New York City prides itself in being on the forefront of whatever is going on. Right now that means being in the middle of the collective outrage and heartbreak of much of the country. It is impossible to write about anything right now and not say something about what’s going on right outside our front door, the same thing that’s been going on for centuries. So I’ve compiled a list of resources that I’ve found helpful and that perhaps others might find helpful as well.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/family/in-the-news/talking-about-race/
https://neaedjustice.org/social-justice-issues/racial-justice/talk-about-racism-and-racial-equity/
“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality…. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
As you know I grew up in Chicago, and there was police brutality then. I remember that the police could be paid off to look the other way for a minimal amount of money. Chicago was segregated into north and south. The black Chicagoans lived south of 47th street and the whites all lived to the north. And the University of Chicago was in the black neighborhood where I went as both an undergraduate and also for my PhD. Black Chicago was known for its jazz musicians and I used to frequently go there to hear them play jazz. Once when I gave a musicians’ party to meet the jazz musicians they said they couldn’t come for fear that they would be killed.
James Cone, whom I miss terribly, told me he used to watch his father leave their house each morning and as he watched his father walk away he always wondered whether he would see him again. I love you, Mom. Thank you for raising me to believe that human beings are more alike than not.
Sad indeed.
❤️