I’ve been on a steep learning curve lately. As more people wake up to the need for changes in how we treat each other and the inherent privileges that portions of the population receive just for existing in a certain way, we ALL have so much to learn.
In this last week alone, the USA celebrated Juneteenth, and Canada celebrated National Indigenous Peoples Day. Many of our schools teach very little about the experiences of Black and African Americans, or First Nations, Inuit and Metis people. Sure, most Americans know about slavery, and many Canadians know about Residential Schools. Knowing about them barely scratches the surface of understanding though.
As a white woman, it is MY job to do my homework to be a Better Person (TM), and wow, do I have my work cut out for me. Sometimes it is hard. I have to take a break, and then I pick it up and keep going.
Concerning learning about Black and African Americans, I have listened to Ijeoma Oluo’s So You Want to Talk About Race. I am currently listening to White Fragility by Robin Diangelo. I have holds on copies of How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (because “not being racist” isn’t good enough – also, I started reading this once before, and had to return it to the library before I could finish), I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown, and Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. In looking for links today, I’ve added Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad to my holds list. I’ve watched films and documentaries such as 13th, The Banker, Green Book (which I know is problematic in it’s own way, and it is a good place to start if you are really uncomfortable or don’t know how much you don’t know), BlacKkKlansman, The Hate U Give, Marshall… there are SO many to choose from.
Concerning learning about First Nations people in Canada, I am reading 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph (who happens to be from the town where I now live), and I just started a free course through the University of Alberta on Indigenous Canada. My husband and my children are Metis, so I am blessed to get to learn about that heritage through them and with them. And in looking for links today, I added From The Ashes by Jesse Thistle to my holds list. I’ve watched many of the (uncomfortable) movies about the horrors of residential schools, like Indian Horse, We Were Children, and Where the Spirit Lives. The National Film Board of Canada has 28 films about residential schools, ranging from 4 minutes to 100 minutes long (more work for me…)
Concerning being a Better Person (TM) in general, I have a stack of books by Brené Brown, including The Gifts of Imperfection, I Thought it Was Just Me, Rising Strong, and Dare to Lead. I’ve also been gifted a subscription to Gaia, and there are a ton of resources there to learn from.
I have so much to learn (I have only done a tiny amount of learning about the experiences of North Americans with Asian ancestry, or Latinx experiences, for example), and I am committed to doing the work. It is important to me that I can connect with people where they are, and create a safe place for all, and I cannot do that when I am ignorant of their experiences. Yes, individual experiences will vary. And I will be much more able to hear and sit with the individual’s experience if I am already aware of the collective experience. I will also be better able to support them and speak up on their behalf when I understand their struggles.
People of color, LQBTQIA+, differently abled, and many other marginalized communities have already had to work extra hard to have their voices heard and their rights acknowledged, and many are still working on the latter. It is not acceptable for those of us who have not been marginalized in those ways, even if we have suffered in other ways, to put additional labor on their shoulders to educate us.
The more I do this work, the more I realize how much more I have to learn. What are you learning about right now?
Blessings,
Mary
PS. I have left off links for films because many streaming services offer different content in the US and Canada. Do your own work, and go find them!