Conversations on Race - Assault on Democracy

Assault on Democracy

January 28, 2021

As has been the case since we started this group, events have overtaken our discussion plans. If we're going to have Conversations on Race in Our Daily Lives, we can't ignore what's been happening over the past several weeks and how it is linked to race (and caste). Below are a number of relevant clips and articles.

At our January 28 meeting, we will spend some time sharing our thoughts on these events.

Living in the Age of the White MobThe attack on the Capitol shows that white riotous violence, brutally epitomized by the Tulsa Race Massacre, has never been relegated to history.

Living in the Age of the White Mob _ The New Yorker.pdf

Democracy is a threat to white supremacy—and that is the cause of America’s crisisWhy the attack at the US Capitol is proof that democracy is the greatest threat to white supremacy

Statement (January 7, 2021) by Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation's Center for Social Justice. He tells us that "... the inimitable, incisive Isabel Wilkerson tweeted in real time, “we have seen caste in action.”

The Capitol Riot Was an Attack on Multiracial DemocracyTrue democracy in America is a young, fragile experiment that must be defended if it is to endure.

Multiracial Democracy Is 55 Years Old. Will It Survive_ - The Atlantic.pdf

Brittany Packnett Cunningham: Pro-Trump mob a 'literal example of white supremacy'Brittany Packnett Cunningham explains why the Pro-Trump mob storming the U.S. Capitol is the 'literal example of white supremacy.'

Baratunde Thurston: Black Americans consistently show up for this nationBaratunde Thurston explains how Black Americans show up for America and implores Republicans and other Americans 'join us because we've been fighting this a long time.'

Opinion | This is the America that Black people knowThere were no police dogs facing the mob that stormed the Capitol.

Opinion _ Cori Bush_ This is the America that Black people know - The Washington Post.pdf

From the New York Times (January 9, 2021), access the article directly on the left or view the PDF above.

Opinion | White RiotHow racism, grievance, resentment and the fear of diminished status came together to fuel violence and mayhem on Jan. 6.

From the New York Times ( January 13, 2021), access the article directly on the left or view a PDF below:

Opinion _ White Riot - The New York Times.pdf

A reminder of what happened on January 6

A Reporter’s Footage from Inside the Capitol SiegeLuke Mogelson followed Trump supporters as they forced their way into the Senate chamber, using his phone’s camera as a reporter’s notebook.

January 20

Amanda Gorman’s Inaugural Poem Is a Stunning Vision of Democracy“But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated.”

Article by Masha Gessen in The New Yorker.

January 21, 2021

And then this happened, same place, only two weeks later ...

(Read her poem here)

Democracy?

If you recall, in our Conversation About Being White meeting (here), we talked about Duke University-sponsored Scene on Radio and their podcast series Seeing White. The most recent series is titled The Land That Never Has Been Yet. (The title is taken from the Langston Hughes poem, Let America Be America Again.) The series retells the story of the country, or pivotal parts of that history, while exploring critical questions like, How democratic was the U.S. ever meant to be? American democracy is clearly in crisis today, but, when was it not? Click on the Our Picks page (here) to check it out.

The Biden Administration Gets Underway

Biden Seeks to Define His Presidency by an Early Emphasis on EquityOnly two presidents before him have used their first weeks in office to push for equality with the same force, according to one historian.

Link directly to the Times above or to the PDF below.

Biden Seeks to Define His Presidency by an Early Emphasis on Equity - The New York Times.pdf

The New York Times article on January 20,2021, "Biden's 17 Executive Orders and Other Directives in Detail," outlines the executive orders, memorandums and proclamations signed hours after his inauguration.

On Racial Equality:

Mr. Biden will end the Trump Administration's 1776 Commission, which released a report on Monday that historians said distorted the role of slavery in the United States, among other history. Mr. Biden also revoked Mr. Trump's executive order limiting the ability of federal agencies, contractors, and other institutions to hold diversity and inclusion training.

The president designated Susan E. Rice, who is the head of his Domestic Policy Council, as the leader of a "robust, interagency" effort requiring all federal agencies to make "rooting out systemic racism" central to their work. His order directs the agencies to review and report on equity in their ranks within 200 days, including a plan on how to remove barriers to opportunities in policies and programs. The order also moves to ensure that Americans of all backgrounds have equal access to federal government resources,, benefits and services. It starts a data working group as well as the study of new methods to measure and assess federal equity and diversity efforts.

Fulfilling a Promise: A Cabinet That ‘Looks Like America.’There are more women and people of color in President Biden’s proposed cabinet than in the last four administrations, modernizing what has long been a stubbornly white, male institution.

Link directly to the Times above or to the PDF below.

Fulfilling a Promise_ A Cabinet That ‘Looks Like America.’ - The New York Times.pdf