Building the Beloved Community
September 18, 2007
Honorable Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
Governor of the State of Louisiana
Office of the Governor
PO Box 94004
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9004
[cc: District Attorney, U.S. Attorney and School Superintendent]
Dear Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco,
As human rights organizations working in the United States and around the world, we applaud the actions of Louisiana's Third Circuit Court of Appeals last Friday which vacated the conviction of Mychal Bell, although we are troubled that the District Attorney announced his intention to appeal the ruling. We also remain deeply concerned about reports surrounding the recent events in Jena, Louisiana. Specifically, we are concerned about reports that:
from colorofchange.com
| Six young black men are headed for 20+ year prison sentences in a clear case of Jim Crow "justice."
By Richard Morin Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 11, 2001; Page A01 Whether out of hostility, indifference or simple lack of knowledge, large numbers of white Americans incorrectly believe that blacks are as well off as whites in terms of their jobs, incomes, schooling and health care, according to a national survey by The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University. Depending on the question, the poll found that 40 percent to 60 percent of all whites say that the average black American is faring about as well and perhaps even better than the average white in these areas.
By Tim Wise, AlterNet Just a few years ago, a public opinion poll indicated that only 6 percent of whites in the U.S. believed racism was still a "very serious" problem facing African Americans. While larger percentages believed racism to be somewhat of a problem, only this anemic share of the white community saw it as an issue of great importance.
By Tim Wise, AlterNet Ask a fish what water is and you'll get no answer. Even if fish were capable of speech, they would likely have no explanation for the element they swim in every minute of every day of their lives. Water simply is. Fish take it for granted. So too with this thing we hear so much about, "racial preference." While many whites seem to think the notion originated with affirmative action programs, intended to expand opportunities for historically marginalized people of color, racial preference has actually had a long and very white history.
By Donna Lamb A very important forum entitled Racism in Progressive Movements was held at a community center in Mid-Manhattan in New York City. It was sponsored by Third World Within, which is constituted of organizations run "by and for" communities of color. The forum was attended predominantly by persons of Asian, Asian/Pacific Island, African, and Latino descent, and most were young, mainly of high school and college age. There were also older activists present, but this was the young blood that the progressive movement needs so much to have on board.
by Donna Lamb Suppose you and your whole family, for generations before you, had been living in luxury, enjoying all the best things of life and esteemed by society at large. Then one day a man comes to your door and tells you that he must talk with you: You haven't known it, but his great-great-grandfather worked with yours, and your great-great-grandfather swindled his out of everything. As a result, your family has lived in splendor these generations, while his family has suffered extreme poverty and been viewed with disdain. He tells you that he wants to sit down with you and show you all the documentation he has amassed which reveals exactly what your great-great-grandfather did that caused you to end up with everything and him with nothing, because he believes that even now this wrong must be addressed and rectified.
By Donna Lamb "This country was founded by white people, for white people!" How many times have I read those words in angry e-mails from white supremacists calling me a traitor to my race for what I wrote in my anti-racism or pro-reparations articles. At first I just shook my head and laughed. But as I've continued to examine United States history to understand the roots of the racism that continues with such virulence today, I began to see that those angry white guys have a point!
By Donna Lamb As a white woman who's been thinking about how I benefit from white privilege, I see that so much of it consists not only of what I do get to feel and experience but of what I am privileged not to have to think about or experience.
Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is sometimes referred to as compassionate communication. Its purpose is to strengthen our ability to inspire compassion from others and to respond compassionately to others and to ourselves. NVC guides us to reframe how we express ourselves and hear others by focusing our consciousness on what we are observing, feeling, needing, and requesting. We are trained to make careful observations free of evaluation, and to specify behaviors and conditions that are affecting us. We learn to hear our own deeper needs and those of others, and to identify and clearly articulate what we are wanting in a given moment. When we focus on clarifying what is being observed, felt, and needed, rather than on diagnosing and judging, we discover the depth of our own compassion. Through its emphasis on deep listening—to ourselves as well as others—NVC fosters respect, attentiveness and empathy, and engenders a mutual desire to give from the heart. The form is simple, yet powerfully transformative.
- Names issue as racist
- Recognizes and makes unearned privilege visible
- Dismantles internalized dominance and the belief in the racial superiority of self as a white person
- Challenges yourself and other whites
- Interrupts collusion with other whites who seek to maintain their power and privilege
- Breaks silence and speaks up
- Seeks and validates critical feedback from People of Color
- Facilitates the empowerment of People of Color
- Consistently challenges prevailing patterns
- Takes personal responsibility
- Acts intentionally and overtly
- Is consistently conscious
- Behaves as a change agent
- Promotes and models change for other whites
By not interrupting racism, we allow it to flourish. * Demeaning remarks, jokes and language have become accepted in our society. They have been accepted because no one speaks out against them. Some remain silent because they agree. Others remain silent because they are uncomfortable speaking up. They feel alone in dissension and uncomfortable with attention. They become anxious and the anxiety overcomes good intentions. Later they may say, with regret, "Why didn't I say something?"
By Donna Lamb Earlier this month, the National Conference on Organized Resistance (NCOR) met for the ninth year at American University in Washington DC. Close to 2,000 people from all over the country packed its approximately 100 workshops on such varied topics as Race and Privilege in Radical Communities, Parenting for Social Change, Animal Rights and Human Wrongs, What Does Positive Masculinity Look Like?, and Street Theater as a Media Tool.
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