tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33459526291453799092024-03-13T20:29:53.181-07:00Whitewashed USAWe believe it’s time to cross the racial divide in America, and have hard conversations to truly find liberty and justice for all.Whitewashed USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430279687966184647noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3345952629145379909.post-30989639239937910542020-06-21T12:30:00.003-07:002020-06-21T12:30:48.615-07:00We Cannot Solve RacismTo my melanin enhanced friends, you can scroll past this one, I need to have a quiet chat with other pigment challenged folks like me -<br />
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Think... just for a minute:<br />
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If there is any tiny part of you or I that believes African-Americans have more negative life outcomes because they are genetically or biologically prone to be more violent, less intelligent, lazier, less capable, more criminal, more deviant, more murderous, or inferior in any way; then we cannot solve racism.<br />
First we have to come to terms with our own core racist beliefs.<br />
#Juneteenth #blacklivesmatter #itsnotnatureitssystemic<br />
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<br />Whitewashed USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430279687966184647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3345952629145379909.post-86082915071291478092020-06-21T12:28:00.001-07:002020-06-21T12:28:29.110-07:00No, Black Americans Don't Burn Down Their Own NeighborhoodsFirst of all, a neighborhood is the people in it, the homes they live in and the human connection that bring people together, it is not the large corporate stores and businesses that pull money out of the community.<br />
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So can we please stop using the narrative that Black Americans burn down their own neighborhood when they get mad. It's really a paternalistic, dismissive, oversimplified way to justify our own apathy towards social problems we don't feel impacted by.<br />
Being a generally decent human requires us to listen and learn before judging and reacting.<br />
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<a href="https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/06/10/3-charged-in-st-paul-nutrition-store-arson-during-george-floyd-unrest/?fbclid=IwAR1UftNCfZt1XuucMjuaOAwDj5XrLc8Kuum4W0thJR0gpTcG2uQXKEEKDM0#.XuE-NfsEiQo.facebook" target="_blank">Here is an article on CBS Local that shows where some of the damage is coming from.</a>Whitewashed USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430279687966184647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3345952629145379909.post-84468113414965517142020-06-21T12:19:00.003-07:002020-06-21T12:19:45.702-07:00What Do We want Our Relationship With Police To Be?It's really not about if all our police are good guys or bad guys, or if all are racist or not racist. Those kinds of extreme dichotomies don't help the conversation.<br />
Racism is not a police issue, it's an America issue we all need to deal with, and the police are doing the job we gave them, they are showing us all who we are.<br />
What we need to work out is what we want our police to do for their job, and what does the balance of power looks like between police and the communities that hire them to protect and serve. Right now that balance is way off and everyone is suffering because of it, including police officers themselves.<br />
We also need to decide if we are OK with giving people that do racist things a baton, gun, and license to act violently at will.<br />
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<a href="http://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_news/fifth-officer-charged-in-beatdown-of-undercover-cop-at-protest/article_f3ef2044-2114-11ea-b5fa-c3d9e2026938.html?fbclid=IwAR23aYKsA8Jq7zj5wlyM_dufvxak7iRUPiP-VmOcx53nnYp0rSPtQFMYneU" target="_blank">Click here to read the article from the ST Louis American</a>Whitewashed USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430279687966184647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3345952629145379909.post-40806701441949813182020-06-21T12:13:00.002-07:002020-06-21T12:13:45.539-07:00What Is Racism - A Panel DiscussionHere is a great panel discussion about the situation we are currently facing in the United States. there is a lot of work to do please listen in and join the national discourse.<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/RickDonkorCE/videos/868678803639868/" target="_blank">Click HERE to be taken to the video on Facebook.</a>Whitewashed USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430279687966184647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3345952629145379909.post-32183953831908337942020-06-21T12:06:00.001-07:002020-06-21T12:06:33.859-07:00I Will Stop... Tomorrow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Whitewashed USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430279687966184647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3345952629145379909.post-30803458696361419342020-06-21T12:01:00.004-07:002020-06-21T12:01:37.511-07:00We Need To Talk About The Job We Are Asking Our Police To Do<div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">
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<span style="color: white; font-family: segoe ui historic, segoe ui, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are people that make fantastic police officers, there are other people that should never be allowed to own a pocket knife, let alone a license to kill. We have also designed a policing social system that can shield and promote bad officers while penalizing and firing good ones. We, the people own this system, we have the right to redesign it and fix it when it breaks.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: segoe ui historic, segoe ui, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
From the article:</span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5zyuyfkia6lDPRx9E-P3o4HQbK7nqZzQ-vcvbExsBI7mPEr05HRo56hvRTKQImP2fTVxGE_38NZjj0cIWjxSbZcoULnhd-STWCGTqD9xtTJK0UX_ZJ0JAI9gZ68cGqbyd4gNM1nVEe1Y/s1600/f29ee9b7-a1d8-4e0b-98ad-cae6ad2a749c-IMG_635785375357380612_M_2_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5zyuyfkia6lDPRx9E-P3o4HQbK7nqZzQ-vcvbExsBI7mPEr05HRo56hvRTKQImP2fTVxGE_38NZjj0cIWjxSbZcoULnhd-STWCGTqD9xtTJK0UX_ZJ0JAI9gZ68cGqbyd4gNM1nVEe1Y/s320/f29ee9b7-a1d8-4e0b-98ad-cae6ad2a749c-IMG_635785375357380612_M_2_.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="color: white; font-family: segoe ui historic, segoe ui, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
"One night, after a grueling shift, two white DPD officers pulled me over. I was still in uniform, badge affixed to my chest and a #2 pin on my collar, indicating that I worked in the 2nd Precinct. I identified myself as a fellow officer, thinking they would see me as an equal. Instead, one pointed his gun at me and said, “Tonight you’re going to die, n-----,” before discharging his weapon. I dove back into my vehicle and miraculously managed to escape. I realized then that not even our shared uniform could save me from their racism. And I wondered that if they were willing to shoot and kill a black police officer, what were they willing to do to black civilians?
As a supervisor a few years later, I stopped a group of officers from beating three black teens. I was finally in a position to hold them accountable for their excessive use of force. But my precinct commander yelled at me for attempting to "ruin the lives of those good officers." I witnessed this kind of complicity repeatedly. When other officers reported abuse, as they should, they were ostracized, transferred to lesser assignments and treated so poorly that many quit." -
Isaiah McKinnon is a retired chief of the Detroit Police Department, retired associate professor of education at University of Detroit Mercy and former deputy mayor of Detroit.
<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/06/11/floyd-killing-police-must-change-former-detroit-chief-column/5341884002/" target="_blank">Here is the article from USA today</a></span></span></div>
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Whitewashed USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430279687966184647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3345952629145379909.post-9720490745565751602015-07-16T14:26:00.000-07:002015-07-20T07:27:55.026-07:00American Race-baiting<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBm46KFFaAwrCNErsxxrdSh9Og501Ih_0QXYQP0MINJjnDbuTr7o_k9wdUuUfgQ76aR8QmqlbTB91QfWQkDHANybLCnWaCr3c58BH-Unb3t2opdctPSTxDAxi3j5g8DydtgPB7gBfZm_U/s1600/Joel+BW+smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBm46KFFaAwrCNErsxxrdSh9Og501Ih_0QXYQP0MINJjnDbuTr7o_k9wdUuUfgQ76aR8QmqlbTB91QfWQkDHANybLCnWaCr3c58BH-Unb3t2opdctPSTxDAxi3j5g8DydtgPB7gBfZm_U/s1600/Joel+BW+smaller.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i>By: Joel Gardner</i></span></div>
<i>Executive Director - Whitewashed USA</i><br />
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<h2>
You called me a race-baiter? What exactly is that? </h2>
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I was
recently called this name in an online racial equality forum. As a white guy who writes about social justice issues it’s not the first time I’ve been labeled,
and it won’t be the last, so I thought I would break down the meaning of the
term and more importantly, the history of using that argument while discussing race
relations in the United States.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The basic premise of "race-baiter" is that the discussion at hand
does not involve race. The person being called a race-baiter is being accused
of distracting from whatever real problem might exist with a conspiracy theory
that blames the current situation on racial inequality, racial bias, or
otherwise trying to bait the listener into discussing race instead of solving
the actual problem. In reality, the accusation of race-baiting, like most
childish name calling,<b> </b>is a way to
avoid discussion, and shame the other person for a topic that makes you feel
uncomfortable. The phrase “race-baiter” first appeared in our language around
1961, but the meaning has been around much longer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><i><span style="background-color: #666666; font-family: inherit;">“The accusation of race-baiting, like most childish name calling, is a
way to avoid discussion, and shame the other person for a topic that makes you
feel uncomfortable.”</span></i></b></blockquote>
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To put “race-baiter” in context, we also need to understand
what “race” means historically. That poses a challenge because race is not
actually a thing, or at least it wasn’t a thing until its invention in the
mid-1600s when the people that would later be called “Americans” ran into a
serious problem. Hang on for some history you might have missed in school. The
problem came as the new colonies killed, plundered, and drove existing indigenous
civilizations away from the eastern parts of the continent, by the 1630s and
40s this left vast amounts of forested land “free” to be cleared and farmed. Some
of these farms were small plots claimed and worked by settler families, while many
others were larger lots of 100 acres or more and given to freed planters and
larger investment groups from Europe. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The new wealthy land owners and investors needed bodies to do
the back breaking work of clearing and farming that land, lots of bodies, so
they started offering “free passage” to anyone who would sign on as an
indentured servant, usually for 5-7 years. This labor pool quickly proved to be
too small for the financial opportunity being presented, not only did these
servants leave when their term expired, indentured servants cannot be abused
into unacceptable conditions of hard labor based on a system of travel debt,
that can only be accomplished by the taking of personhood, by fully taking
possession and ownership of the body. <o:p></o:p></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><i style="background-color: #666666;">“Indentured servants cannot be abused into unacceptable conditions of
hard labor… that can only be accomplished by the taking of personhood, by fully
taking possession and ownership of the body.”</i></b></blockquote>
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By greed and opportunity the land owners also went to poor
countries like Ireland and Africa where they could purchase impoverished or
kidnapped humans at very little cost, chain, beat, and abuse them until they performed
the work. This system had immediate high returns, but eventually as more of the
servants were set free, there was a growing poor, non-land owning population
asking to be paid to work, wanting to have families, and own land as a part of
the colonial dream. The division of classes between wealthy and poor grew to a
tipping point, where the impoverished population and the slaves they worked
beside began to rise up against the wealthy land owners. In some cases such as
the nearby French colony in Saint-Domingue these uprisings eventually caused
the overthrow of the colony and the creation of the nation of Haiti, run
entirely by the former slaves. In order to avoid this kind of apocalyptic end
to the burgeoning business of sugar cane, tobacco, and the newly forming
industry of cotton, the land owners slowly crafted a new more sustainable
system of labor.<o:p></o:p></div>
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They did this using the method of divide and conquer, by creating
a new kind of caste within the classes. This was what was needed to convince a
portion of the poor population to fight against the remainder. The traditional
way of dividing classes is by wealth, however in this case they devised a way
to use skin tone as the separator and called it “race” instead. The land owners
told the lighter skinned slaves and servants that they were on the same team,
and if they helped keep their darker skinned friends in line, they could get
all kinds of perks like freedom and someday maybe land. This didn’t sound right
to a lot of people, so to help the story along they started to talk about
darker skinned people differently, they said they were less intelligent,
lazier, had biblical curses from God on them, or maybe they weren’t human at
all, just another animal that needed protection, food, and work to keep them
busy. <o:p></o:p></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><i style="background-color: #666666;">“The traditional way of dividing classes is by wealth, however in this
case they devised a way to use skin tone as the separator and called it “race”
instead.”</i></b></blockquote>
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In this new system the impoverished “whites” were given low
paying work as overseers and managers. Poor “blacks” moved quickly from
indentured servants to a caste of permanent slave, along with their children’s,
children’s, children, etc. This poor white containment system for black slaves
worked so well the land owners continued to import thousands of new slaves from
Africa for the white managers to contain and abuse for the next 200 years. With
a world class economy, free labor, and a labor control system maintained
primarily by, and founded in the new invention of race, the slave system even
funded a war to make the colonies their own country. With liberty and justice
for all… if you were male, and a land owner, and white. Everyone else was
excluded.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What does that all have to do with race-baiters? The slave system
was working so well, more land was needed for the ever growing farm production.
This was acquired again by force, from the already displaced indigenous
families by continuously pushing them farther west. New states were formed as
speculators, and land owners, flooded into the Shenandoah Valley and down the
Mississippi for the longer southern growing seasons, and distance from the
rising chorus against race based slavery in the north. They created a new
economic center in the Louisiana territory, where slave labor flowed in, and money
in the form of cotton flowed out. The slavery itself also changed, it was no
longer the slave torn from his or her family, who lived and died in one place,
it was if possible more horrible, with human bodies bought and sold from place
to place like the cows and pigs that shared the auction block. With sometimes
thousands on a single plantation, living in rags, in open shelters, worked with
the sun literally into the ground, without proper food or water, a heavy lash
always within reach and employed daily. This was the dawning of chattel slavery,
this was the shift from “personhood” to “thinghood” for the American slave. The
people who opposed this expansion were called abolitionists, they would sometimes
sneak down south and free People of Color. The slave owners fought back
violently, and legally, they said the abolitionists were trouble makers, and
rabble rousers trying to incite rebellion and invent race problems in an
otherwise peaceful system. That’s right, abolitionist = race-baiter. <o:p></o:p></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #666666;"><i><b>"This was the dawning of chattel slavery, this was the shift from “personhood” to “thinghood” for the American slave"</b></i></span></blockquote>
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In 1807 there was another dramatic shift in the American system
of slavery, Britain followed the Dutch in banning the transatlantic slave trade
hoping the practice, would end with the supply. This challenge to the wealth of
our nation was met by the large plantations of the south; a new industry grew
within the existing system. With no external source of labor the plantations
turned to something more insidious, they shifted a portion of the engine of
slavery from producing cotton, to producing humans. Planned and orchestrated breeding
of slaves increased to supply human chattel to the desperate market, with some
women promised freedom if they produced 15 living children, though there was no
legal mandate to honor an agreement with a Person of Color. As stories of this
horror slowly leeched to the ears of sympathizers, there was an outcry
that we as a nation could not allow this to continue, national laws were proposed
but the delegates representing slave states stopped them each time saying that states have the
right to determine their own preference on the subject of slavery. The northern
politicians were called instigators of revolt and ni**er lovers. Essentially…
race-baiters.<o:p></o:p></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #666666;"><b><i>"This challenge to the wealth of our nation was met by the large plantations of the south; a new industry grew within the existing system."</i></b></span></blockquote>
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For another 50 years the nation seethed under the burden of slavery, this was not just a southern problem, racism was a national cancer, the southern states simply bore the visible wounds.
The pressure from multiple abolitionist movements, a violent anti-abolitionist
backlash that swept the nation, and lawmakers threatening to force the issue was too much. One by one
the southern states seceded from the union, each one saying they were leaving
to protect the institution of slavery as a right of their state to continue if
they chose. The north fought back to keep the country together, and 750,000 American
bodies fell to settle the question. Near the end of the war, President Lincoln freed
the slaves by proclamation and used the army to enforce the proclamation as
they swept through the south. Those who had enjoyed generational wealth on the
backs of slaves, along with the lower classes they employed, continually lashed
out at the north, calling it the war of northern aggression, they said there
was no race problem or slave problem if the north would just stop inciting it. They
also claimed that the war was not even about slavery but states’ rights, accusing
the north of being, in other words, race-baiters.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After the war the north sent down a lot of people to fix the
race problem that everyone fought and died for. They made sure the slaves were
actually freed, built schools for black students, created jobs, put former
slaves in positions of political power, and took land from the rich white folks
to give to the freed slaves. This time period was called Reconstruction, the
land owners and even the poor white folks in the south found this unbearable,
they called the government workers, carpet baggers and scalawags, and said
there was no racial disparity, the blacks were free and that was fair enough,
the carpetbaggers were only there to fix a race problem that didn’t exist. Race-baiters.<o:p></o:p></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #666666;"><b><i>"This time period was called Reconstruction, the land owners and even the poor white folks in the south found this unbearable, they called the government workers, carpet baggers and scalawags"</i></b></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the reconstruction efforts ended the southern states
had to find a way to replace all the free labor they used to get from slavery,
but slavery was illegal… so they started writing laws that would let them close
the schools, take back the jobs and land, restrict areas and services to whites
only, and even arrest and fine black folks for crimes like spitting or
loitering. Then make them “work off” the sometimes growing fine by renting them
out to land owners to do hard labor without pay.The laws were called Jim Crow laws and promoted a separate but “equal” way of life. This is also when the Ku Klux Klan was formed by former Confederate officers to reclaim white supremacy by lynching and torturing blacks in terrorist attacks for generations to come. When anyone pointed
out the unfairness of all this they were branded trouble makers, disturbing
the peace of happy communities and causing a race problem that did not exist. Race-baiters.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These still intolerable social conditions continued for
another 80 years, by the time the 1950s and 1960s came along the civil rights
movement was sweeping through the south challenging segregation at every turn.
Leaders like Gloria Richardson, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Roy Wilkins, and
Malcom X along with freedom riders and others were of course accused of being
trouble makers, and creating problems. The term race-baiter was coined to throw
at these men and women. I still remember my parents talking about them in that
light. “Things were peaceful, then these leaders started filling black folks
heads with nonsense about how segregation was oppressive” That this country had
already come a long way since slavery, and there really was “no racial problems
anymore.” Then with the advent of instant news on our televisions, buses were burned, activists were abused and murdered, and Selma happened. The whole country saw it, and like each
generation before, could not explain what they saw without acknowledging that
race was still a problem. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today people from all walks of life are talking again,
talking about problems like police brutality, mass incarceration, overall
justice system bias, education inequality, income inequality, housing
discrimination. All of which target and
impact black and other minority communities far more than their white
neighbors. It seems like we can’t go one day without hearing someone bring up a
social problem wrapped in the context of race. We also can’t hear those discussions
without the familiar response that the speakers are troublemakers, pot
stirrers, and yes race-baiters, creating a problem by going around talking
about it until it exists, if they would just keep quiet this would all go away.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Looking back at this country, ever since race became a thing
there were always two sides to the conversation. On one side we see white folks
protecting a way of life that allows for the mistreatment of People of Color,
but relative peace. The other side has always been black folks and white folks
that can see the damage to our society and are demanding change.<o:p></o:p></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><i style="background-color: #666666;">“We have a race problem in this country, the solution will be
complicated and uncomfortable, and it lies on the other side of our own fear.”</i></b></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is it, the day has come for our generation to stand up,
face this country’s original sin of slavery, and the ripples of damage still
born by us all. There will be no true peace until we heal the open wounds left
by centuries of fear and mend the damage that our generation has inherited.
It’s time to embrace and honor our differences, it’s time to stop trying to
sink the other side of the same ship we are sailing on by hiding, ignoring, and
shaming this problem away. We have a race problem in this country, the solution
will be complicated and uncomfortable, and it lies on the other side of our own
fear.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You called me a race-baiter. With our shared history as the
backdrop, that throws me together with all the slaves, abolitionists,
reconstruction workers, anti-segregationists, civil rights activists, freedom
riders, and social justice advocates from the last 400 years of America that have spoken up to say we have a problem to fix… Thank
you, and you’re right, I am a race-baiter. Now get up, come with me, united we
stand.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Whitewashed USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430279687966184647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3345952629145379909.post-7353746352902610782015-04-28T06:48:00.000-07:002015-04-28T08:33:41.549-07:00Baltimore, Ferguson and How To Stop a Revolution<h3>
How many riots do we have left before we see something worse?
Will you watch the next one through a television, or a window?</h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0fmOlfpEWSTwSAnPPgmfnTVnRBdVm3yJXdFB8Kov_MJbEPTaIaTbut8aeN8iEDRkFR8arVG-mLQzrxhlRDIhCHk_4iqOBK28hIwetkutd9qp_n_tMyD9wqtxkoKaJPThvRhAHg7S_RLVU/s1600/2015-04-26t004129z_757417198_gf10000072842_rtrmadp_3_usa-police-baltimore_7f0ef573efa53bc5930a6588df4af1b2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0fmOlfpEWSTwSAnPPgmfnTVnRBdVm3yJXdFB8Kov_MJbEPTaIaTbut8aeN8iEDRkFR8arVG-mLQzrxhlRDIhCHk_4iqOBK28hIwetkutd9qp_n_tMyD9wqtxkoKaJPThvRhAHg7S_RLVU/s1600/2015-04-26t004129z_757417198_gf10000072842_rtrmadp_3_usa-police-baltimore_7f0ef573efa53bc5930a6588df4af1b2.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
First, the protests are about race, or rather the social
class system we created that we call race. They are about how our society works
great for some people in this country but not so great for others, especially
if you happen to be born with darker than average skin. This is unjust, it’s
obvious to those affected by it, and all the protests, and violence are because
people don’t feel represented or respected. It isn’t about any single incident
and whether the people involved are racists, it is about a consistent pattern
of violent and abusive results that disproportionately affect people of color.<sub><o:p></o:p></sub><br />
I also want to point out that the violence playing out on news sources right now is miniscule compared to the thousands of peaceful citizens in Baltimore who are excercising their constitutional rights to peacefully protest. That does not remove the fact that the incidence of violence around protests is increasing and we can expect that trend to continue.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We can all agree that violence is bad, and that innocent
people are always hurt when violence is employed, but history teaches us why and
when we can expect violence to come. Every revolution in civilized history
followed the same patterns of behavior. They all started with some citizens having
a strong sense that the social system around them was unjust. Because of social
norms, these citizens bore this injustice silently at first, believing that
society would notice and correct the problem. When changes did not come, those
citizens became vocal, thinking that if those in charge of the country only new
of the problem, they would certainly enable change to happen. When this still
did not produce improved outcomes, the growing voices would take to the streets
to be noticed and be heard. If there was still no change, the protests became
increasingly angry and violent, the organization of these citizens grew out of
anger until war tore each country apart to decide who would design the next set
of laws and social systems. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is history, this is the story of France,
England, Russia, and almost any other country you can name. This is the pattern
that unfolded through the Arab spring, and is still unfolding right now in
Syria and dozens of other countries with great unrest. Even here in our own
United States, we are the product of this same pattern of revolution against an
unchanging and unjust colonial system, this pattern of rebellion and demand for
change is in our blood.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was this unstoppable drive for justice that plunged our
country into a civil war that buried 750,000 American bodies in our own ground.
But not every rebellion ended with that kind of pain and loss. Sometimes we got
it right, we saw the pattern unfolding, woke up and changed, and when we did,
amazing things happened – wages became fair, women voted, and civil rights were
granted, all because we saw violent change coming, and changed in a more peaceable
way before it could get here.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are watching as this same pattern unfolds in Ferguson, New York, and Baltimore, In each historic case that
did not change peaceably, the story was the same, those in power did not take
the time to understand and fix the problem. From Haitian slave owners who died
not understanding how slaves could be so ungrateful, to French aristocrats who
went to the guillotine proclaiming that there was no problem with their
societal systems, there are plenty of examples of what we can expect down this
same road. We don’t have to go that far, we can make a different choice and
instead of waiting for violent change to happen, we can stop, hear the problem, and move quickly to
enact peaceful change in its place. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are in a sustained and escalating social pattern that has
only been resolved historically by either violent change, or peaceful change. Which
one will we choose this time?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you are ready for peace, get involved, study the problems,
realize the broad impact that our racially divided history is having on our
country today and push for a peaceful change in our laws. Start with those that
govern police, judicial, and prison systems, then move on to education and
financial reforms to make them more sensible and equitable for all. Change is
coming, we do not get to choose whether it comes, we only get to choose the way
we adopt it.<o:p></o:p></div>
Whitewashed USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430279687966184647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3345952629145379909.post-10879517204761001692015-02-21T18:04:00.000-08:002015-02-22T06:06:50.640-08:00Let’s Talk About White Privilege or Un-earned Social Advantage<div class="MsoNormal">
People are so offended when the word privilege is used, like
I just accused them of holding their pinky finger in the air while they sip tea
on the veranda. Put your pinky back down, it’s not like that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBm46KFFaAwrCNErsxxrdSh9Og501Ih_0QXYQP0MINJjnDbuTr7o_k9wdUuUfgQ76aR8QmqlbTB91QfWQkDHANybLCnWaCr3c58BH-Unb3t2opdctPSTxDAxi3j5g8DydtgPB7gBfZm_U/s1600/Joel+BW+smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBm46KFFaAwrCNErsxxrdSh9Og501Ih_0QXYQP0MINJjnDbuTr7o_k9wdUuUfgQ76aR8QmqlbTB91QfWQkDHANybLCnWaCr3c58BH-Unb3t2opdctPSTxDAxi3j5g8DydtgPB7gBfZm_U/s1600/Joel+BW+smaller.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i>By: Joel Gardner</i></span></div>
<i>Executive Director - Whitewashed USA</i><br />
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So to be a little more reader friendly, I will use the term “un-earned
social advantage”. Most of the time when someone takes offense to being called
privileged, they provide a list of hardships they and their family have been
through, along with a list of all the sacrifices they have made, and hard work
they have done to get what they have. Everyone can give these examples and
should be congratulated, good job! But that’s not the privilege we are talking
about. Before we get to the racial part, let me give you an example of the kind of advantage I mean: If I go to college, work hard, get
a degree and apply for a job, I will have an earned social advantage over other
people that have not put in the same effort and don’t have the same
qualifications. Earned advantage is a privilege you get for working hard, and
playing the game of life well. But let’s say that a woman with a similar
background does the same thing I did, gets the same degree and applies for the
same job. Because of the way our society works, I am twice as likely to get
that job, even with identical qualifications*. Going a step further - if we
both got that same job, I would likely get a %22 higher salary**, not because I
was smarter or had a better degree, but just because I happen to be male. This
is an un-earned social advantage that men have over women in our culture. It’s a
privilege I have, before I even walk in the door. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course this example is just one tiny sliver of how our
social system advantages men. But think about it –an employment system that was
designed primarily by men, would be designed to help men be successful. Not
because men hate women or because men are bad, but because we as humans are all
naturally bias towards ourselves and others like us. This is because if someone
is like you, it is easier to empathize with and relate to their needs. It’s
also inevitable that a system you build, will be designed to help your kids succeed,
because they are also like you. This is why social systems like our system of employment,
which was designed by men like me, will be designed to help me succeed. This is
un-earned social advantage; this is also called male privilege.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is where race and racism come into the conversation, social systems
that disadvantage people based on race were not designed by racists for the
most part, they were designed to meet the needs of the people who designed them.
We happen to live in a country where the social systems were designed by the
white, straight, male, Christian, able bodied majority, so if you happen to have
been dealt one or more of those cards, congratulations! You won the social
lottery and there are thousands of tiny little advantages you have before you
even walk in the door. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5VGj1TYWjo8QW7hiP9AfXWrKvbn8_Yzt5L0FzK9SBxTWXudh4dRXTmoLlzFKHZL-2RcH3hL-RFWoIE89NpHb60_SHIW8PtQGWoBpjHxsBMikh5FMmVSk5y6qaPot8NWD-gQlo2y-m7Nt/s1600/competition_advantage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5VGj1TYWjo8QW7hiP9AfXWrKvbn8_Yzt5L0FzK9SBxTWXudh4dRXTmoLlzFKHZL-2RcH3hL-RFWoIE89NpHb60_SHIW8PtQGWoBpjHxsBMikh5FMmVSk5y6qaPot8NWD-gQlo2y-m7Nt/s1600/competition_advantage.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>"Social systems that disadvantage people based on race were not designed by racists for the most part, they were designed to meet the needs of the people who designed them."</b></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course every action creates an equal and opposite
reaction to balance things out, and no system can create advantage without
creating disadvantage at the same time. If you happen to be born with darker
skin those thousands of little advantages are now un-earned disadvantages, only
it’s different than male female bias. Men didn’t start off the historical relationship
hating women, but unfortunately in this country white people started their history
here by de-humanizing, owning, beating, working, and breeding black folks for
financial gain. When that system was finally outlawed in 1863, white folks were
so terrified that the black folks would rise up and start some kind of slavery revenge,
that they carefully crafted laws and social systems that would keep black folks
from gaining power through social advantages.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some of these systems have slowly been reformed over the
last 150 years, but there are still plenty of things that are just not right, and
not right always leads to resentment and anger. Black folks are angry because
they have born the burden of living under social systems that were not design
by or for them for hundreds of years, and even though there have been vast
improvements, they are not fixed yet. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you happen to have lighter skin, here are just a few of
the great bonus features you get from our society for free!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you are white you can:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ol>
<li>Move into any nice neighborhood and not have to worry that you might be harassed because of your skin color.</li>
<li>Go to the store and easily find a Band-aid that resembles your skin tone.</li>
<li>Go shopping anytime and not have to worry about being followed or watched carefully by employees.</li>
<li>Go to a history class and learn about people who look like you doing positive things to help humanity.</li>
<li>Spend most of your time in the company of people from your race, even at work or school if you choose to.</li>
<li>Turn on any media and see people of your race widely represented.</li>
<li>Know that your children will be educated about the history of their race in a positive way in school.</li>
<li>Go to the bank or write a check knowing that your skin color will not be counted against you financially.</li>
<li>Never be asked to speak on behalf of all the people in your racial group.</li>
<li>Remain oblivious to the language and customs of people of color around you without fearing social penalties.</li>
<li>Criticize your government without being thought of as a terrorist or un-American.</li>
<li>Ask for the person in charge and probably face someone of your own race.</li>
<li>Be late for an appointment and be certain it will not reflect on your entire race.</li>
<li>Ask for help from a police officer without fearing that your race might make it a negative or even dangerous interaction.</li>
<li>Feel welcomed and “normal” in the usual walks of life.</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now that I've pointed out a small sampling of daily advantages that people of color don’t get to experience, hopefully you too will begin to recognize the amount of un-earned social disadvantage that people of color do experience daily. To sit back and say it's not my problem is not only apathetic to others, but also no longer an acceptable option. You can help, by becoming more in tune with, and developing an awareness of how others experience the world. Question: If you had the ability to create changes that could repair and heal some of the damage our social structures have caused within minority communities, would you?<br />
<br />
Minority communities, especially Blacks whose family introduction to this country was being pulled from those families one by one and sold on an auction block, have never experienced our society collectively reaching out in a loving manner to mend those injuries. One of the reasons I believe we've neglected to reach out, is that same fear of some sort of slavery revenge that generations of Americans have felt before. Isn't it time for us, the collective majority to let go of fear, step out, and step up? Fear is paralyzing, and I am ready to live life fully as a human family without dragging around those kinds of restrictions. No guilt needed, no apologies, just mind your privilege, run towards change, be brave, and open your mouth when you know a situation is just not OK. I believe in the saying "if they knew better, they'd do better". We do know better, we can do better! Right?</div>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
*<a href="http://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/how-to-help-end-gender-bias-while-hiring.html">http://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/how-to-help-end-gender-bias-while-hiring.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
** <a href="http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination">http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Additional reading - White Privilege: Unpacking the
Invisible Knapsack – By Peggy McIntosh <a href="http://amptoons.com/blog/files/mcintosh.html">http://amptoons.com/blog/files/mcintosh.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Whitewashed USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430279687966184647noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3345952629145379909.post-1170316087958464882014-05-13T17:00:00.000-07:002015-02-20T12:14:37.010-08:00Human Cages, A Recap of Prisons In America (Part 2 of 2)<div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="text-align: start;">This is the second installment of a two part series, in part one I talked about the origins of prisons in the United States. </span><a href="http://www.whitewashedusa.org/2014/05/human-cages-recap-of-prisons-in-america.html" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">You can read part one Here</a><span style="text-align: start;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBm46KFFaAwrCNErsxxrdSh9Og501Ih_0QXYQP0MINJjnDbuTr7o_k9wdUuUfgQ76aR8QmqlbTB91QfWQkDHANybLCnWaCr3c58BH-Unb3t2opdctPSTxDAxi3j5g8DydtgPB7gBfZm_U/s1600/Joel+BW+smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBm46KFFaAwrCNErsxxrdSh9Og501Ih_0QXYQP0MINJjnDbuTr7o_k9wdUuUfgQ76aR8QmqlbTB91QfWQkDHANybLCnWaCr3c58BH-Unb3t2opdctPSTxDAxi3j5g8DydtgPB7gBfZm_U/s1600/Joel+BW+smaller.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: start;"><i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i></span>
<span style="text-align: start;"><i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i></span>
<span style="text-align: start;"><i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i></span>
<span style="text-align: start;"><i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i></span>
<span style="text-align: start;"><i style="text-align: left;">By: Joel Gardner</i></span></div>
</div>
<i>Executive Director - Whitewashed USA</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
After the puritans and all those who came after established the tie between prisons and maintaining slaves, we fast forward 250 years to the civil war when slavery becomes illegal. The Emancipation Proclamation did more than just release humans as property of their owners, it also nullified a massive network of federal, state and local laws that defined how the free labor in this country could be brought into submission. However when you have a society that is divided as widely as masters and slaves, people do not change as easily as laws.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxUnlxOqJJp5c8NooHonObNifP2v0p30Kb8av-iTpDJgygNGId53DwDC7M-nVQ1PNtPrSkM9HnD_7DbJh5naWgOuCXUURBktL6lzGKHhOGUmE8Vsx3bZEAKoMSE5WTv2STZ39yWBCNy19/s1600/SBAN_FourConvicts_t614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxUnlxOqJJp5c8NooHonObNifP2v0p30Kb8av-iTpDJgygNGId53DwDC7M-nVQ1PNtPrSkM9HnD_7DbJh5naWgOuCXUURBktL6lzGKHhOGUmE8Vsx3bZEAKoMSE5WTv2STZ39yWBCNy19/s1600/SBAN_FourConvicts_t614.jpg" height="311" width="400" /></a></div>
The US economy based largely on farming and other labor intensive industries could not function without that free labor source, but how could a free people be made to work like slaves? The key was to quickly build a new network of laws eventually called Jim Crow, and use the already functioning prison system to enforce them. The laws essentially redefined the slave class legally by removing the word "slave" and replacing it with pseudonyms. The result was a series of extreme laws that could be selectively enforced to arrest People of Color for crimes like loitering, being a stranger, acting unusual, etc. Once arrested and in the old prison system additional laws that require repayment of large fines though hard labor, with additional fees for prison time, worked together to insure that once you were pulled into the free labor pool you would probably not get back out alive.</div>
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The end result of all this for People of Color was very familiar:</div>
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<ul>
<li>The ability to move to better areas was hampered (intensive poverty and, increased risk of permanent arrest when traveling)</li>
<li>Legalized inhumane treatment and brutality for any reason based primarily on skin color.</li>
<li>Once in the prison system, most citizenship rights were permanently revoked.</li>
<li>Many ways to go in, few ways to come back out.</li>
</ul>
Fast forward again 100 years to the 1960's, these civil rights violations finally get heard by the American people and the oppressive system is outlawed once again! Now the laws and the prison system that enforced them will finally be dismantled... in reality, some gains are made, but people do not change as easily as laws. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEVtaH-5EovAK2qXMtdPYSd2t53ZeXKKowbd3dMAd9GqRDMvkPx5Q2WtormwMfXpGvVOFjkygt54eU2_HwkMDCbiQ8SVRtpMcTmL7A5ojC_O0aMQL4noqBqxnU3xrnXQWxNpDcZOcTeDte/s1600/Prison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEVtaH-5EovAK2qXMtdPYSd2t53ZeXKKowbd3dMAd9GqRDMvkPx5Q2WtormwMfXpGvVOFjkygt54eU2_HwkMDCbiQ8SVRtpMcTmL7A5ojC_O0aMQL4noqBqxnU3xrnXQWxNpDcZOcTeDte/s1600/Prison.jpg" height="320" width="265" /></a>Within a few years a swarm of new laws begin cropping up across the country, these laws were different, instead of words like slave, or colored, they used even more coded language like removing the "criminal element", getting "tough on crime", and the "war on drugs" (which at the time, both drug use and violent crime were in decline). The result was a massive wave of felony incarcerations and people on probation in black and other low income communities across the country. Offences that were misdemeanor infractions before, now carried mandatory sentences of decades. Our prison population swelled by over 800 percent, to the highest per capita in the world. So fast that we could not build prisons fast enough to hold the influx. We had to start hiring private firms to take the overflow of chained humanity, and states now collectively spend over $50 billion per year to maintain our prison population. </div>
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Something else changed around this same time in our country, the global economy started pulling low paying jobs away to lower paying counties, the inner cities became a void where there was little work to be had. At the same time banks started literally putting red lines around neighborhoods that they considered bad investments, with no home or business loans available, jobs disappearing, and an increasing inner city population rotating in and out of prison the situation has spiraled to where we stand today.</div>
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For many low income families in this situation the end result is all too familiar:</div>
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<ul>
<li>The ability to move to better areas is hampered (moving takes cash, new opportunity, and can't be done on parole).</li>
<li>Legalized inhumane treatment and brutality for any reason based primarily on skin color. (stop and frisk laws are selectively used in low income areas, in spite of fewer results).</li>
<li>Once in the prison system, most citizenship rights are permanently revoked (many states do not allow felons to vote or serve on juries, apply for food stamps, and many job applications end with a felony check box).</li>
<li>Many ways to go in to prison, many way to return, very few other options. (in some states the rate of convicts returning to prison is now at 60%)</li>
</ul>
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If you are starting to see a repeating pattern, you are not alone. While we are a long way from slavery, the same destructive patterns that tore this country apart for hundreds of years are still to a lesser degree, tearing us apart today. If we continue to incarcerate our inner city citizens the financial burden alone is not sustainable, let alone the ramifications on our society as millions of disenfranchised and justifiably angry people are released back into our communities after having any sense of normal family life violently torn away from them decades ago. With no social supports, no family supports, no opportunity for legitimate employment, that road leads directly back into prison and the spiral continues.<br />
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Before someone brings up the argument of personal responsibility, there are many people of every color in prison today that need to be held accountable for choices they made, there are other chronically broken individuals that need to be kept under guard because they will put others in danger if freed. I am not saying we don't need prisons, only that we as a country have created an enormous prison culture and an expectation of nothing better for millions of youth today. We can do better.</div>
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Getting back to the question that kicked this off, why do we build prisons? It's easy to see that the large scale embedding of slavery within our prison system 400 years ago started a cycle of damage that is still putting all of our freedoms and safety at risk. It's time to change the very core of our prison and justice systems from a machine that creates criminals to a machine that creates better citizens. Crime should be punished, but if we continue to destroy the lives and families of our neighbors, we steal the very hope from those we are punishing, and we only wind up punishing our society as a whole. For those seeking a better life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, we must give a clear and wide pathway out of the prison system and the larger mess we as a country have participated in creating.</div>
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There is a growing movement to repeal laws that have been proven ineffective like 3rd strike and high mandatory sentencing for non-violent crimes, ending stop and frisk and other procedures that would never be tolerated if practiced on wealthier targets. The funding for these programs needs to be shifted to rehabilitation, family support, job training, small business and community growth programs. It is time to end this cycle. It is time to take back our families, our neighborhoods and our country and be united.<br />
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For more reading on this topic I recommend the following:<br />
An article from the Editor in Chief of US News and World Report - <a href="http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2014/05/09/its-time-for-prison-reform-and-an-end-to-mandatory-minimum-sentences" target="_blank">Here</a><br />
An excellent interview with Michelle Alexander about her in-depth book on PBS - <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/criminal-justice/locked-up-in-america/michelle-alexander-a-system-of-racial-and-social-control/" target="_blank">Here</a><br />
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Whitewashed USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430279687966184647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3345952629145379909.post-36948614989266090162014-05-06T21:10:00.001-07:002015-02-20T12:14:26.990-08:00Human Cages, A Recap of Prisons In America (Part 1 of 2)<h2>
Why do we build cages and then put people in them, what are we trying to accomplish and is it working?</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBm46KFFaAwrCNErsxxrdSh9Og501Ih_0QXYQP0MINJjnDbuTr7o_k9wdUuUfgQ76aR8QmqlbTB91QfWQkDHANybLCnWaCr3c58BH-Unb3t2opdctPSTxDAxi3j5g8DydtgPB7gBfZm_U/s1600/Joel+BW+smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBm46KFFaAwrCNErsxxrdSh9Og501Ih_0QXYQP0MINJjnDbuTr7o_k9wdUuUfgQ76aR8QmqlbTB91QfWQkDHANybLCnWaCr3c58BH-Unb3t2opdctPSTxDAxi3j5g8DydtgPB7gBfZm_U/s1600/Joel+BW+smaller.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i>By: Joel Gardner</i></span></div>
<i>Executive Director - Whitewashed USA</i><br />
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Before going any further, I need to say that I appreciate prisons and those who work in them, I sleep a lot better at night knowing some people are locked up. However, I do think our current prison system is unsustainable and will make our communities less safe if we keep going the same direction, so the question above does need to be answered. To answer this we need to go back to the beginning of the story when the first puritan was thrown into the stockade for committing some unholy act against God and the village. Here is a very simplified history.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPF162KhbE8eS6r4kUZc7vLiNToga66y8srgg1zA1wTOoaZOghJfnwYhVAtUsacpol3F13fU8_Hcfc25kQsDaNCjyb2Gosz0b5asNtht73fOml1oNEogUZk-w8PW87G1YNNvgbnEutE0Gb/s1600/pillory.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Puritan Stockades" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPF162KhbE8eS6r4kUZc7vLiNToga66y8srgg1zA1wTOoaZOghJfnwYhVAtUsacpol3F13fU8_Hcfc25kQsDaNCjyb2Gosz0b5asNtht73fOml1oNEogUZk-w8PW87G1YNNvgbnEutE0Gb/s1600/pillory.gif" height="260" title="Puritan Stockades - Courtesy of Colonial Williamsburgh" width="400" /></a></div>
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This first American prison system was designed to accomplish several things:</div>
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<ol>
<li>To punish an individual, consequences for breaking the rules.</li>
<li>To publicly shame and humiliate, as a deterrent for repeat offenders.</li>
<li>To force a kind of spiritual repentance through bodily punishment.</li>
<li>To teach the evil doer a lesson.</li>
<li>To possibly force a confession in time or with additional tortures.</li>
<li>To maintain and reaffirm control over those who were prone to rebellion.</li>
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This prison system worked, but still had a few problems that became apparent:</div>
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<ul>
<li>The court system was easily manipulated and often wrong, leaving innocent people angry and resentful towards those in charge, and guilty people thinking they just needed a better defense.</li>
<li>Public shame never helped anyone think better of themselves and be a better person.</li>
<li>For these same reasons it was not very effective at forcing repentance, teaching a lesson, or convincing someone to volunteer for a worse punishment by confessing.</li>
</ul>
One thing this system did very well was number 6 on the list, if there was someone in the village that had a complaint, or that was leveling uncomfortable accusations against someone in power, repeated beatings and incarceration turned out to be an excellent way to get them to be quiet and fall in line. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmybaAKbTKZYLh04eOdM43ABbH0pxjR13CR6N6wbA4RAnTELtgVEGmjhuIykLRSdGqEsA3vmvFbXbdULXehHoiZrVnOtsMsmcEJPc-SFFr9bHSGKxgmi5-CymnJcZWindAQuZeygx2b7gh/s1600/Stockades.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Slave Stockades" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmybaAKbTKZYLh04eOdM43ABbH0pxjR13CR6N6wbA4RAnTELtgVEGmjhuIykLRSdGqEsA3vmvFbXbdULXehHoiZrVnOtsMsmcEJPc-SFFr9bHSGKxgmi5-CymnJcZWindAQuZeygx2b7gh/s1600/Stockades.jpg" height="155" title="Slave Stockades" width="400" /></a>When indentured servitude and slavery became the primary method for getting things done cheaply here in the new world, the prison system was already in place to fit the needs of owners who needed their human possessions to stop complaining and get to work. The stockades became cells, they were still used for other forms of criminal punishment, however there is a distinct shift to using them more as a way to manipulate the slave class into submission combined with increasingly brutal punishments. </div>
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The usefulness of prisons combined with laws for the purpose of slavery cannot be overstated, some of the ways it helped slave owners was to:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Enforce penalties for slaves who tried to leave</li>
<li>Enforce penalties for anyone helping or even not challenging a suspected runaway</li>
<li>Legalize inhumane treatment and brutality for any reason based on class status</li>
<li>Keep slaves from having a public voice or changing class status by keeping citizenship out of reach</li>
</ul>
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Next week, look for part two of this story, where I will look at the impact of tying slavery to the prison system and how that context changes the story today.<br />
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<a href="http://www.whitewashedusa.org/2014/05/human-cages-recap-of-prisons-in-america_13.html" target="">You can read part two of this story here</a></div>
Whitewashed USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430279687966184647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3345952629145379909.post-38488021545532917812014-04-28T12:23:00.001-07:002015-02-20T12:14:54.107-08:00Dr. King and Cliven Bundy - Even Before The Racist Rhetoric Why The Protesters Were All White<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBm46KFFaAwrCNErsxxrdSh9Og501Ih_0QXYQP0MINJjnDbuTr7o_k9wdUuUfgQ76aR8QmqlbTB91QfWQkDHANybLCnWaCr3c58BH-Unb3t2opdctPSTxDAxi3j5g8DydtgPB7gBfZm_U/s1600/Joel+BW+smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBm46KFFaAwrCNErsxxrdSh9Og501Ih_0QXYQP0MINJjnDbuTr7o_k9wdUuUfgQ76aR8QmqlbTB91QfWQkDHANybLCnWaCr3c58BH-Unb3t2opdctPSTxDAxi3j5g8DydtgPB7gBfZm_U/s1600/Joel+BW+smaller.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="text-align: start;"><i>By: Joel Gardner</i></span></div>
<i>Executive Director - Whitewashed USA</i><br />
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This week, Cliven Bundy - a cattle rancher in Nevada, made some tasteless and ignorant racial remarks, I don't even feel the need to repeat or address them, but I did come across a video of Dr. King that I think plays into this story in an interesting way.<br />
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It's no wonder that many states had laws for generations to stop People of Color from becoming educated. An educated person can not only see when something is wrong, they can also find the causes and motivate others to do something about it. Dr. King understood history, and he had the uncanny ability to explain it in a way that put context and legitimacy around the pain that still haunts many members of our society. This is why so many white folks felt threatened by him, this is why he was ultimately killed.<br />
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I had not heard this speech before, but as usual he nailed it, the history he tells is true, and the point he makes still reverberates through the decades to the stand off in Nevada. Setting aside the ignorant remarks from Bundy, the reason you will not see People of Color supporting this rancher is because he stands on land that is his by virtue of birth alone, with all of the financial and social incentives this country has to offer, pushing him towards success, and still, he is complaining that it's not enough. Not only does he feel entitled to all that he has but he also feels entitled to additional land owned by the American people to grow his business (cattle) at no charge. This attitude of expecting things to always lean in your favor, because they usually have historically, is the essence of white privilege.<br />
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Here is Dr. King explaining much better than I ever could, special thanks to Harold Lee Rush for sharing this -<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151509033171237">Post</a> by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/harold.lee.rush">Harold Lee Rush</a>.</div>
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Whitewashed USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430279687966184647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3345952629145379909.post-82893241545885788552013-11-17T11:22:00.000-08:002014-12-12T12:07:20.782-08:00I Am Not a Racist!<div style="border-bottom: solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 4.0pt 0in;">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So how could you possibly be a victim of racism?</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><i>By: Joel Gardner, </i><i>Executive Director - Whitewashed USA</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This article is about how both white and black folks can avoid
escalating racial tensions by using self-reflection instead of judgment on
others.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />This is a hard topic, not because it might offend someone (I
suppose I will be disappointed if it doesn’t), but because it’s complicated. The
concept that someone can be the victim of something this bad without there
being a perpetrator seems impossible, and let me be clear that racism and
racial bias is a very real problem in this country, but sometimes one person’s
experience can collide with someone else’s in a way that is injurious, without there
being bad intent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity"</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">-</span><span style="background-color: transparent;">
</span>Robert Heinlein</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>A recent example of this is an article on elev8.com entitled - <a href="http://elev8.com/206625/watermelon-smoothies-lessons-in-race/" target="_blank">Watermelon Smoothies & Lessons in Race</a> where the writer, a person of color, had an experience that left her feeling
victimized by a racial stereotype when a coworker assumed she was drinking a
watermelon smoothie. Through the comments below the article it becomes apparent
that the coworker who was from Korea was likely making the assumption because
that was a common flavor of smoothie in her own culture and not because of
racial insensitivity. We cannot assume to know the actual intent behind the
comment, but we can discuss the impact of making those assumptions, and ways to
change situations like this for the better.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />I have a problem with labels and judgments being applied to
people. Whether it’s white folks being calling racist and bigoted, or black
folks accused of playing the race card or playing the victim. Either way, when
we make these accusations we are assuming that we see the entire soul of another
person and can encapsulate that soul in a simple title. Unless you have this
power (and you probably don’t), then you should stop guessing or assuming
motives.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Being “racist” is a motivation it’s an internal doctrine
that can drive someone’s actions to discriminate against someone else on the
basis of ethnicity. I am not saying there is no such thing as racism, because I
have met it, and its ugly baby hatred, and I am not interested in having dinner
with either one. But to give someone a label, any label, is always oversimplifying
who they are. It is also clairvoyant because you are reading someone else’s
thoughts and motives to pass that judgment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />On the other side of this insult chain is the accusation of “playing
the victim”. Playing the victim, by my definition is claiming that your power
was taken from you forcefully by someone else, or sometimes by everyone around
you, when in fact you had the power but did not know how or chose not to use it
for whatever reason. There is such a thing as victimization, manipulation and
other very unfair things in this world, people who experience this, have truly
been robbed and need support to heal. People do sometimes get into the rut of
passing blame and responsibility to others, but again this accusation assumes
someone else’s thoughts and motives in order to pass judgment. At best this can
only make us feel more smug about not being kind to those around us, this is
not productive.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"</i></span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">- Eleanor Roosevelt</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />The key to key to navigating these social land mines is to
stop yelling insults over the fence and do some real introspection. We need to
be asking ourselves “Am I being racially insensitive?” or “Am I feeling
victimized unnecessarily?” when we do this we stop the escalation and create
growth and power within ourselves. That positive pattern is continued when we
ask ourselves “What can I learn from this person, and how can I improve this
situation?” when we start thinking about positive internal things we can change, instead of negative external things we cannot, it empowers everyone involved.</span><br />
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Whitewashed USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430279687966184647noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3345952629145379909.post-89866898553598855762013-10-04T07:00:00.000-07:002013-10-04T07:37:35.982-07:00Bringing the Color Line into Focus for White America<h2>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<h3>
Why are people of color always talking about racial problems, why keep bringing up the past?</h3>
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<i>By: Joel Gardner, </i><i>Executive Director - Whitewashed USA</i></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CNN discussed playing the race card against a witness</td></tr>
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This is how it usually happens; there is a horrific event that catches the nation’s attention for a few short moments of time. It might be the OJ Simpson trial, the beating of Rodney King, or the killing of Trayvon Martin. As the scenes play out repeatedly on our televisions and smart phones, there is inevitably conversations that happen in split screen view with a civil rights proponent on one side saying that racial bias and hate crimes need to be stopped, and someone on the other side rolling their eyes and asking why the race card is always played, and why we are wasting our time discussing race relations when such an awful event has happened.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Why does race seem to always get pulled into the conversation by some, and why is it always dismissed by others? </h3>
In an attempt to answer this question we need to look at both sides of this conversation and then pull back the curtain and see the color line that divides them.<br />
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Although each of the events listed above had a drastic impact on those involved, for our purpose here I want to draw your focus away from the events and on to the conversations that inevitably begin to circulate. These conversations typically start when the news and other media sources look for someone to comment on what happened, if the event can be perceived as race related in any way, the media will reach out to people involved in the civil liberties movement to get a comment. At this point there will be a very simple sound bite about how this travesty needs to be investigated further. Then a short time later a strong response comes loudly and clearly in defense, along with the accusation and condemning of racial motives.<br />
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To understand what is happening here we need to look behind the scenes. After that first soft comment to the media, there is a vetting process performed on the civil liberties side to see if the victim of the crime is a good candidate for defense, by checking for obvious gotchas in their past like domestic violence or drug related crimes. It is only natural that this should happen, because those fighting for racial equality are placing not only their own reputations but the validity of the civil liberties movement on the altar of public opinion in each of these cases. You can imagine the embarrassment that could and does happen when an individual who has been placed on a pedestal as the victim of injustice turns out to have a pattern of self-destructive choices behind them. If the victim is potentially a good example and the initial evidence looks like race could have been a factor, then the logical move is to use the opportunity to draw public attention to the very real and larger problem of racial bias in this country.<br />
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Which brings us to the eye rolling and accusations of “playing the race card” that come from the conservative spokesperson on the other side of that split screen. For many white Americans, the discussion of race is strictly historic, bad things like slavery happened long before we were born and even the civil rights movement is something many of us only know from TV documentaries and grade school discussions. Now, except for the occasional racially tainted joke at work there is very little evidence seen in our world of current day racial problems. This is not a case of apathy; it is a case of invisibility. Because racial discussions are so uncomfortable for obvious reasons, white America helped push for new laws in the 1960’s and then wanted to put it to rest, and stop talking about the issue altogether. When the footage of marches and riots stopped appearing on the news every night, we stopped paying attention, and eventually put the whole topic in the bucket of “not politically correct” to talk about. Because of this and other reasons beyond the scope of this article, racial bias and civil liberties have become an invisible problem that remains hidden away. This is why, some white Americans, feel that the public accusations of racism that pop up in so many news stories seem inflammatory and overstated for the individual situation.<br />
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In my article on <a href="http://www.whitewashedusa.org/2013/10/how-to-stop-racial-bias-and-change-world.html">How to Stop Racial Bias</a>, I describe why changing the law is a good start, but that it does very little to change underlying social problem. In this case those underlying problems have all been alive and well for people of color, from the 1960s to today, and the issues that they face today are compounded by the fact that it’s not socially acceptable to bring them up. This has caused a larger and larger gap between the experiences of the white community and communities of color in this country. This gap is called the color line, it is a radical difference in experience, perspective, and attitude that divides us.<br />
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So, why are people of color always bringing up the past? Because for them it is happening right now, it is a current problem that we as white Americans can only see clearly in history books. This makes discussing that history one path that might help us set aside our fear of blame and let these hard conversations happen openly. A little light and clarity always go a long way towards empathy and ultimately change.<br />
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Whitewashed USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430279687966184647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3345952629145379909.post-43671663329297303112013-10-01T12:46:00.005-07:002013-10-04T07:26:27.568-07:00How to Stop Racial Bias and Change the World<div style="text-align: left;">
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Racial Bias and Prejudice is a Bad Thing, But What Can I
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<i>By: Joel Gardner, </i><i>Executive Director - Whitewashed USA</i><br />
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Here is one for the world shakers, for anyone who has seen the nasty results that come from a society that turns its nose up on those labeled as different, weird, or in any way less than “normal people”. This is for you, who want to stand up and say “This is wrong” but are not sure how or when to do it so that it will make an impact. I am specifically speaking to white America, if there was such a thing as whiteness or a way to classify it. However, by common usage we know who we are.</div>
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First we need to understand what we are trying to change. </h4>
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Racial bias can take on many forms, however for this discussion I would like to focus specifically on racial bias as negative or preferential behavior of individuals based on perceived race. The negative action of a person towards another person based on how the other person appears, especially actions from those here in the United States we call “white” directed at those generically referred to as “black” or African American. This kind of racial bias has been recognized and fought for millennia by governments and groups that recognize the real damage it causes to a society as a whole.</div>
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This battle has often taken on the form of laws, policies and in some cases police or military interference. While these measures can, and do, impact those negative behaviors, they can at best only control some behaviors and do not change the underlying cause of the problem. To address the cause, the real root of the issue, we need to understand that negative behaviors are the outward expression of an internal negative attitude, those attitudes are the product of an individual’s perception, and that perception comes directly from the life experience and history of that person.</div>
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So how can you, as an individual make a difference? </h4>
You could grab someone and make them behave differently…. But that would not affect their attitudes, and you would probably be arrested for trying. You could tell someone they have a bad attitude and ask them to change it… but this would most likely cause resistance since the attitude is only a product of perception. You could try to force your perception on to them… but without giving them your life experiences along with it the perception would not mean anything. This leaves us with the last and ultimate option for change: Changing the life experience of another human being by stepping into that experience and making it different.<br />
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Every time we interact with someone else in our community, we shape the experience of that person in a small way. Once we become aware that racial bias exists, we can change our own behavior and discuss those changes with those around us. These conversations help set the social norms for what is, and is not OK in our society. When we have a firm grasp on the kind of behavior that is acceptable around us we can recognize and point out when someone is acting in a way that is unfair or shows bias. You might be thinking that someone who feels repressed or treated unfairly should speak up for themselves, and this is true. However, when it comes to interactions that shape perspectives and change people, they will most likely come from someone perceived as a peer, not from someone the person is already disrespecting. </div>
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This means that we need to open our mouths, if it seems like someone is getting treated worse than you, they probably are. Say something. It’s alright to point out in a non confrontational way that it’s not fair, not OK and not how we treat people here in _____ fill in the blank. The important thing is to step in and change that experience for everyone involved so that the next time the situation comes up that past experience will have hopefully improved that person’s perspective, which will change their attitudes, which will ultimately change their behavior. With this in mind, that small moment when you say something, is exactly the world changing event that is needed right now.</div>
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For those of you interested in changing the world, I will give you five simple steps to get you started. From there I expect you to find your own way to make a positive difference in yourself and the people around you. Let’s get started with one of those cool diagrams:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimn6J9AoQLhyCc9FQfm2yXK97INvy1VLfQx_XR9BwlRxi2hQN5PSQM63dENLbSymhggy2XgKVIgd2gcnFeW06OTrnKI7gIyUKGAt5Uhs8622kJmTXjzRdYploF0mk2xhCaWpY7V0o40YQj/s1600/Changing+Racial+Bias.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimn6J9AoQLhyCc9FQfm2yXK97INvy1VLfQx_XR9BwlRxi2hQN5PSQM63dENLbSymhggy2XgKVIgd2gcnFeW06OTrnKI7gIyUKGAt5Uhs8622kJmTXjzRdYploF0mk2xhCaWpY7V0o40YQj/s320/Changing+Racial+Bias.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here is how it works:</h4>
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<b>Step 1:</b>Pay Attention: Look at what is happening to other people in the world and put yourself in their shoes. </div>
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<b>Step 2:</b>Broadcast: when you hear of something happening that is not right, make the people in your contact circles aware of it.</div>
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<b>Step 3:</b> Discuss: with those people whether this is a behavior or attitude we want in our society.</div>
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<b>Step 4:</b> Be aware: when you are at the store, movies, church and you see that behavior or attitude.</div>
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<b>Step 5:</b>Speak up: it’s alright to tell someone “That’s not OK” or “Not cool”. You don’t need to attack, just educate about what is acceptable.</div>
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This is heavy, it involves changing the human heart at its core and impacting the world around you in ways that often cannot be undone, so use this power wisely and go shake it up!</div>
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Whitewashed USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430279687966184647noreply@blogger.com0