Back from a trip Outside (outside Alaska) to visit family – there was the predictable backlog of messages, blog posts and news items waiting for me when I got back. Between the vacation and the news, it’s kind of hard to figure out where the real world starts and ends. But that’s how it is in the Borderland.
I’m reminded of the old Marvin Gaye song, which is an anti-war song, but it could also be about any number of tragic conflicts and injustices.
Missprofe has a short post today about a situation in Louisiana that really bothered me when I first learned about it, and I’ve been doing a bit of digging, reading about it. Working as I do in a school that my wife affectionately calls “The UN,” I’m aware of the need to teach tolerance every day in school. The Civil Rights Movement didn’t, by a long shot, eliminate racism. And I believe that if we learn to recognize and talk about our differences and prejudices we can begin building bridges of understanding. Confronting injuries caused by stereotyping, discrimination, harassment and oppression involves both the head and the heart.
I don’t know how to adequately express my complete dismay at the breakdown of all standards of fairness and justice described by this story:
JENA, La. — The trouble in Jena started with the nooses. Then it rumbled along the town’s jagged racial fault lines. Finally, it exploded into months of violence between blacks and whites….
More details, from the Just Democracy blog:
On August 31, 2006, a small group of Black students asked permission from their school board to sit under the schoolyard tree, dubbed the White Tree. The White Tree was so named because of an unspoken rule that, since the school’s inception, barred Black students from enjoying its shade. The school board told the kids they could sit anywhere they want. However, the next day when the students arrived to school the tree was adorned with three nooses; two of the nooses were black and one was gold—the school colors. To White residents, the noose was nothing more than a tasteless prank. But to the Black community, it was a threat and a harkening back to the times of public lynching and burnings.
The Attorney General and the superintendent of schools called the noose incident an “innocent prank,” and most white residents, we are told, deny that racism is a problem in the community. However, after a fight in December in which a white student was beaten up, six black students were charged with attempted murder.
I wonder if the escalation of violence could have been avoided, had the school authorities taken it more seriously, and I’m amazed that this story hasn’t been given more media attention. A Wikipedia article about this little burg was written on May 24 of this year. Note the discussion on the talk page about bias and whether the article was written from a “black point of view.”
Profbwoman tells more of the story and shares list of links.
Other links of interest:
- While Seated has a photos and a story.
- Town Talk reports on the testimony at Mychal Bell’s trial, noting that the defense attorney called no witnesses.
- Check out the forum on the Town Talk site. Lots of local reactions.
- Friends of Justice challenges the defense attorney’s effectiveness.
Where the Blog has No Name commented on the irony of this case in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision to limit the ability of schools to manage the racial diversity of student populations. Truthdig called it the Supremely Disappointing Court. And Rhode Island’s Future posted an article called Supreme Court: Racism Doesn’t Exist which includes links to the opinions written by SCOTUS.
This is all very disheartening. I don’t know if mandatory integration will solve the problem, but I’m certain that segregation is not healthy. And ignoring the problem, as the Court seems to want to do, will only make it worse, like it did in Jena.
The saddest commentary on the Court decision, I think, came from David Brooks who preaches resignation, saying that “maybe integration is not in the cards. Maybe the world will be as it’s always been, a collection of insular compartments whose fractious tendencies are only kept in check by constant maintenance.” I can’t imagine a more irresponsible position, the luxury of privilege. “Fractious tendencies” is a euphemism for hatred, and “constant maintenance” is ….what?
Clearly, racism exists. It’s harmful to everyone. We need to recognize it. We need to talk about it.
4 Comments
Doug, while I rarely agree with David Brooks, but I did read his piece in its entirety, and much of what he says is on the money with respect to the psychology of Americans, both of color and majority. And, in the end, it’s the kids who suffer. Someone once said that you can change the laws but you can’t change people’s hearts. While we don’t have to accept it, it is a dismal reality.
Until there is a surge of resources injected into our urban areas, I cannot see how the goals of educational quality or full racial integration will be accomplished.
The Jena Six case is a travesty of our system. I hope people across the country will be motivated to help in whichever way they can. The more that more, the more that can help.
Myles Horton talked about the futility of changing people’s minds, explaining why he focused his attention on making structural changes. He did things that “went against the grain,” like those kids who sat under the tree. He also knew that violence might sometimes be the response to those actions.
Dismal realities are, as you say, something that we don’t have to accept, but what we can do about them on a “system” level is perhaps very little. I agree with you about the futility of reform measures that don’t address the material inequities that are somehow assumed to be a “given” for minorities.
What I can’t understand, though, is what seems to be a mere shoulder shrug and an “Oh well.” I entered the teaching profession to make things better for people. I admit to being extremely naive about the challenges and possibilities for doing so. But as an individual, and as a teacher, I have to believe that what I do and say might occasionally matter to someone. Otherwise, there’s no point in going to work except to cash a paycheck, and I’m not ready to cash out.
I understand that people get tired and angry. And I also understand that, if I wanted to, I could pretend that there is no problem. That’s the luxury of privilege. But understanding that makes me feel responsible to do whatever I can.
It does seem futile, but I’m reminded of Vaclav Havel’s statement about hope:
And that helps. Thanks for your comment. Your insights are quite valuable to me.
Hey, this is a digression, but did you see this one:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9803207
Very troubling report on intolerable high rates of sexual assault against Native American women on reservations. It got good play on NPR, and sorta died.
I did see that story, and you’re right – it didn’t generate much discussion. Native people are not highly visible in the media, and stories that do appear are often unfavorably biased. Several years ago there was a flood that washed away two entire villages north of here, and not a word was mentioned about it on the national media.
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