Here is the broadcast from our appearance on KTRS on October 31
: https://soundcloud.com/user-423077123/the-inside-hour-3-10-31-17?in=user-423077123/sets/the-inside-with-jon-grayson#t=0:00
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On October 31, I will be on KTRS - 550 with Jennifer Blome at 12:10 PM discussing wthat it means to be white and privileged We will be taking calls from listeners. You can live stream the converstation by clicking KTRS.com Or, you can listen to the program at that link after the broadcast. Click on the link beow to hear and learn more about our article and interview from Oct. 23 with KWMU. http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/author-tom-schweizer-helps-people-understand-white-privilege#stream/0 I am happy to announce that on Monday, October 23, 2017 I will be speaking about Understanding What It Means To Be White And Privileged on St.Louis on the Air, with Don Marsh on St. Louis Public Radio -KWMU - 90.7 during the Noon hour!
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/programs/st-louis-air#stream/0 Today I want to share the words of Christi Griffin, a recognized social justice leader in the St. Louis community. After the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, Dr. Griffin brought several African American mothers together to share their stories and incite of being the parent of black children. I attended the first event and several others since. The Mother 2 Mother program provides a look at the challenges black families face, that few white people understand. These emotional comments of the mothers on the panel bring both tears and laughter of pain as we white people learn how privileged affects all people in the community. Here is Dr. Griffins post: Mother 2 Mother May 1st brought new challenges, emotions and a great deal of insight . The following are my reflections. To the Mothers who signed up for one and have diligently hung in there for nearly 30, you are my sheroes and my sisters. To Traci Blackmon who presented the first story and Carol Daniel who prodded me into moving forward, you're the best. With every drop of water, rocks are hewn. FOR ONE HOUR Four Black mothers took the stage and faced an unknown audience. They spoke of "the talk" and bore their souls. They let the pent up pain of oppression spill on the ground like the blood of too many of our sons. And then... For one hour, some felt misidentified, wrongfully convicted of "crimes" they didn't commit. They felt their breath restrained, "handcuffs" that were improperly applied and tightened painfully with every attempt to writhe free. They felt the pain of being punched in the stomach, snatched from their seat and thrown to the ground by those who had control, They felt kicked and stomped regardless of their innocence. They felt disrespected, frustrated, and angry. For one hour, They were lumped into a group, summed up, labeled by the acts of others, stripped of their dignity, denied their right to speak, imprisoned by those on their left and right. They were charged, prosecuted, tried and found guilty - by a jury not their peers. For one hour they sat persecuted and accused. They felt the sting of what they thought was hate. They misunderstood the festering pain that exhibited itself as anger - anger fiercely hurled at the first sign of a perpetrator. For one hour, they wanted to escape, escape into a carefully crafted world where their privilege means hard work is actually rewarded. Escape into the generational wealth no matter how meager it may be. Escape into a world where they can make believe injustice doesn't exist because it doesn't exist for them. Escape into a life free of accusations, free of being stopped while driving Black, free of being stopped while walking Black, free of being stopped while being -Black. They escape into a world where they are free of being wrongfully accused, free of police who kill rather than serve and protect them, free of police who will shoot and kill their innocent children because they "feared for their lives". For one hour, they felt the sting of words. Words. And after one hour, unlike the silence that often ensues when innocent Black men are shot dead on the street, when their bodies are left lying on the ground and grieving Black mothers are told to stand back; when Black girls are thrown to the ground by grown men emboldened by badges and guns, when a man is choked to death with large White bodies pressing knees into his back, when a Black youth is shot for obeying the order to display his license, when an unarmed college-bound teen is killed for walking in the middle of the street, then their voices rose up. They were silent until... for one hour, someone falsely accused them, made them feel uncomfortable, hurt their feelings, and left them feeling sick. And then they spoke up, got angry, wanted to know "where are the fathers?" Then they rose to resist, cared about our joy, and wanted to pray -for us. For one hour. They felt pain and they reacted with anger, Yet, as Black women, Black mothers, Black wives, Black neighbors, Black citizens, Black Catholics, and Protestants and Muslims, the words that gave rise to their pain and anger, is our reality. It is the fear, the disrespect, the frustration, the pain, the injustice, the false accusations, the wrongful convictions, the mass incarcerations, the anger we live, every waking hour of every single day. And when we express our anger, some label us "angry Black women" and immediately dismiss our pain. We are expected to suffer in silence while privilege allows their silence to rail against our words. For one hour. Christi Griffin Mother 2 Mother To Learn More about Dr. Griffin and her important work click here: http://www.theethicsproject.org IF you are a person of privilege, you really need to watch this video and share it with others
https://www.facebook.com/thismatters/videos/742909169221611/?pnref=story I was there, September 20, 1963, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at our synagogue in St. Louis. My awareness of nonviolent resistance was heighten that August, seeing masses of people gather peacefully in front of the Washington Monument. And, of course instantly as I heard Dr. King’s voice ring throughout the our sanctuary. Over the following 53 years, I have read numerous books about Dr. King, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Cesar Chavez, as well as nonviolence as a process to create change. Currently I am reading Congressman John Lewis’ 2012 Across That Bridge – Life Lessons and a Vision for Change. As a result, I am now more convinced than ever that a massive nonviolent movement can move our country in a humane and equitable direction. Congressman Lewis discusses the six foundations he believes create nonviolent change: 1. Faith 2. Patience 3. Study 4. Truth 5. Peace 6. Love 7. Reconciliation These are similar and intertwine with the King Center’s Six Steps of Nonviolent Social Change: www.thekingcenter.org/king-philosophy
It is time to study, learn and commit! What will you do? Two minutes ago, I finished watching “The Birth of a Nation” episode of the PBS series, Independent Lens. This hour-long program explored D.W. Griffith’s 1915 silent film "The Birth of a Nation". As the ending credits rolled, I realized it was time to blog. I knew Birth of a Nation, originally titled “The Clansman” is considered by some to be an early cinematic masterpiece. More importantly, it is also widely seen as the most racist film ever made, promoting the worst of stereotypes and hate. Viewing the program, I learned the film promoted the Ku Klux Klan and was used by that organization as a recruiting tool. With its use of white actors in blackface, and southern sympathies, it significantly shaped white racial attitudes in the Jim Crow years. Watching helped build my knowledge of the work of great men such as W.E.B. DuBois, William Monroe Trotter, Harvard’s first black Phi Beta Kappa and influential Boston newspaper editor, the significance of the Niagara Movement, and the racist attitudes and actions of President Woodrow Wilson. I learned so much new in sixty minutes. This outstanding program once again, demonstrated how most white people only know a very small portion of our true American history. We must to ask ourselves what we never see and why much of our history is hidden from us. We must ask ourselves why and what we must do to identify, hear and accept the truth. Watch the program! Consider these question from the Understanding What It Means To Be White And Privileged Journal:
It is time to question everything! To purchase the Understanding What It Means To Be White And Privileged Journal click on the button below. AuthorTom Schweizer a facilitator, speaker and author of Understanding the What It Means To Be White And Privileged Journal. Tom can be reached directly at journalwp.com I apologize for posting the wrong link. Hope you will take a look. I wanted to share this important article from the Atlanta Black Star. Click atlantablackstar.com to read. I invite your thoughts and comments. Let's dialogue! |
Tom SchweizerWelcome to my Blog. If you have some appropriate thoughts or an article you would like to share, please contact me at journalwp@gmail.com Archives
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