We have been given an extensive and varied task list for our second session on “Whiteness and Racial Justice Learning For Quakers”
As usual – it is a Quaker course after all – there is a lot of reading of text. Sometimes, when I have gone to the trouble of reformatting texts so that I can read them, I don’t always find them helpful. I am not interested in theory but in stories and practicalities.
However, for this piece I’m going to focus on three videos and the three Required Reflective Tasks we were offered.
The short videos included a song, a story and solidarity. The song, from Facebook, is from the Douglas family and I think it is called “Stand Up”. Shots of brutality against black people illustrate the song and it is a good opening to the two videos which follow.
The first news story videos tells the story of a young black boy, Gerard, caught up in racial violence and cruelly attacked by right wing extremists on his first BLM protest in London. He found little help from the police at first and one overwhelming feeling which comes from his story is his total isolation in this frightening incident. He is still physically and mentally scarred by the experience and his mother spoke from her heart when she said, “George Floyd is right here in Britain.” She also wondered if Gerard would have got the help he needed had he been white.
The other news story video was about a BLM protest in Yeovil. It was a short film but powerful as it focused on two girls from mixed race families who spoke in public about their lives. One girl said; “Be mindful, be kind; you do not know the history which lies behind the eyes of my black dad.”
Our required reflection tasks demanded time and commitment. Fortunately I have lots of time at the moment so I used it well.
First, we were asked to research the life of Bayard Rustin. I watched a Youtube clip but what really helped was a 45 minute talk which i bought from Audible called “We Are One”. Through this I got a vivid picture of Rustin’s life, work and dynamic character, as well as the homophobia which attempted to marginalise him. This is a work in progress for me as I have a couple of other books about and by Bayard Rustin
Secondly, we were asked to research Grenfell Tower. I found two documentaries on Youtube, one Sky news and the other BBC Newsnight. Both films had a lot of personal stories of survivors and relatives of victims and a great deal about the scandal of the dangerously inadequate construction of the building. Not only that, the films stressed that the residents had persistently complained about the inadequate fire prevention provision, among other concerns, and had been persistently ignored by the local authority.
What also stuck me was that the Tower was a real community where people were genuine neighbours. Many residents were poor and black but there was a real international feel to the community as well.
Our final but for me the most moving task was called “Say Their Names”. We were given fourteen names of people who had died as a result of structural racism. We were asked to learn their stories and in a worshipful way call them to mind and hold them in the Light.
I created a document on my iPad with names and places and dates of death. I use this for prayer, a bit like an icon.
Sadly, after the session yesterday, I have added three more names of women whose deaths were shrouded in structural racism; Shukri Abdi, Nicola Smallman and Bibae Henry.
So far, nothing changes but…!
Live Adventurously 