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How Google and Social Entrepreneurs Perpetuate the Digital Divide Among Nonprofits

Submitted by Andrew Sears on Thu, 07/23/2009 - 16:07

google.pngIn the past 10 years, I have been working to address the digital divide, which is the gap between those who have access to and training with technology and those without. I serve as the Executive Director of TechMission, which runs the largest association of Black and Latino led nonprofits addressing the digital divide and manages UrbanMinistry.org, which is one of the most visited web portals of Black and Latino nonprofit leaders. During that time, I have seen many effective initiatives in addressing the digital divide. At the same time, I’ve seen many efforts that have been very well-intentioned, but in the end may have only made matters worse.

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Spirituals: Pentecost betweek black and white

Hollenweger, W. The songs of the blacks. From Hollenweger, W. (1974). Pentecost between black and white, pp. 22-24. Belfast, Ireland: Christian Journals Ltd.

OVERVIEW

ORIGIN AND FUNCTION OF NEGRO SPIRITUALS

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The Farrakhan fiasco

Kelly, B. & Jaffe, H. (1990, January). The Farrakhan fiasco. Regardie’s Magazine, p. 46.

OVERVIEW

Not realizing the disturbance it would cause, a Washington, D.C. council member proposed to honor the Nation of Islam with a ceremonial resolution. The dilemma over the passing of the resolution is summed by council member Jim Nathanson, a Jew:

 

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One Man's Struggle To Save A Generation

Marshall, J. Jr. & Wheeler, L. (1996). Street soldier: One man’s struggle to save a generation—one life at a time. New York: Delacorte Press.

OVERVIEW

Joe Marshall is well known through national television documentaries, speaking, consulting, and his own radio talk show. Born in St. Louis, Joe grew up in South Central L.A. In Los Angeles, he attended Catholic Loyola High School, where he first experienced serious racism personally. Something in his strong home and his nature drove him to stand against violence, even when drawn into fights he could not avoid. His choice of college was based on figuring that there would be many blacks at the University of San Francisco, because its basketball team was all black. Realizing his mistake, he joined a black Omega Psi Phi fraternity at San Jose State University some fifty miles away. Back at USF he organized the first Black Students’ Union, despite resistance from the administration. That responsibility created his strong sense of African American identity and pride.

After college, Joe Marshall began teaching at San Francisco’s Woodrow Wilson High School:

When my daksiki and I showed up at Woodrow Wilson in the fall of 1969, my mission—my purpose in life at that moment—was to impart the knowledge I had gained to the high school seniors of my civics, U.S. history, and black history classes, many of whom looked older than their skinny hustling teacher.

I not only looked young and was young (twenty-two): I taught young. In civics, for instance, the assigned topic was communism, but I disregarded that and focused on issues that I thought imminent high school graduates needed to be informed about—marriage, raising a family, employment, current events, and the like. At night I opened a book on the Watts riot and read aloud into a tape recorder, which I played in class the next day as I made my rounds of the room. I also spent a good portion of my negligible paycheck to buy books that I thought the kids ought to know about, such as Before the Mayflower and Rivers of Blood, Years of Darkness.

I practically lived at that school, devoting most of my extra-curricular time to the BSU. We had fundraisers, dances, barbecues, plays, and assorted ‘days of consciousness,’ such as one dedicated to all the black girls at Woodrow Wilson (we game each of them a black balloon filled with helium; I can still picture the black could we created that afternoon when the girls released their balloons at three o’clock) and an African festival, for which the students built tribal huts in the schoolyard. (pp. 33-34)

Black pride was raised through instruction and experiences such as peaceful protests—and whites learned important lessons as well. Gradually, however, Marshall watched more and more promising students falling to gangs, drugs, and crime.

One of the finest boys I taught had trouble staying awake during class becausse he didn’t have a home. He held a job in order to feed himself, and the only place he could sleep at night, when he got off work, was his aunt’s basement. Years later, I ran into him during a visit to the San Bruno Jail, where he was doing time for selling drugs.

I can’t count the times I’ve been fooled by kids whom I presumed to be free from the snares of street life. One of my favorite students at Apos was a quiet, sweet twelve-year-old girl names Shirley Brown, who had an equally cute and well-mannered older sister, Vanessa, who was fourteen. At lunchtime one day, I was talking to another teacher about the Brown girls and happened to mention how nice they both were. He looked at me curiously for a moment and said, ‘You know they’re prostitutes, don’t you?’ I didn’t believe it until he offered to take me to MacArthur Avenue in Oakland., where they worked. I declined the invitation. When later I started asking around about the girls, fishing for information on how I might get them off the streets, I was advised that if I interfered, I would have to content with their pimp. Afterward, when I looked at Shirley or Vanessa sitting so attentively in my math classes, I often wondered if they knew what I knew. I could only assume that they did. (p. 37)

As I grimly watched the kids of San Francisco slipping away one by one, it was furthermore obvious that the situation was not restricted to my city and school district. The same things were happening at an even more alarming pace back in South Central… (p. 38)

Neither the justice nor educational system seemed willing to confront the challenge of these students who were falling by the way. By the 1980s, he felt compelled to jump over these ineffective systems and co-found the Omega Boys Club, based on the belief that inner-city young people want something more than the streets but don’t know the way out. From a small basement community center, some 600 kids have moved out of gang-banging and drug dealing. Some have joined his small but strong army of street soldiers (street workers), and more than 140 young people have gone on to colleges around the country.

Listening to the stories of homies espcially after the escalation of violence that took place after the release of the movie, "Colors," is chilling. These are heart-wrenching personal stories, and they involve bitter disappointments for the street soldiers trying to reclaim lives and turn them in a positive direction. Joe Marshall is a man of courage, and there are challenging confrontations between him and his homies here.

Joe Marshall is host of a gutsy radio talk show, "Street Soldiers," that challenges gangs and street life with prospects of a life that is not dead end. This book includes letters from listeners touched by the radio show.

Marshall’s program highlights "three crucial steps to freedom" (from the destructive ways of the streets):

  • Acknowledging the problem, which is a matter of identifying the behavior that has placed them at risk.
  • Coming to grips with the anger, fear, and pain that’s behind their behavior.
  • Adopting a new way of doing things; that is, new rules for living.

Marian Wright Edelman, President of The Children’s Defense Fund, describes this book, "The stories here will wrench your soul and Joe Marshall’s life will warm your heart. You’ll cry from the pain, and the promise, in this book." Denzel Washington’s comment is simply: "Joe Marshall’s Street Soldier is a revelation!" Spike Lee says, "As much as the Million Man March was an impressive vision of the power of many, Joe Marshall serves as an inspiring reminder of the power of one. Every black man in America should read this book, and then do something." This book is a challenge to every one of us to contribute something toward shaping the future of a generation at risk.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

  1. What most impressed you in reading this article? Do you plan to read this book?
  2. Is it possible for an individual, a program, a church to take back the streets? If not, why not? If so, how so?
  3. Could you use the three crucial steps to freedom in your relationships and counseling of young people? What, if anything, would you add?
  4. How could you use this book in your work, teaching, or training?

IMPLICATIONS

  1. "Of the black men between ages twenty-five and thirty-four who have dropped out of high school, 75% are in prison or on parole or probation." This fact alone should be enough to let us know that all of us as a society must act effectively.
  2. We must study books and programs with measurable success in this area.
  3. To Joe Marshall’s strong programs and fine book should be added other available resources needed by urban programs and workers. The Youthworkers’ Encyclopedia is a rich and growing resource for such work and study.
Dean Borgman cCYS

A diversity workshop

  

A diversity workshop designed to facilitate multiculturalism within groups.

OVERVIEW

Note: The names of the church and all individuals mentioned have been changed in order to protect confidentiality, however the facts cited below are true. The background story helps to explain the need for diversity workshops within any growing group.

The ABC Church was founded 70 years ago by a small group of recent immigrants from Barbados. Having come to America in search of a better life for themselves and their families, many of them settled in the Boston area, working as domestics and factory workers. During the week, they dealt with the harsh reality of trying to make a living; on the weekends, they sought the church as a place of refuge. Desiring to maintain the style and traditions of the worship they experienced "back home," they began to meet in the home of one of the members. As the church grew, they moved to small rented spaces, eventually purchasing the building where they currently worship.

For the first 50 years of their existence, the church family grew very slowly, with new members either coming directly from Barbados or being of Bajan descent. The worship style reflected their Caribbean roots, and there was a definite family atmosphere. During the 1970s, the church experienced more rapid growth and, for the first time, there was diversity among the membership. However, this was not racial or ethnic diversity—the new members were still Caribbean, just from different islands. Jamaicans and Trinidadians were now among the numbers. This change happened almost without notice, since the basic worship style remained the same. The common struggle of living in America bound the worshippers together.

In the late 1980s things began to change. The first white person became a member of the church. Patricia was a friend of one of the members who came to church one night; she accepted the faith during that visit. The church literally "nurtured" this new babe; her presence did not seem awkward or strange to the membership, and for many years, she remained the only white member of the church. During this same time, a Hispanic family and 2 Liberian families also became part of the congregation.

After a change in the Pastorate in 1995, the church experienced rapid growth, and with this growth came much more racial and ethnic diversity. Brazilians, Portuguese, Chinese, Nigerians, Caucasians, Puerto Ricans were all welcomed. There is no explanation for how or why this diversity occurred; people were just drawn to the church. And once they came, they found a welcoming atmosphere.

Initially, even with the addition of new members of different backgrounds, the leadership remained completely African American. However, as the new members became settled into the church, their gifts and talents have been recognized, and they now hold prominent positions within the church as ministry leaders, musicians, and worship leaders.

From the outside looking in, this church is a model for how to build a diverse group of any kind. But it is important to remember that this was not necessarily something that the ABC church set out to do. After all, worshipping together for 2 hours on a Sunday morning does not eliminate the possibility of racism and prejudice existing among the membership. In the words of Perkins and Rice in More Than Equals, this church seems to have achieved integration, but not necessarily reconciliation. In order to address these issues, it would be a good idea for leadership team of the church to participate in a one-day diversity workshop. The following workshop could be modified to meet the needs of any group seeking diversity training.

GROUP PRESENTATIONWORKSHOP OUTLINE

At the end of the training session, the participants will:

  • Understand the value of diversity and racial reconciliation.
  • Have a fuller understanding of the many dimensions of diversity.
  • Recognize our own filters, beliefs, values, and stereotypes.
  • Examine how we reinforce behaviors and beliefs that devalue others.
  • Begin to build a common ground by recognizing and valuing both our differences and our similarities.

AGENDA AND OUTLINE

  Thank participants for coming. Stress importance of this workshop to the group. Introduce facilitator.   Review workshop agenda. Have participants break into small groups to record their wishes and worries for the day, using the alphabet. Ask each group to develop a story using the words they’ve just brainstormed. With the group, develop ground rules for the day (e.g., confidentiality, honesty, timeliness).   The church at Antioch. The Good Samaritan. Philip and Stephen. Peter.   Ask the participants to come up with as many scriptures—or other sources—as they can that address the issue of diversity or racial reconciliation. Have the participants read the reasons aloud. Record key phrases on a flip chart. Review the flip chart and ask the participants the following questions: What do you think the scriptures (or other sources) are saying about diversity? Are these messages still relevant today? If not, why not? Do you see areas in this group where we could make improvements in order to live up to these principles? What can you as an individual do to make a difference?     Now that we have established the importance of addressing diversity and racial reconciliation, we can begin to establish a definition of diversity. Ask the group: What is diversity? What are all the things that make us similar and different? Record these answers on a flip chart, and ask each person to pick the five dimensions of diversity that have had the most profound effect on their life. Ask volunteers to share their lists and discuss how these things have shaped them. Define diversity as "All the ways in which we differ." Stress that diversity is not just about race. We are all unique individuals and we all have value. Ask the participants to think about what the group would be like if everybody were like them. (Hopefally, this will elicit an humorous response.)     The purpose of this module is to build awareness of our personalities and how they impact how we interact with others. Lead the group in the "Find the Fs" activity. Distribute the following paragraph on a slip of paper to each participant: (use a font that lines up the letters as evenly as possible. Filters and Stereotypes (1:00 p.m.)Lunch (12:00 p.m.) Encourage the participants to sit with people that they don’t know well.Defining Diversity (11:00 a.m.)Break (10:45 a.m.)Scripture Mania (If in a secular group, call this part Defending Diversity) (10:15 a.m.)Models of Racial Reconciliation (9:45 a.m.) (The following models are biblically based; seek other secular ones as is appropriate to your group.)Agenda/Expectations/ABC Exercise/Ground rules (9:15 a.m.)

Welcome (approx. 9:00 a.m.)

FAIRNESS IS THE FINAL RESULT OF YEARS OF EFFECTIVE EFFORT COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF DIVERSITY

  • Ask participants to read it and make sure they understand it. Then ask them to read it again and to count the total number of the letter Fs they see on their paper, and keep that number to themselves. They should not say it out loud. Only give them one minute to do this. Ask if they are sure, then give them 30 more seconds to double check their total.
  • Ask participants to raise their hands when you call out the total number of Fs that they see on their paper. Start with 1 and count up to 10 Fs. (There are really a total of 9 Fs).
  • People will raise their hands for 6, 7,8, and 9 Fs. Act confused, ask them to count again. Some people with change their count. Give them one more chance. Finally, tell them there are 9.

Ask the following to the entire group:

  • Ask the group: What happened? What explains this? Participants will likely say that they missed the small words, like "OF." They will use adjectives like "unimportant," "meaningless," and "trivial" to describe "OF." Some will say they missed "OF" because the "F" in "OF" sounds like a "v" ("Different than the other Fs!"). Others will say that they were taught to not look at "OF." Others say that they were distracted by the content of the paragraph.
  • Ask those who saw 6 Fs: Were you sure about the number you found? What did you think when you saw others raise their hands for 7, 8, or 9? How did you explain it to yourself? There tend to be three explanations: I must have missed something (I’m wrong, they’re right); I know there are 6 Fs—they miscounted (I’m right, they’re wrong); I know I have 6, but maybe they have different papers (We’re both right).
  • Everyone saw all the Fs, so why were some Fs invisible?
  • What does this have to do with diversity? Why would we use this activity in a diversity workshop?
  • Are there different groups of people in society that are treated like Fs? Are some people defined as more important than others, and they become disregarded or even invisible?
  • Ask the people who saw 7 or 8 what happened for them. Even though they noticed almost all of them, they still made mistakes and didn’t see them all. We all miss things even when we are looking for them. In light of diversity, even when we work hard to expand our awareness, we may still not see the full picture. There is always more to learn.
  • Did you continue to look for 10? Why?
  • Discuss how certain people were about how many Fs they saw, and how difficult it was to change their views. How do we react when people tell us that there are more Fs than we think there are? Some are open, while others become defensive and disregard the new information. Make the analogy to how the opinions and perceptions of women and people of color are often trivialized and ignored.
  • How do you respond when others point out Fs to you that you have missed?
  • Did anyone deliberately miss or disregard the Fs? In fact, people were actively looking for them, but the omissions still occur. Use this to discuss the difference between intent and impact. It may have been an accident or an unintentional offense, but we are still responsible for our behavior—especially once new Fs in any situation have been pointed out to us.
  • Finally ask, What are the implications for our group? And who are the little Fs?
  • Class Divided Video (2:00 p.m.)
    • Give background of film referring to Jane Eliot and her class.
    • Show "blue eyes privileged" section of video; stop the tape.
    • In small groups, ask participants to discuss the impact of stereotypic thinking, including:
      • privileges/opportunities of the blue-eyed;
      • unwritten rules;
      • postures or behaviors that reinforce the status quo.
    • Show the rest of the video.
    • Divide groups into triads to discuss:
      • Who wears the collars in our church? In our community?
      • What are the unwritten rules of conduct within our church?

  Ask the group to brainstorm two lists: Actions that the group can take to make sure that each member feels valued and appreciated. Actions that individuals can take to do the same.   Divide the large group into small groups of four. Ask them to record words that describe how the workshop has influenced their thinking, using the letters D I V E R S I T Y as a guide. Closing Remarks (out by 4:00 p.m.)Closing Exercise (3:30 p.m.)

Strategies for Change (3:00 p.m.)

cCYS

 

 

Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Shelley E. Bland, “White Privilege: Review of Peggy McIntosh’s ‘Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack’”, CYS, May08

OVERVIEW

 

(Download Unpacking the Invisible overview as a PDF)

Peggy McIntosh, author of “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

,” (1989) writes about a convicting and challenging notion of racism in white privilege. Her studies in this field were rooted in findings of men’s unwillingness to grant their over-privileged status, though they would admit the disadvantaged state of women. These denials, in essence, protected male privilege from being acknowledged, decreased, or curtailed. Calling out this unacknowledged male privilege phenomenon, McIntosh knew that since hierarchies in the society of the United States were interlocking, her finding of unattended white privilege might be a key to racism as well.

For McIntosh, racism is taught as something which puts another at a disadvantage. In light of the preceding, she realized an erroneous omission in the teaching of racism: if some are disadvantaged, a significant corollary must be that another is placed in a position of advantage. Specifically, white privilege must be the translated position of advantage.

McIntosh describes white privilege vividly and powerfully as the idea of an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions and more. In other words, a white person in the United States has on his or her back an invisible weightless knapsack granting favored positions, status, acceptance, and more.

Following up on how racism is taught, McIntosh finds that whites are taught “to think of their lives as a morally neutral, normative, and average ideal, so that when [we] work to benefit others, it’s seen as work allowing “them” to be more like “us.” This kind of teaching establishes a silent, but strong belief that the white is superior, even deserving our advantages.

FINDINGS

 

In wading through the disillusionment the reality of realized white privilege brings upon one’s life, McIntosh understood that it then made one newly accountable. McIntosh began working through this issue first in herself through accountability in counting the ways in which she enjoyed “unearned skin privilege;” possibly even more grievous, she noted that she had been conditioned into oblivion of its existence.  Likely, many whites operate in such oblivion.

Here are some of the items that she found to compose an invisible white knapsack:

 

1.   I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.

2.   I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.

3.   I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.

4.   When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.

5.   I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.

6.   I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions …

7.   I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race.

8.   I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.

9.   I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.     

10. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.

11. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to “the person in charge,” I will be facing a person of my race.

12. I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children’s magazine featuring people of my race. 

13. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance, or feared. 

14. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of race.     

15. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more or less match my skin.

These few components of the invisible white knapsack encompass social, emotional, mental, and physical aspects of one’s life. This means, therefore, that the invisible white knapsack serves holistically for the unearned privilege of one, and contributes towards holistic injustice of another.

CONCLUSIONS

After such discoveries, McIntosh’s realizes how short the word “privilege” fall. We are really talking about “power.” The conditions above allow for the systematic over-empowerment of certain groups. In short, such privilege “confers dominance because of one’s race or sex.” Such dominance, whether intentional or unintentional, is embedded in white privilege. McIntosh goes on to say that disapproving of racist systems will not be enough to change them. However, systemic change can begin with the acknowledgment, identification of, and teaching of white privilege for oneself and then others. Late, after persistent and patient work, may one hope for system changes.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

 

1.   Do you agree with McIntosh about the concept, and reality, of the ‘invisible knapsack?’ Do you see how this invisible knapsack can also express itself in terms of religion or age? If not, how would you interpret her findings?

2.   Have you listened to the stories of people of color disadvantaged when they drive, when they go into a store, and in may other daily experiences?

3.   How does the matter of an unfair playing field make you feel if you are a ‘wearer’ of such a ‘knapsack’ - Distressed? Outraged? Indifferent? Hopeless in bringing change? If you are one oppressed by the ‘knapsack’ others seem to have, what are your feelings: – Angry? Saddened? Justified? More isolated?

4.   What are some things you can add to McIntosh’s list as examples of your own ‘invisible knapsack’ if you believe yourself to wear one?

5.   How were you taught about racism, through your family, peers, media and educational system?

6.   What can you do to lessen the effect or remove the ‘invisible knapsack’ if you believe yourself to wear one?

7.   Will you continue to identify how unearned race advantage and conferred dominance affects your daily life if you are in such the position of ‘favor?’

8.   Do you think others in your surrounding sphere understand this view of racism? Are there positive ways you can discuss it with them?

IMPLICATIONS

 

1.   Despite all talk of “the end of racism,” people of color experience, on personal and systemic levels, the powerful effect of something.

2.   Difficult as it may be, we deal best with racism and other kinds of discrimination by listening and responding to one another.


Shelly E. Bland c. CYS


Black Actor Ignores Threats, Plays Jesus

 

(1997, March). Black Actor Ignores Threats, Plays Jesus. Newark, NJ.

OVERVIEW

 

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Racism Report Calls Task Formidable

Cobbey, N. (1992, July). Racism Report Calls Task Formidable (Editorial and letters to the editor). Episcopal Life

.

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Tillman, J.A., Jr. with Tillman, M

Tillman, J.A., Jr. with Tillman, M. Why America Needs Racism and Poverty: An Examination of the Group Exclusivity Compulsion in America as the Natural Enemy of Rational Social Change in Race and Poverty Relations.

Bristol, MA: Four Winds Press.

OVERVIEW

 

(Download Why America Needs Racism & Poverty overview as a PDF)

 

The authors suggest that

 

The conflict between America’s avowed policy of equality of opportunity and her institutionalization of arbitrary group exclusivity motifs which are designed to build a closed, not open, society is at the bottom of what has been called the perennial American dilemma in intergroup relations.

 

James Tillman, a social scientist and the director of several anti-poverty programs, disavows membership in either liberal or conservative approaches to racism and poverty. Neither is he an equalitarian, but he believes that social stratification can be just. He sees himself as an American pragmatist.

 

What is unique about this work among books on racism is that it begins with an anthropology that is theological in nature. The heart of racism is seen as the tendency of human nature to secure its identity by endowing its social group with an exclusivity denying entrance and implying inferiority to negative reference groups.

 

Liberalism’s dogma of man’s perfectibility is rejected. "The rhetoric of optimistic liberalism is dangerously deceptive...man is manageable, but not perfectible." The "self-defeating optimism and naïveté of contemporary liberalism" must be replaced with "social realism." (pp.iii, xi)

 

The conservative’s belief in the righteousness of the system leads to the use of force and suppression to maintain order. Those "have nots" who rebel should be "viewed and treated as negative tokens." (pp.6-7).

 

The liberal works to help the "have nots" in a way that may "tinker with the system" but will not threaten the privileged status of liberals themselves. Liberalism’s help ensures that the poor will not become rebels while the means encourages their remaining marginal members of society needing continuing aid.

 

What the Tillmans believe (James Tillman is now deceased) is that racism is only extinguished when individuals find that their identity is a higher reality than social comparison. The social class in America that is most oppressive and that needs most to change its mind is the middle class.

 

This particular book is primarily about neighborhood action. It argues for power at the grass roots. "To both the blacks and the poor, the central message of this book is direct, simple and clear: organize yourselves and take power if you must" (p. 255). This is the American way, as the authors see it. Only a coalition of interests in the lower class, with good will where it can be found among the middle and upper classes, can bring about effective change.

 

"America has a few years...to rid herself of the idolatries of racism and economic exclusivity..." Otherwise "she is doomed to an early and certain death as a democracy" (p. 260). It is the authors’ belief, however, that

 

Black community viability—initiated and controlled by blacks and...ASSISTED by America’s white remnant—will improve, extend and consolidate the American experiment....Blacks who are produced by such contemporary peoplehood may often be called ambitious, clannish, arrogant and pushy. Only such people, however, can make and keep whites sane and honest. Interaction between such blacks and America’s whites can only produce a stronger and more vital and more vigorous America! (pp.266-67)

 

IMPLICATIONS

  •  

  • The Tillmans argue for the impoverishment of both American conservatism and liberalism, challenging all to examine the basis of one’s identity, security, and social philosophy.
  •  

  • The authors, in other works and workshops, argue for the need of a theological understanding of human nature and institutions. Society cannot destroy racism without dealing with the ultimate nature of human beings.
  •  

  • The authors challenge theologians to examine the relevance and contextualization of their theology.
  •  

  1. This book offers a theoretical means for dealing with individual and corporate racism and for teaching cooperation on more than a superficial level.

Dean Borgman cCYS

Race Matters

West, C. (1993). Race Matters. Boston: Beacon Press.


/files/Images/Book covers/Race Matters.jpg

OVERVIEW

 

(Download Race Matters download as a PDF)

 

West looks at how race affects both black and white Americans politically and personally, offering constructive criticism to both liberal and conservative approaches to the problem of racism.

 

Cornel West is professor of religion and director of Afro-American Studies at Princeton University. His treatment of the race issue is unique because he views it both politically and spiritually, and he tries to develop solutions that strike a balance between the two. West identifies his purpose: "...my basic aim in life: to speak the truth to power with love so that the quality of everyday life for ordinary people is enhanced and white supremacy is stripped of its authority and legitimacy." (p. x)

 

West sets up his problem, stating, "The major enemy of black survival in America has been and is neither oppression nor exploitation but rather the nihilistic threat—that is, loss of hope and absence of meaning." (p. 15) This nihilism, due to a lack of moral nourishment and political power, is the fuel behind the rage black Americans feel. West offers three objectives for a solution. First, black Americans must look to themselves and their common history as sources of power, hope, and help. Second, focus attention on the "public square—the common good that under girds our national and global destinies." (p. 6) And third, black Americans must generate new leadership, which is in touch with the people. Above all, West calls for politics of conversion as a cure to the nihilistic threat: "Nihilism is not overcome by arguments or analyses; it is tamed by love and care...A love ethic must be at the center of a politics of conversion." (p. 19) A love of self and others must undergird any economic or political action—this is the essence of what West calls for in response to the rage and hopelessness of black America.

 

Cornel West’s book is a valuable treatment of racism, because he not only looks at both spiritual and political aspects, he also critiques liberal and conservative responses to it. His insight helps his audience understand that there are aspects of truth in both responses, but that this issue is not simple; it is complex, requiring more than either government programs or individual morality can accomplish alone. He also is willing to tackle tough issues, such as sexuality, affirmative action, the crisis of black leadership, and the impact of Malcolm X and black rage on black Americans today. Although this book is more on the academic side, it is a challenging and resourceful treatment of race matters in America.

Amy Allison Moreau cCYS

Life on the Color Line

Williams, G.H. (1995). Life on the Color Line. New York City, NY: Penguin Books.


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OVERVIEW

 

(Download Life on the Color Line overview as a PDF)

 

This is a powerful autobiography of a man who has a white mother and a father of mixed heritage. Because the child was so light skinned, he didn’t know he was "black" until after his mother abandoned his family and they moved to their father’s hometown. He and his brother were raised by their black aunt; consequently, he was not accepted as either white or black. He overcame childhood poverty and abuse, becoming a lawyer and a professor. The book eloquently sums Williams’ situation:

Gregory Howard Williams and his younger brother, Mike, grew up believing they were white and that their dark-skinned father was of Italian descent. Then their parent’s marriage disintegrated, their mother left, and their father’s business ventures sank into a sea of liquor. Pursued by debt and personal demons, Tony Williams took his two boys to his hometown of Muncie, Indiana, where he was known as ‘Buster’, and where there was no escape from the truth he had hidden for so long.

 

The truth was as plain as the color of Buster’s family. Gregory and Mike Williams were the sons of a brilliant and charming but troubled black man who fled the burden of race until need drove him back to his roots. Suddenly Gregory and Mike discovered they were black as well, strangers in a segregated world about which they knew nothing, forced to learn the strategies of survival amid poverty, prejudice, and agonizing absurdities of a time and place where racism flourished.

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The first four chapters of this book describe the childhood of Gregory and Mike in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, a military community. His father owned and operated the Open House Café, where many soldiers enjoyed refreshment and entertainment. Across the east side of the highway, it was all white; west of the highway, they were surrounded on three sides by the all-black community of Gum Springs, home of former slaves and their descendents since the time of George Washington.

 

Life was tough for the two boys, ages four and five, despite the fact that they were living in a community that believed they were white. Their father drank a great deal and regularly battered their mother in front of them. His drinking soon destroyed the marriage and the business. Their mother escaped with the two youngest children, leaving Greg and Mike with their dad.

 

LEARNING OF THEIR HERITAGE

 

At the age of nine, Gregory and his younger brother were uprooted from their only home, to be taken to a strange land and a new life, not knowing if they would ever again see their mother. Their lives changed dramatically as they settled into their new location. They discovered aunts, uncles, and cousins that they never knew they had. While delighted to learn that they had a large family, it was a tremendous adjustment to realize that their family was very poor and very black. Miss Dora, the aunt who then raised the boys, was the only church-going family member. She insisted that the boys join her every Sunday for Sunday School and church. This weekly ritual, alone, may very well have been one of the influences in their lives that saved them. School became a nightmare for each of them as they were not accepted as whites and were frequently harrassed and abused with their black cousins. Their friends in school were black kids; the whites were "off limits". Gregory Williams shares, "Though only ten years old, I faced one of the hardest choices of my life: to dream or to despair. Too young to realize the odds against any one of us ever walking away from those tracks and changing the circumstances of our lives, I chose to dream."

 

In 1954, Gregory happened to watch a television interview of a Ku Klux Klan leader, following the Supreme Court decision to outlaw segregated schools. According to Williams, "That beefy-faced, white robed Klansman stood in front of a burning cross, railing against black and white children learning together. He claimed that the Supreme Court was encouraging ‘race-mixing’ and the only result would be the ‘bestial mongrel mulatto, the dreg of society." This statement struck Gregory like a thunderbolt: the Klansman was talking about him. He was the motive for the violence against integration. He was who they hated and wanted to destroy. That was the biggest puzzle for Gregory, because he had absolutely nothing.

 

GROWING UP

 

The only place in Gregory’s school life where he and other black students were respected was in the world of sports. On the football field or the basketball court, those who excelled—regardless of race—were heroes. Still, as soon as the game-ending buzzer sounded, it was back to the same abuse—even in the locker room. Dating for Gregory, of course, was restricted to black girls, even though some white girls were interested in him. Even in dating he encountered prejudice. One day while walking down the street with his black date, a car drove by and a teenager leaned out, shouting, "N----- lover!" He realized that they saw him as a white boy dating a negro girl. Gregory wrestled with the fact that his town wouldn’t permit him to date white girls, and apparently couldn’t tolerate seeing him—because of his light skin—with black girls either. He did, eventually, marry a white girl from his high school; it happened after they were in college, and it was painful for all families involved.

 

Gregory states that the greatest gift his father ever gave to him was to instill in him the ability to dream and visualize a future of his own making. Gregory was a smart, young man, and a very good student. He excelled in his grades and had an insatiable appetite for books. Reading was the route for escaping his life of degradation. In a political speech, Gregory heard the words, " ‘Out of one blood, God made all races to dwell on the face of the earth.’ " These and other words of encouragement gave Gregory the strength to succeed.

 

Before the boys’ parents divorced, the boys had a good relationship with their maternal grandparents. They loved their grandmother and thought that she loved them. But after the divorce and the move to Indiana, they heard nothing from either their mother or their maternal grandparents. One day, several years later, their white grandmother came to see them. Gregory and Mike were elated to see her, and they asked her lots of questions about their mother. She was not very responsive, and she eventually became angry. When they asked her to tell their mother something for them, she responded, " ‘Don’t tell me what to do! I don’t carry messages for n-----s!’ " This devastated the two boys. They returned to their black aunt, buried their faces in her bosom, and released long and sorrowful wails and sobs that had been submerged since their mother abandoned them. Miss Dora profoundly summed their lives with her response, " ‘Boys, sometimes, life is just plain hard. Most children don’t have the trouble you’ve had, but God has some purpose in all this. You just have to walk on through it.’ "

 

Another significant event in Gregory’s life occurred when he was about to graduate from elementary school. He was basically promised by one of his teachers that he would receive the Academic Achievement Award at graduation ceremonies. He was so excited and proud that he worked an extra job just to buy a new (second hand) suit to wear for the event. He also convinced his Dad to come to see him get this award. Gregory had to keep him sober long enough to get him to the ceremony. However, when the announcement came, Gregory and his teacher were surprised and shocked to hear another name called out. What neither of them knew until that moment was that the prize did not go to negro students.

 

Finally, after ten long years, their father received a call from their mother. She wanted to see her boys. "The pain of rejection, of begging my cousins for small bits of information about her, of having my hopes dashed time after time, had nearly cauterized me." Gregory said, "Now, when she seemed gone forever and when we accepted we would never see her again, she came back." But the emotional reunion ended up being just another disappointment:

 

We stood less than a foot apart, desparately trying to reach out to each other, yet we were unable to connect. We lived in different worlds. The distance between us was far more than miles and years. I didn’t want to start over. I wanted an apology for the years of neglect. I wanted her to say, just once, ‘I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you boys, and I pryaed every night someone was holding you and protecting you the way I wanted to.’ I wanted her to say she thanked God for giving us Miss Dora. But my mother was only concerned with her own distorted reality. She wanted us to reenter her world, but first we had to reject the one in which we had lived the last ten years. Gaining acceptance to her world required that we deny our black heritage and pretend that the people and circumstances of our present life did not exist. We were to forget we were ‘colored’ boys. She expected us to move back into her life without a past, without roots, without feelings for the people who had sheltered and cared for us when our need was greatest. I knew that was something we could never do.

 

With great determination and hard work, Gregory went to college and graduate school, becoming a lawyer, and later, a law professor. He ends his book with this statement:

 

In spite of all the pain and grief of my early years, I am grateful to have been able to view the world from a place few men and women have stood. I realize now that I am bound to live out my life in the middle of our society and hope that I can be a bridge between races, shouldering the heavy burden that almost destroyed my youth.

 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

  1. How do you think the treatment that these two brothers received in their early childhood affected each of their lives: from their father, from their mother, from Miss Dora, from their teachers, from classmates, and from society as a whole?
  2. What was the influence of Miss Dora’s beliefs and their involvement in the church on these two boys?
  3. Why does racism end in the sports arena? And why can’t the acceptance reach beyond the sports arena?
  4. How would these two boys’ lives be different in today’s society rather than in the 1960s?
  5.  

  1. What does this story mean for a youth worker today? Is it pertinent? How?

 

IMPLICATIONS

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  • Self esteem. Self esteem can "make or break" any person, regardless of race. Gregory succeeded in life; yet, his brother, Mike, did not. The father of the two boys continually praised Gregory, telling him that he was "smart enough to be able to do something with his life." Still, their father continually told Mike that he was worthless, just like he himself was. Consequently, Mike succumbed to a life of alcohol and drug abuse, just like his Dad.

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  • Education. Second only to family, the educational experience of a child is a powerful influence. When teachers praise and encourage students, they perform better. A teacher who does not believe that a student is capable of advancing—and shares his or her belief with the child—significantly diminishes the chance for a positive scholastic outcome. Unfortunately, the two boys involved in this book were mistreated and never encouraged to pursue worthwhile endeavors.

  •  

  • Cruelty. If there is a perfect time for the "Golden Rule" to be understood and practiced, it is amidst racism. The cruelty inflicted on these two boys once they were perceived as black was horrendous. This type of behavior is unconscionable.

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  • Legislation. Although some strides have been made to formulate and enforce laws to reduce blatant racism, much covert racism abounds. The journey to full acceptance is long and arduous.

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  1. Personhood. Our society needs to be educated (through the church or other institutions) about personhood. We can have the best educational system in the world, but if we do not learn to love our brothers and sisters, and respect each other’s personhood, we fall short.

 

Lois E. Merrifield cCYS