what a woman who could have joined the D.A.R. has learned about the socially-constructed, political notion of "race" by just paying attention and NOT keeping her mouth shut...
Monday, June 30, 2008
Quote of the Week
"Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to 'jump at the sun.' We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground."
I thought so, too, Kieya. It's kind of a famous quote, but I thought it went well with the post before it and I really like this photo of Hurston. Welcome to these parts, by the way. Hope to see more of you in the future.
This is a beautiful picture of Zora. Even more beautiful are her words & works. I'm gonna save this pic as a screensaver.
Zora story: my laptop crashed about a month ago & I had to ultimately visit the Geek Squad. My tech was a black woman & eventually she needed the help of a colleague--a white male. He instantly recognized my Zora screensaver (the one of Zora holding a cig). She said that she thought it was a picture of my great grandmother or something.
I'm telling this story because it made me sad. We must stop depending on the U.S. education system to tell the history of Natives, Africans/African-Americans and other non-whites. Teach your children, teach your lovers, teach your husbands/wives, friends, etc. There's no excuse for intimately interacting with anyone of any race & not informing them of the contributions and sacrifices that were made by non-whites to get all of us to this point in history.
Wow, Patsgirl. What a great comment. And I totally agree with you. This morning, I watched "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train" (about Howard Zinn, who wrote "The People's History of the United States," giving U.S. history from the standpoint of the oppressed). Over and over, he kept emphacizing how crucial it is for ALL of us to know what REALLY happened before we got here. And now here you are highlighting that theme most eloquently once again. You gave me goosebumps. Thanks.
Thank you, Changeseeker, for your gracious acknowledgement.
I'd like to get a look at "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train." I'll look for the DVD because I don't have cable. Believe it or not, I've been reading "The People's History of the U.S." for several months. It's very difficult reading emotionally & I have to put it down for a while to recover from it's truth.
Actually, Patsgirl, "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train" is a documentary made out of Zinn's memoir of the same title. So you might find the book at your local library (or suggest they acquire it).
I know what you mean about "People's History." I was that way about "Coming of Age in Mississippi" by Anne Moody. I'm still processing that one.
6 comments:
thats a good one
I thought so, too, Kieya. It's kind of a famous quote, but I thought it went well with the post before it and I really like this photo of Hurston. Welcome to these parts, by the way. Hope to see more of you in the future.
This is a beautiful picture of Zora. Even more beautiful are her words & works. I'm gonna save this pic as a screensaver.
Zora story: my laptop crashed about a month ago & I had to ultimately visit the Geek Squad. My tech was a black woman & eventually she needed the help of a colleague--a white male. He instantly recognized my Zora screensaver (the one of Zora holding a cig). She said that she thought it was a picture of my great grandmother or something.
I'm telling this story because it made me sad. We must stop depending on the U.S. education system to tell the history of Natives, Africans/African-Americans and other non-whites. Teach your children, teach your lovers, teach your husbands/wives, friends, etc. There's no excuse for intimately interacting with anyone of any race & not informing them of the contributions and sacrifices that were made by non-whites to get all of us to this point in history.
Thank you for this post, Changeseeker.
patsgirl
Wow, Patsgirl. What a great comment. And I totally agree with you. This morning, I watched "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train" (about Howard Zinn, who wrote "The People's History of the United States," giving U.S. history from the standpoint of the oppressed). Over and over, he kept emphacizing how crucial it is for ALL of us to know what REALLY happened before we got here. And now here you are highlighting that theme most eloquently once again. You gave me goosebumps. Thanks.
Thank you, Changeseeker, for your gracious acknowledgement.
I'd like to get a look at "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train." I'll look for the DVD because I don't have cable. Believe it or not, I've been reading "The People's History of the U.S." for several months. It's very difficult reading emotionally & I have to put it down for a while to recover from it's truth.
patsgirl
Actually, Patsgirl, "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train" is a documentary made out of Zinn's memoir of the same title. So you might find the book at your local library (or suggest they acquire it).
I know what you mean about "People's History." I was that way about "Coming of Age in Mississippi" by Anne Moody. I'm still processing that one.
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