Cerberus at Sadly, No! has an incredible piece up that righteously deconstructs a transphobic shitheel. The whole thing is epic, but this part – this made me cry. Continue reading “A Glimpse into What It’s Like Being Trans”
culture
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My Fellow White Folks: It’s Up to Us to Stop Racism
Racism is our problem to solve.
White people like myself are the ones with the problem, and the ones with the vast majority of the power. You may not feel like it. You may want to believe you’re a minority, too, that you’ve experienced racism, that you’re not a racist and never do racist things, that everyone you know is double-plus good, and anyway, it’s hard and not your problem. I’ve heard you. I’ve lived with you, and gone to school with you, and slept with you, and worked with you, and I have been you. And I’m tired of the excuses. So don’t make them here. If you aren’t willing to be the solution, if all you want to do is say, “Well, yes, but…” and come up with excuses as to why the systemic racism in our society isn’t your fault, then you’re not going to be happy with what I’m telling you. I wasn’t happy when I realized it myself, honestly. But shut up and bear with me. Practice your listening. Don’t stop listening until you’ve reached the end of this post.
Listen to Yemmy, for a start: Continue reading “My Fellow White Folks: It’s Up to Us to Stop Racism”
The Micro- and Macro-aggressions White Folk Don’t See
My friends of color face scenarios I remain blissfully unaware of. I’ll never forget the shock I felt when my half-Mexican friend told me he’d been pulled over for not making a complete stop at a stop sign on a dead-quiet residential street at two in the morning. Six cop cars showed up on short notice. This is in a town of a few thousand people. As one of the few people of color, he was often given increased scrutiny. It was an issue I’ve never faced. My skin color is invisible to most people, especially police.
If I’d listened, I would have heard many more stories. We white people, we need to listen.
Tony posts a cartoon on black folk sticking up being mistaken for stick-up robbers, and comments: Continue reading “The Micro- and Macro-aggressions White Folk Don’t See”
Roxane Gay is a Bad Feminist – If By “Bad,” You Mean “Awesome”
“I am a bad feminist,” Roxane Gay tells us at the end of her essay collection Bad Feminist. “I would rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all.” People, I am so glad she’s a feminist, because she’s one of the ones we need with us. It would be awful to have her against us.
I’ve been reading Roxane’s blog for some time now, which prepared me to handle this essay collection. You’ll want to be somewhat prepared, because her writing is so smooth and so beautiful, so magnificently real, that you can be taken by complete surprise when she addresses a terrible subject. That’s the problem with really good writers. They suck you in and have you looking through their eyes with little feeling of distance, and that can be harrowing when subjects like rape and murder come up.
Continue reading “Roxane Gay is a Bad Feminist – If By “Bad,” You Mean “Awesome””
11 Racist Caricatures Infesting Popular Culture
When I was little, my mom wants a Picaninny doll. I had no idea what they were, but the word was odd and sounded sort of cute. That’s what it’s like being a little white girl: racist caricatures that harm other people didn’t strike me as wrong. I had no idea they had anything to do with race, much less that they were based on horrible stereotypes.
There are all sorts of caricatures that infest our culture. If you’re not the target of the caricature, you can easily miss the racist connotations. You can be oblivious to the messages being sent, the harm they do, and the way they perpetuate the othering of black people. You can unthinkingly perpetuate racist stereotypes, have your opinion colored by them, even if you’re staunchly anti-racism.
Tony recently curated a series explaining eleven of these caricatures. I urge you all to read about them. In becoming more aware of them, we can avoid perpetuating them, and push back when others use them.
Continue reading “11 Racist Caricatures Infesting Popular Culture”
Crowdsourcing Sociological Research on Race and Ethnicity
Anne Fennewick would like a post exploring some of the sociological research we have on race and how it impacts activities like applying for jobs and policing:
I hope some of the posts will look at strategies for overcoming these problems temporarily or permanently. For example, what happens when we anonymize all or part of the application process, and why don’t we, given how easy it would be? Do some police forces do better than others and if so, why? Do black/Hispanic police do better than white police? If so, can we capitalize on that? What social factors are associated with racial prejudice and under what circumstances are they diminished? It would be nice to start taking the sociological research more seriously – we might even end up with better sociological research!
I think this is a fabulous idea, but damn it, Anne, I’m a geologist, not a sociologist. Happily, I’m blogging on a network with lots of bloggers and commenters who know all about sociological studies, and often have many good ones right at their fingertips. So, my darlings, I beg of you: link me those studies, and blog posts about those studies! Send me pdfs, even! You can leave links in the comments, or email me at dhunterauthor at gmail.
I’d also love links to recommended sites discussing race and racism at various levels, from 101 on up. While you’re at it, point me at your favorite books, documentaries, and other resources. I can create a page here with everything gathered in one place. Continue reading “Crowdsourcing Sociological Research on Race and Ethnicity”
Diversifying the Geosciences
There’s a pretty terrible fact about the geosciences: degrees and careers are overwhelmingly got by white people. Go look at these stats. Look at the fact that in America, in 2010, just 1% of the people employed in earth science careers were black. One. Percent.
No group other than whites made it past the single digits. Not one.
We’ve got to do better than this. And we can, even us pasty-pale folk such as myself. We can amplify the voices of geoscientists of color. We can work with minority students to bring more of them into the STEM fold. We can fund scholarships. We can ask minority students what they need us to do, and do it. We can listen to our professionals of color. We can make our spaces welcoming to people of color. We can start right now by visiting Black Geoscientists, and taking their suggestions to heart. Continue reading “Diversifying the Geosciences”
“The One Thing No One Seems to Want to Remember is How Much Opposition There Was to King”
David Futrelle reminds us that Martin Luther King, Jr. faced plenty of violence, frenzied opposition, and attacks by police and public. Sometimes, we recall the speeches without recalling the chaos. We hear “civil disobedience” and “non-violent opposition,” and forget that those opposed to civil rights used the power of state and terror in an effort to maintain white supremacy.
We should never forget that he didn’t back down in the face of those arrests and attacks. We should never forget his work isn’t finished.
It takes a lot of courage to change the world.
Martin Luther King, Jr.: “A Riot is the Language of the Unheard”
Sixty years ago, the color of your skin determined your treatment on Montgomery, Alabama busses:
Under the system of segregation used on Montgomery buses, white people who boarded the bus took seats in the front rows, filling the bus toward the back. Black people who boarded the bus took seats in the back rows, filling the bus toward the front. Eventually, the two sections would meet, and the bus would be full. If other black people boarded the bus, they were required to stand. If another white person boarded the bus, then everyone in the black row nearest the front had to get up and stand, so that a new row for white people could be created. Often when boarding the buses, black people were required to pay at the front, get off, and reenter the bus through a separate door at the back. On some occasions bus drivers would drive away before black passengers were able to reboard.
Rosa Parks wasn’t the first person to challenge that treatment. Martin Luther King Jr. wasn’t the only community leader who fought for an end to Jim Crow. But they rightfully become icons of the Civil Rights movement. We remember them for their peaceful protest. MLK Jr., especially, we remember for nonviolence and civil disobedience. So much so that he’s now thrown in the faces of angry and upset protestors in an effort to shut them up.
On this day, let’s remember more than “I Have a Dream.” Let’s remember that King also said that “A riot is the language of the unheard.” Let’s remember “The Other America.” Continue reading “Martin Luther King, Jr.: “A Riot is the Language of the Unheard””
Racism and Society Week: The Unequal Opportunity Race
This past year saw a warranted wave of anger at white oppression, as the people of Ferguson, Missouri demanded justice for yet another unarmed black teenager murdered by police. Mike Brown, Eric Garner, John Crawford, Tamir Rice, and far too many others didn’t get justice last year. But I hope history records 2014 as the changing of the tide.
It won’t happen unless we take a stand.
Continue reading “Racism and Society Week: The Unequal Opportunity Race”