A while back, when I returned to school to get my B.A., I
believe it was ’04. I created a little audio visual presentation on cultural
diversity for part of my compilation of work for my senior project. I’m going
to share bits and pieces of the presentation. I must first give you a bit of
the background that led me to revamp and repost. My niece posted something
about Disney, her babies love Disney films. I pointed out how Disney was a
notorious anti-Semite and that the older cartoons are extremely racist. My
niece highlighted her position by noting the newer films appeared to more
inclusive. I highlighted my point by
mentioning two of the “newer” films that appeared to be inclusive cultivated
stereotypes in a subtle way and how we get sucked in because the presentation
is entertaining. Let that sink in for a moment; racism and bigotry as a form of
entertainment…..
My family is blended and extended to the point of being an all-inclusive
melting pot of what we want America to be: African American, Scott-Irish,
Native American, Latin, German, Filipino, homo and hetero and I’m sure other
things I’ve yet to discover. The thing that really disturbs me about this
magical melting pot is that some folks enjoy the “passing” …I was going to
write the “privilege of passing” but to me it’s not a privilege it’s a subtle
form of self-loathing and internalized racism. Then there is the faction that
allows the pass…not calling out racism and bigotry; often citing “I don’t want
to make waves”, “they didn’t mean it”,
or I’m going to pray for them.” Let me
just say it’s nice to have hope and believe in the better but it’s equally
important to let people know that their racism and bigotry was noticed and the
behavior is unacceptable. It’s important to teach the younger generations their
TRUE history…not the whitewashed and sterilized versions that school teach…. I
got those lessons first hand. My grandfather told me stories of him being a
grown man and trying to hold his temper and hands when a youngster referred to
him as boy. Living in a society where he had to answer with the title “Sir” My gramps was functionally illiterate but his
mind was sharp as a tack. He memorized every employee and badge number of
employee in his steel mill to become a foreman. I watched my mother struggle to
go to school at night to obtain her degree while feeding and clothing 3 small
kids. I hated the fact that my mother strove to be the “Julia” ( tv show- Diahann Carroll) first
negro in the neighborhood. There were times where my mother had to threaten
landlords with court actions for failure to rent to Blacks. I often listened to
my mother’s hairdresser discuss Blacks in stereotypical terms while they did
her hair; my mother had long straight hair so she had to go to White
hairdressers because the Black hairdressers were trained for pressing and
perms. I often hear my mother use her “White” speech” (our own form of racism
and bigotry) in responding. The bigotry in the mutual exchange.
I have become diligent and militant in my own beliefs….I
remember my mother taking a course in Black literature and I, being an ardent
reader, grabbed the paperback and devoured it…I read Soul On Ice at age 8. I
also read literature about Black History and the Black Power movement. I was
trying to obtain Panther literature, much to the dismay of my father (the rank
and file negro who truly believed he’d be labeled a Communist by my
striving) I’m not totally free of my
own isms and bigotry but I AM self-aware and I can check and correct myself
when I feel myself going there….but I’m not giving a pass to the “free white
and 21 male dominated power structure” of this country. I am not afraid to call
out White privilege. I am not a self-loathing ANYTHING!
All this history brings me to the question: who or what
taught you to hate? I’m going to provide a few images that have bombarded my
childhood and are being subtly shifted an manipulated to future generations. I’m
challenging people to WAKE THE HELL UP and think about the messages that they
are being fed.
Which pill are you taking to enter the Matrix?
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