war and as recent as the racial motivated attack at Columbine. Bollinger describes a situation dating back to the 1870's of white people essentially forcing Native American children to assimilate to white dominant culture. The most recent article, Native Americans being left out of US coronavirus data and labeled as 'other' from The Guardian, shows that groups of people are still being forced to identify as 'other' rather than seeing their identities validated on a race breakdown selection. On a daily basis in our past, present, and future, we send subliminal messages (and some not so subliminal messages) that they "white way is the right way".

When talking about white assimilation and dominant white culture, it would be inappropriate to not mention the current events. George Floyd is the most recent victim of dominant white culture and white supremacy. After Floyd's wrongful death, this idea has become prominent again. All over the news, white people are telling black people the way they protest is wrong. The protesting is "too violent",  "too aggressive", or even "negating the mission of the peaceful protests". Many media outlets are shaming the current protests but refusing to acknowledge that the white way of peaceful protesting hasn't been working.

American history is filled with what Spring calls "cultural genocide". In education, we continue the narrative that "white is right" by teaching white US history, teaching theories and concepts created by white scientists and mathematicians, and having students read white literature.  COVID-19 and the pandemic is going to make history books in the future. If we are not collecting data on Native American COVID cases, how are teachers of the future supposed to teach Native American history and the racism and oppression they faced during this time? Again, we are only telling the white narrative and leaving entire populations feeling like they have no option but to assimilate or else they are "other-ed". 

Not only do we as teachers white wash or content, we expect students to act upon American norms. In schools we teach students how to communicate appropriately and we teach students how to respect their teachers and peers. Similarly to how the Native Americans were forced to act and speak english in the The Indian Boarding Schools article. Communication and respect are viewed differently among other cultures. In America, it may be considered disrespectful to not look someone in the eyes while they are speaking to you. In other cultures, it is very inappropriate to look into the eyes of an elder or teacher of higher status. Appropriate voice volume is also another norm in American culture. We may scold students for being too loud or yelling, but at home where they are more free to act upon their culture, they speak at a higher volume. 

As an educator of a students with a broad range of cultures and upbringings, I often have to step back and ask myself, "Am I contributing to white dominant culture?". Students face trauma every day being told that their way is wrong and they are sent the message that they should assimilate. Every decision I make as an educator impacts my students and I can pretend it doesn't. I can't give them any more trauma. Enough is enough, white is NOT right.