December 11 - 17, 2020

On June 19, 2020, I made a commitment to educate myself on the lingering effects of racism, discrimination, and bias in America. Every day through 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 December 11-17, 2020.

 

Uncovering the Hidden Cost of Our Criminal Justice System 

Wes Moore, CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, writes this piece for Time magazine about how the criminal justice system affects the economic prosperity of poor communities. More than $370 billion in wages is lost each year for people who have a criminal conviction. These lost earnings impact the entire country, and they disproportionally drain resources and wealth from communities of color.

 

Independent Lens: Peace Officer 

This PBS documentary centers of the story of Dub Lawrence, a former Davis County, Utah sheriff who founded a SWAT team in 1975, then watched as his son-in-law perish during a standoff with SWAT more than 30 years later. Several SWAT encounters in Utah are featured, as the story wrestles with the use of force, the militarization of police forces, no knock warrants, and the trust and relationships communities have with their local law enforcement. SWAT raids increased from about 300 per year in the late 1970s to 50,000 per year by 2005.

What Can America Learn From South Africa About National Healing?

David Marchese of the New York Times interviews South African professor Pumla Cobodo-Madikizela about her work with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 25 years ago and how it applies today. Cobodo-Madikizela contends that, while the TRC work was important, it hasn't continued in productive ways or served to inform other societies over the last quarter-century. About today's young South Africans she says, "What happens to people when they are born into freedom but have no means of actually enjoying this freedom?"

 

Privileged 

Veteran NBA player Kyle Korver wrote this piece for The Players' Tribune more than a year ago, but it remains an important perspective on white privilege. Korver recalls first learning about his teammate Thabo Sefolosha's broken leg suffered at the hands of the NYPD and the emotions that followed. "What I’m realizing is, no matter how passionately I commit to being an ally ... I’m still in this conversation from the privileged perspective of opting in to it. Which of course means that on the flip side, I could just as easily opt out of it. Every day, I’m given that choice — I’m granted that privilege — based on the color of my skin." H/T to Taurian Houston for the recommendation.

 

Is It a Microaggression? 

This article from the journal Academic Impressions defines and discusses microaggressions and the impact they have on the workforce. Even in supposed egalitarian academic settings, microaggressions occur and accumulate in ways that have far-reaching effects on organizational culture. The article offers ways to identify microaggressions and how to address and prevent them with your colleagues.

What Is Black Fatigue, and How Can We Protect Employees From It?

Mary-Frances Winters writes about workplace diversity initiatives, how they have failed in the past, and what can be done differently in the future. Many Black and Brown workers are tired from their experiences with overt racism, implicit bias, and microaggressions. Winters advocates for organizational reviews, transparency of those reviews, and ongoing commitment to change from organizational leaders.

 

He Won a Super Bowl. Now for the Real Challenge. 

Howard Bryant profiles Houston-native and former NFL tight end Martellus Bennett for The Atlantic. Bennett, who won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots, founded Browniversal - a creative company focused on bringing more Black characters to children's books and other forms of media. Bennett has written four children's books himself and says, "A lot of my work is me subconsciously trying to validate my childhood, because the childhood I had as a Black boy does not exist in media today. I was more like The Goonies than Boyz n the Hood.”