Thoughts on Ferguson in response to a Blogpost

A Facebook friend of mine posted an article on my Facebook wall. It’s an interesting perspective that I haven’t heard. I like that the author cites so many benefits that we enjoy in the United States. I also appreciate that he shows gratitude for the police and acknowledges that it’s not an easy job. Your comment about “some people don’t think [Ferguson] is about racism” could be true. I think the protests are about race though. I don’t think the author has a sound assessment of what protestors are protesting because I don’t believe that Michael Brown’s story is just about Michael Brown. It’s my understanding that protestors are not saying that the police are inherently bad. Instead, protestors are trying to educate the U.S. regarding historic trends in our nation that point to racism as still being an issue.

Our criminal justice system has concerning patterns over long periods of time. People that are black are more likely to be targeted by the police than white people. 1/3 men that are black are incarcerated. When you compare that to people that are white, in 2010 black men were more than six times as likely as white men to be incarcerated in federal and state prisons.   What’s up with that disparity? That sounds concerning that the color of someone’s skin could correlate to a different experience in the criminal justice system. Again, this isn’t just about Michael Brown, his story is a story that highlights this broader issue with incarceration of black males or violence by the police targeted to black males.

In trying to understand what could be behind that racial disparity, ONE reason might be the way in which our criminal justice system operates. Our attitudes about race impact how our criminal justice system operates, like when a police officer makes a snap judgment about a suspect in a crime. Those snap judgments are not intentional, but they are impacted by the situation surrounding the police officer and their psychology. Police’s perception about race impacts how they respond when they are enforcing the law. For more on perceptions of race impacting people’s attitudes: read this article which talks about race and attitudes about punitive action. See this article that illustrates the impact the above statistic has on people’s perceptions.

We as a society can take steps to create a change in these statistics, not by shaming our police officers, but by creating tools that can unearth unintentional racism. I’m not assuming that the cameras that Betsy Hodges wants police to wear in Minnesota is directly related to this conversation about race, but it is an example of a pilot project that can increase transparency and accountability of the police. The author who wrote the article you shared, Bart, trusted the police, but that’s not true for many Americans that have felt targeted by the police for no reason other than the color of their skin. Pilot’s like the Mayor’s could help the community restore trust in the police, or reveal unintended subconscious racism that can be de-programmed. We all need deprogramming of racism.

Once a crime is committed, a white person is going to get more sympathy in the media than a person of color. Even if the person of color is the victim. In turn, the stories we see around us are about crime that people of color or black men have committed. Those stories reinforce the perceptions we have about our neighbors that are black, including our snap judgments of them.

I don’t think the explanation of why more black males are incarcerated than whites is just that racism occurs in our criminal justice system, or that police are the only ones responsible in this. I think there’s racism that also occurs in our schools. There is a higher rate of suspension of children of color in our schools. Because of this, a Minneapolis school took action to try and be intentional about reviewing suspensions that have been given to students of color to ensure that they are necessary. This is a positive example of what we can do in our schools to help manage subconscious racism that no one wants to act on, but unfortunately, we can’t help sometimes. This higher rate of suspension of children of color most likely results in lower graduation rates for people of color, of which Minnesota is an example of that disparity. A lower graduation rate from schools could result in a community of people that aren’t as equipped to compete in the workforce because our school system has failed them. The unemployment rate for white people last month was 4.9%, yet for people that are black the unemployment rate is 11.1%. If you don’t have the opportunity to work, the more likely you are to be poor. The National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan share that poverty rates for blacks and Hispanics greatly exceed the national average. In 2010, 27.4 percent of blacks and 26.6 percent of Hispanics were poor, compared to 9.9 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 12.1 percent of Asians. Poverty has it’s own challenges and complexities. This phenomenon has been cited as the “school to prison” pipeline that starts with teacher’s perception of what students deserve to be suspended.  Supporting our teachers through providing opportunities to examine their unintentional biases can help our students and schools. Just like being a police officer, being a teacher is a critical job that we need to be thankful for to all of our teachers for doing this important role.

I’ll admit that I have these unhealthy threads of racism in me that rear it’s ugly head. For example, there have been multiple cases in which I’ve felt a threat to my safety when walking in my neighborhood. I’ve had to consistently ask myself if the perception of my safety has any correlation to the color of the person’s skin that I feel threatened by. When I do this, I realize how disappointing my reflexes are: my body is more likely to be physiologically activated in a threated state when I feel like a black male may be following me as opposed to a white female, or even a white male in some cases. My body is simply responding to the inherent racism that I need to get rid of. And that will take a long time to change my body’s programming. I know I am part of this bigger problem, just like teachers, just like the police. I haven’t event gotten into all the ways I make snap judgments about people in my profession. The police aren’t bad. I’m not bad. But the police and I have racism inside of us, and we need to deprogram it. If we all can commit to deprogramming racism, there’s the opportunity!

This is an opportunity for a more equitable, just United States in which all people equally benefit from our schools and justice system. If the police take action to be intentional about racism, it may help them restore trust with the community that currently lacks it. This restored trust could have many benefits, including a safer neighborhood in which no one needs to carry guns because the police and the perceptions of the police are aligned with their actions (referring to the author that states he carries one because he feels he needs to protect himself from others).  

I believe that we all need to own our contribution to this issue and find productive ways to move forward in mitigating racism that exists—not just racism against people who are black. There is a lot a stake: our schools, workforce, and future.

NOOOO NOOOOOOT CHOCOLATE!!!!

Growing up, I was told in order to gain the world you must lose it. I thought I could do that with anything. But chocolate.

Last week I had the chance to go to Not for Sale's Global Forum on Human Trafficking. They've launched a campaign to put pressure on chocolate companies violating human rights. I had no idea the reality of slave-like conditions farmers in Africa and other coacoa-harvesting nations suffer. If chocolate is so sweet because it manufactered in sour ways, I don't want to be a part of it. You are what you eat treat. This realization has been a huge point of contention in my life know--everytime I reach for the chocolate I think of sweaty children reaching tall limbs of coacoa trees with their boss yelling to work faster when they should be in school, or playing marbles.

GOOD NEWS! There is fair trade chocolate--in many places, even the natural food section at Cub Foods. And if you buy fair trade, you probably won't buy as much chocolate, Jenny, and therefore your diet will be healthier. Good plan. Even better, obstain from purchasing Hershey's, and tell them why you're doing so by signing the petition to Hershey advocating fair treatment of every laborer, regardless of the nation they live in.

And more GOOD NEWS! Nestle is making an effort to make socially responsible chocolate. Now that's sweet.

Etc



Laramie Junior High student Kollin West wears what has become a controversial bracelet at his school. Andy Carpenean/Boomerang photographer

 One way to get attention for your cause: I love boobies

My new desired career: Social Venture Capital Fund Manager

Smart Athiests: Basic Religion Test Stumps Many Americans--research by Pew

Leadership

A friend recently mentioned that leadership is not a position that one takes, or is awarded. Leadership is the state of being where others intrinsically look towards you for leadership. The ones that get things done even without authority. The ones that people think of when they are in need of mental or emotional support. Who are the leaders in your life? How would you define leadership? I realize I'm trying to mount the horse of leadership when I have no idea how to ride it. The older I get the more inexperienced I feel!

Hope

This blog seems to have the theme of hope lately. There are many things that stink. But there are many things that make us get up in the morning.

Today I had the opportunity to attend a conference on Bringing Prosperity to the smallholder African farmer through livestock. Gregg BeVier shared from the Global Development group of the Bill Gates foundation regarding the opportunity to double incomes from $1 to $2 a day by teaching rural farmers how to take care of and providing cows. Simple solutions such as a cow can create lasting change.

I talked with a woman who held my same position at work who just returned from working with Global Fund for AIDS and Malaria prevention. We got pumped about education, youth, and what the future will bring if we focus on forming environments where youth can be healthy.

Received an email from a college friend that has helped create an organization in response to his experience in India.

Read an email from another friend who chose hope over despair while navigating a difficult situation in the workplace.

Where are you putting your money?

We can be the change we want to see in the world if we are intentional about where we spend our money. I'm guilty of buying goods and services without thinking ahead about who I'm buying from, how that company is generating the product/service, and how in that process people in other countries or locally are being impacted by our purchase.

Money makes the world go 'round, right?

What if the world went around only for the corporations that paid workers just wages? That supported unions? That took a stand against child labor? That refused to lobby government officials for their own gains?

What if every piece of food that entered your body was free from harmful pesticides and antibiotics that creates unmanageable species of bacterial infections? What if every banana you ate was collected by a worker that had enough wages to feed his family by working to feed yours?

What if you invested only in companies that had social and environmental sustainability as the forefront of their goals? What if the money in your mutual fund never got pocketed by Phillip Morris or Exxon Mobile, and instead went to breaking cycles of poverty in your local urban community?

I bring this up to charge myself: Where am I spending my money? And just like a vote in the mid-term elections, you vote for the way you want to see the world work when you take out your wallet. What will you vote for?

Social Media: A little bit for a lot, or a lot for a little.

This week I've noticed social entreprenuership in the media, especially utilizing film to bring about individual and collective interest and ACTION with issues.

I've encountered organizations like Participant Media that put a lot of money into making "entertainment that inspires and compels social change". They've made movies such as An Inconvenient Truth and Food Inc. that with the participation of 178 non-profit partners have impacted an estimated 75 million viewers. Visitors to the website are presented with five things the viewer can change or do in their personal lives to take action on the social issue presented in the film.

MN Advocates for Human rights is showing and discussing (see October 20th event details here) the movie Born Into Brothels which is a film about prostitution in India co-produced by youth. The making of the film resulted in the formation of the Kids With Cameras organization which teaches photography to marginalized youth in order to make change. They encourage viewers of the academy award-winning film to host Born Into Brothel House parties so that people educate their family and friends regarding the reality of India and financially support Kids With Camera's current efforts to build a home for youth in Calcutta. A kind of "Pampered Chef Party" approach to fund and awareness-raising.

While grammy's and 75 million viewers are impressive, a wise women once told me "You can impact a lot people a little, or a little number of people a lot". My friend from St. Olaf in his trip to Calcutta recently shared that he was impacted a lot during his trip to India. He was impacted by the condition in which youth lived on the streets and made a documentary with the young women that founded Silent Voices. They are in the process of editing a documentary called Joy In Spite of It that will come out March 2011.

Another friend from St. Olaf successfully reminded her audience in her Media Studies senior show that media can be combined with other forms of art, like dance, in order to create social impact. Her dance about the portrayal of women in the media featured compelling media clips as the backdrop of a dahnce piece which is described on her senior studies website. Her senior project affected me and those that partook in the project greatly.

Life Giving

Bonfire yesterday: grilled chicken, pepper, mushrooms, japanese eggplant over a bonfire fueled by the wood of my old swingset. My mother joked that I was burning my childhood, watching it go up in flames. It could be it. But lately I've felt fresh and new, somewhat childlike, by the encouragement of those I love. This is a chance to thank each person in my life that has showed me what it is to be honest and open. To communicate instead of ignore. To get a bit messy, maybe yell or cry instead of letting a topic go. There is hope in those that seek to understand and seek to share.

My friends are people that ask how you are, and truly care. They modern dance. They tell embarrassing stories about pooping without toilet paper. They ride on the back of cars. They are hope.

I woke up this morning, and I was excited to go to work. There must be a pretty amazing God that set me up with this work. That is hope.

My mother and I went to bible study tonight where we explored the first chapter of Isaiah. The whole room of the church was packed with women interested in reading the bible. Each and every woman was placed in a discussion group where they will have the opportunity to talk about their lives, and share where they see God in this world. They are hope.

Where have you seen hope in your day?
Last week I was feeling discouraged and defeated after translating for detainee's in court for MN Advocates for Human Rights. My good friend has been working so hard at providing opportunities for justice in a system that I think is occasionally mis-named. She's volunteering a year in a program called Lutheran Volunteer Corps where she's committing to a year of sustainability, spirituality, and simplicity.  I was overwhelmed by all the issues that exist in our country which require attention from lawyers and judges, yet thankful that programs such as the MN Detention Project offered by The Advocates for Human Rights exists. I was also concerned about the issues that exist in foreign countries which result in visitors to this country to even leave their home and migrate. I lost sight of hope, and then there it was in an Oldsmobile car right next to me. A man whose skin was hung off his bones more than it clung. A man whose sunglasses were so large his nose fought to peek out. A man that had to be around for over 90 decades. That man was going somewhere. And he was driving. If he can get up in the morning and have something that he needs to do, something that motivates him to drive, I do too. He was hope.

And so many times in our lives it's difficult to find the hope. I find more often than not there's structures of desparity that strangle all signs of it. It's days like this that we must record and cherish and smile about. They may happen once a week. They may happen once a month, once a year, once every five. But they happen, and for these days we thank a God who created this big world in which we can live.

Why was this created?

As some of my closest friends are on the other side of the equator, and globe, there was a request that I blogged to keep them updated about life back on the home-front. This forum will be a place for me to process some of what I've been learning, and share a bit in order to generate conversation with friends and family. Feel free to check in as often or little as you like, and the goal is to hear from YOU! So please feel free to comment or email me if something grabs your attention!

Wishing you peace and joy!
JpK