Thinking today about current events and social justice....It has been more than a year since the murder of George Floyd and the BLM Uprisings that echoed around the world. In the aftermath of the Rittenhouse verdict and Boston Mayoral Election, I still ponder "How do we all get free?" And, more specifically "How does this moment endure for white teachers who work cross culturally?"
This week Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty of the murder of two protestors who had showed up on the streets to condemn the police shooting of Jacob Blake. This week, Jacob Blake has been out of the hospital for one month but will remain in physical therapy indefinitely after being shot point blank seven times in the back by Kenosha Wisconsin police officer Rustin Shesky. In light of this injustice so many people in my activist community took to the streets in August 2020 to protest the police violence that lead to Blake's injury, and the ways that is part of a larger trend. So, this week when Rittenhouse's murders were deemed admissible by a judge many of us dealt again with feelings of overwhelm. We want the world to change! Many of us white, growing up in delusion, are still learning how the world ACTUALLY is. All of this progress seems glacially slow right now, it almost seems like it's moving in reverse. Within my activist community we are working hard to stay tethered to hope. And we are constantly reexamining the efficacy of our work.
How do I best work with all young people when my very identity symbolizes the lack of systemic change around racial justice in the U.S? How do I not let my own shame about my white identity obstruct my social justice work? The solution involves a certain kind of alchemy. And there are no easy answers. Most of the time, there aren't even any role models! I am thinking of the hashtag Ok Boomer. And how all growing up my parents made it seem like they fixed everything by protesting in the 1960s. Yes, my family is that kind of white people, (insert face palm emoji here).
Getting to know my own internalized white supremacy is a frightening process. But I am still thankful to be called to undertake it. Here at the dawn of the new millennium. Here in the aftermath. Here in the chaos. This untangling is gritty and requires persistence. It means more self inquiry. More tiny revolutions. More centering Black voices. More feminism. More intuitive gentleness with all people, more intentionality when I find myself in communities outside my own. More curiosity. More thoughtful dialogue. More openness. And, it also means more purposeful creating...
Inspired be a PD workshop with We The People I began drafting a narrative for a kids book last summer. Part of the current dilemma in my practice is how to discuss Systemic Racism and our world constructed under white supremacy with young people. How do I facilitate learning around this reality in a way that does not sugar coat the topic? One thing that whiteness taught me was the necessity to sugar coat; to make it seem like the inequalities caused by white supremacy were minor when in fact they are very debilitatingly extreme.
One nugget of truth I grabbed onto during the inundation of resources on social media during the BLM uprisings of 2020 was to stay in my lane. As dissidents and protestors, we all exist in an ecosystem. What are my strengths? What is my lane?
My lane is: I speak the language of kids. Well, I am at least passionate about re-learning this language.
So, the story book is written from a white child's perspective. The child is growing up amidst "those who believe they are white." The storybook is calledThe Kingdom of the Thieves with the subtitle An Antiracism Children's Book About Growing Up in White Supremacy. I will write more soon after I craft a teaser trailer (possibly on YouTube possibly on Brush Ninja). Alternately I may post a summary paragraph.
For now I wanted to share that the plot involves fantasy:
-pirates
-a wild storm
-a great magical sail boat
-an island
-a town
-a child surviving a shipwreck
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