Angie welcomes Dr. Laura J. Hunt for a conversation on speaking out against racial injustice.
www.livesteadyon.com
Facebook @livesteadyon
Laura’s suggested reading list can be found on her website, www.laurajhunt.com
Ten Things I Can Do About Racism:By Laura J. Hunt
1. In places where I have no more power than most people, I can amplify black voices by retweeting or sharing. They don’t need me to summarize or translate or explain their experience. They just need people to listen, and the truth is that some people will listen to something I post or share quicker than they will the post of anyone with darker skin. So I can amplify their voices and point people to them.
2. In places where I do have power (for me that’s the mostly the classroom) I can continue to double check my voice, making sure that I am not assuming that my white experience is “normal” or “normative,” making sure that I create space for black scholars and black students to speak into the discussions we have.
3. I can regularly double check my own grading and make sure that racial biases have not affected who I make allowances for and who I don’t.
4. I can interrupt racist remarks or behaviors when they come up. I can police my own thoughts, watching for thought patterns that need to be interrupted.
5. I can support organizations like Equal Justice Initiative or NAACP who are doing the work that I can’t personally do.
6. I can educate myself beyond what school, my parents, and the culture taught me. This is my list, but there are so many other authors and so many more resources: http://www.laurajhunt.com/index.php/blog/race-usa-my-personal-bibliography
7. As a white woman, I can keep African American men around me safe by NOT calling the police, as well as by not communicating discomfort.
8. I can intentionally diversify my life, making sure that images of black people and black voices come up regularly on my social media and in my book, podcast, music, movie and TV choices.
9. I can make sure that when I want to use the work of black artists, black authors, black anti-racist leaders, that I am compensating them appropriately. This is always important, but particularly for African Americans whose labor was stolen for so many years, it is essential.
10. This one is last, but honestly, it might be the most important: I can find African-American leaders and follow and learn from them. Not just put black people on the team. Put myself under the leadership of African Americans. Join a group where I am in the minority.
Be The Bridge Facebook group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/BetheBridge/?hc_location=ufi
Heartwarming by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3864-heartwarming
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/