August 21 - 27, 2020

In honor of Juneteenth 2020, I've committed to educating myself on systemic racism, discrimination, and bias. Every day from June 19, 2020 to June 18, 2021, I will read an article or book chapter, listen to a podcast, watch a movie or documentary, view a webinar, or do something substantive to educate myself in these areas. As part of that commitment, I will post to this blog each Friday with a list of what I've done over the past week as well as any pertinent thoughts or reflections.

Today's post covers the week of August 21-27, 2020.

 

Fannie Lou Hamer's Dauntless Fight for Black Americans' Right to Vote

Keisha Blain, associate professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh, writes this brief profile of civil rights pioneer Fannie Lou Hamer. Hamer's introduction to voter registration through the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, her active participation in registering people to vote despite the violence she encountered, and her own political aspirations are discussed. 

The South's Fight for White Supremacy

This 5-7 minute read by Vanderbilt historian Jon Meacham reviews several writings on the Civil War, including the work of Edward Alfred Pollard, a mid-1800s journalist and defender of slavery. Pollard's most famous work, The Lost Cause: A New Southern History of the War of the Confederates recasts the war as a noble conflict in which the topic of slavery was incidental, and that the South's aim of white supremacy should continue to be pursued even after defeat. Meacham argues that Pollard's approach still resonates today, and as long as it does, our nation will struggle to dismantle systemic racism.

Am I Not Human? A Call for Criminal Justice Reform

In this seven minute TED Talk by Marlon Peterson, he discusses his emergence from convicted felon to advocate for criminal justice reform. Peterson uses the story of making music from garbage cans, as his ancestors from Trinidad and Tobago once did, as analogous to giving meaning and relevancy to humans who have been cast aside.

The Barber of Birmingham

This 25 minute PBS documentary tells the story of Civil Rights foot soldier James Armstrong and his journey from voting rights activist and parent during school integration to the election of Barack Obama in 2008. Armstrong, who died in 2009, was an Army veteran and barber in Birmingham, Alabama. "Dying ain't the worst thing a man can do. The worst thing a man can do is to live for nothing. I want to live for a purpose."

The Impact of the Black Lives Matter Movement in a Campus Environment

Auburn athletics director Allen Greene hosts an hour conversation with Northwestern political science professor Alvin Tillery. Tillery discusses the racial and demographic bifurcation regarding support for Black Lives Matter, how the movement started, and how it remains misunderstood. He also talks about campus politics and what leaders in higher ed can do to support students.

Bonus Lecture - History of the Black Experience (August 20)

In this bonus lecture from UT-Austin, Dr. Leonard Moore discusses privatization, at-large voting, and metro forms of local government as well as school busing, affirmative action and Black affinity for the Democratic Party. The video runs about 90 minutes.

How Challenging Stereotypes Can Save Black Lives

This 5-7 minute read by Zaid Jilani and Jeremy Adam Smith discusses the statistical and scientific underpinnings of stereotyping. Negative associations with racial and ethnic groups, often fueled by images in media and entertainment, lead to implicit bias among civilians and police. Experiments designed to counter those stereotypes reduce such bias, leading to the theory that proper training can reduce violence and police brutality.