The Divide
Before we can build a bridge and extend our hand, we must survey the chasm. By understand the larger historical, cultural, social, and psychological factors that lay the foundation for the current conditions, we can understand the complexity and labor necessary to shift.
First, 13TH, a documentary by Ava DuVernay, provides the broad sweep and a bird's eye perspective on the institutionalized violence against people of color, and black men in particular.
Afterwards, an op-ed by Ekow N. Yankah and a response by Tucker Carlson from Fox News, provide an opportunity to observe how the construct of race creates division.
Ava DuVernay
In this throught-provoking documentary, filmmaker Ava DuVernay, maps the 150 year-old progression of the criminalization of black men from 13th Amendment through the U.S. prison boom. The title 13TH refers to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads:
“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.”
DuVernay, argues that its deliberate use as a political tool to legally embed slavery through the mass criminalization and incarceration of people of color for profit.
How did you feel after viewing 13th? Do you think the message of the film was ultimately hopeful? Why or why not?
Angela Davis stated in the film, “Historically, when one looks at efforts to create reforms, they inevitably lead to more repression.” What do you think are some of the factors that allowed this system of racial control to simply evolve and replicate itself for the past 150 years?
What are your thoughts on the film’s argument that media has subconsciously conditioned people to fear black men?
by Ekow N. Yankah
In an op-ed for the New York Times, Ekow N. Yankah, a law school professor, pessimistically explains that he will teach his young children that real friendship requires trust and consideration for one another's well-being and in our current political climate, blacks cannot really be friends with whites.
https://youtu.be/kg_63wV7bL8
Following Yankah's article in the New York Times, Tucker Carlson, Fox News host, engages him in a heated interview and accuses the professor of brandishing a form of race hatred that ultimately serves to divide instead of creating a bridge.
If friendship, requires trust and consideration necessary to bridge the racial gap, how are they present and/or absent in these two exchanges?
What challenges and questions do you have for each of these perspectives?
Igniting the Conversation
The previous section about "The Divide" demonstrate the potential tool that media can serve to bring awareness, build allies, or breed divisiveness. The following section notes the ways that media and images have been used throughout American history to bring awareness to the brutalization of Blacks in America and ask that one's basic humanity can be recognized.
Media that Demanded the Conversation
Slave Gordon
Abolitionists distributed this photographs of Gordon throughout the United States and internationally to show the abuses of slavery.
Lynching of six African-Americans in Lee County, GA, 20 Jan 1916
One of many documentation of lynchings from the early twentieth century, most of them taken by white perpetrators. Activist at the time, like Ida B. Wells, also used them to raised funds to investigate lynchings.
Emmett Till
Till's mother, Mamie Till Bradley insisted on a public funeral service with an open casket. She chose to expose her son's bloated, mutilated body as a way to reveal the barbarism of American racism.
This clip includes footage of the violence against over 700 black children during the Birmingham Children's March. Media coverage of the clubbing, blasts with fire hoses, attacks by police dogs and arrests, compelled the United States Department of Justice to intervene and rule to desegregate downtown Birmingham and release those arrested.
This video is a short compilation of instances in which law enforcement has used aggressive force and brutality against members of the Black community since the 1960s to present day. The publicity of these cases brought about the development of Black Lives Matters.
How do these shocking media images shock white American's to recognize the experience dehumanizing effects of racism of both the perpetrator and victim?
What questions do these images contribute to the conversation about our common humanity and responsibility to share the burden and build the bridge?
Not included in this text set is the way other images have been used to dehumanize African Americans. How would including them into the conversation shift our focus? Would it benefit or cause division?
The Bridge
Understanding is not enough the following three text provide tools with the potential to create a different conversation about race and perhaps help all Americans to embrace the struggle and find hope.
First, the Implicit Association test developed by Harvard, invites you to consider your own biases.
Next, a podcast, titled Opening the Question of Race to the Question of Belonging, redefines the question about race and asks the we shift to discussing belonging.
Afterwards, two videos, a Ted Talk by Elizabeth Lesser and a Heineken commercial offer ideas for how to move beyond our biases.
Finally, The Human Library allows you to expand your understanding of other people by allowing you to "borrow" a person.
Harvard
The Implicit Awareness Test(IAT) requires respondents to rapidly sort items to determine implicit bias. The intent is to provide an efficient alternatives to self-report measures to study implicit or unconscious forms of thoughts, feelings, bias, and stereotypes. It measures strength of association between category and attribute by using the time it takes to make the pairings, and the number of errors in classifying, while respondents are trying to respond rapidly. Although there is controversy about the validity of the findings,
For those that are curious: Background papers and information about the Harvard programs can be found at http://projectimplicit.net/
How can a developing awareness about our unconscious bias help us develop practical applications that can build a bridge to lead towards greater social justice and align ourselves to the values of creating a society that is just and free?
How knowledgeable are you on the concept of social privilege? Do you ever reflect upon the systematic privileges you may or may not experience because of race, gender, age, class, sexual orientation, religion, physical/mental abilities, etc.?
In this podcast, John A. Powell, director of the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society at the University of California at Berkeley, looks into how the new science about how our unconscious minds work in order to challenge the notions of race and shift the conversation to belonging. He postulates that the human condition is one about belonging and being relationship. He ask us to consider that how we define the other. in fact. affects how we define ourselves. He challenges us to embrace and engage where other are.
While Coates and Powell both question the construct of race, Powell find hope whereas Coates remains pessimistic. This is a tension that can be witness throughout American racial history. How does Powell's perspective change the conversation? Does it have any limitations?
Take "the Other" to Lunch
Heineken Ad
Heineken as part of their "Open your World" campaign launched this ad, titled "Worlds Apart." The ad pairs up 12 people with opposing views and poses the question: "Can two strangers with opposing views prove that there's more that unites us than divides us?" After couple of bonding activities, and shown videos where they express their opinions, they are given a choice to chat about their viewpoints over Heineken beers or walk away.
Both of these videos provide a simple action to create bonds and improve the way we view the "other." What are some factors that complicate the ability to follow their suggestions?
The Human Library Organization mission is to challenge stereotypes and prejudices by encouraging dialogue. People can visit the human library where instead of loaning books, you loan people for a conversation. Take some time to meet some of their "books." Choose ones that might challenge some of your stereotypes
After exploring a few of the human books, consider how listening to other's stories challenges your bias and move the conversation from division to belonging.
Currently, The Human Library only has a few "books" available for loan, how could we change the way we relate to each other to learn more our common humanity?
The current selection does not include perspectives from individuals that expose hatred. What thoughts do you have about not having these voices included?