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| Front of black short sleeve women's comfy top. |
Recently I was asked how I would compare my participation in
the Civil Rights movement with what is happening today. I responded that the
church was a major player in the freedom movement led by Reverend Martin Luther
King, Jr. The movement then appeared to be a small cadre attempting to awaken a
sleeping giant. Today’s movement is secular and massive. It is all ages and all
ethnicities getting behind the Black Lives Matter banner. It is the majority
trying to educate a minority trapped in useless and dangerous ideologies who
have managed to take power of our government.
Awakened to civil rights issues as a student at the University of Texas in Austin,
after graduation I moved to Chicago where the real action seemed to be.
Teaching at Englewood High School on Chicago’s southside, all of my students
were Black. They were bright and sassy and introduced me to humor, jive and
rhythmic movements such as I had not experienced in my blue-collar upbringing.
One day a
couple of months into teaching, I walked into the restroom and happened to
glance in the mirror. I was shocked to see a white face staring back at me. I
had never really thought in terms of skin color and had never considered how my
Black students saw me. This was the beginning of a decades long journey of
breaking my white privilege hypnosis.
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| The flag at the left is accompanied by a Vets for Trump sign on my neighbor's door. |
That summer I went to Africa to investigate methods used by
independence movements, hoping to instill these in our own civil rights efforts
in the United States. Beyond marching in Selma, my primary participation in the
freedom movement was by helping to develop an
integrated caring community on Chicago’s west side. My colleagues and I were
unquestionably naïve do gooders, nevertheless, over time we won the trust of
our Black neighbors who created a nationally recognized preschool, trained to
become more employable, bought homes, sent their children to college, and
developed locally owned businesses.
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| I am using the door of my townhouse's front storage unit to share my values. |
It would take a year in Australia learning of genocide of
Aboriginal Australians, three years in the Philippines and Singapore uncovering
American colonialism, a year of radical insecurity while initiating community development projects in
Indonesia, Egypt, Zambia, Nigeria, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Japan and two
years of culture shock in India to finally break my white privilege hypnosis. Knowing
what it took to wake me up, I am in awe of and grateful for the awakened young
people of today who are protesting for the equal rights of Black, indigenous,
and people of color (BIPOC).
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| We can not have political yard signs, but I can take a stand on my front door. |
I want to lift up the people of Portland, Oregon for their
response to the new crisis imposed by our illegitimate president. MOMS dressed
in white or yellow link arms and create a wall between peaceful protesters and the unconstitutional
assault of illegal militia. They are now being joined by
DADS with leaf blowers.
Portland is setting a creative style of defense that
other citizens can follow when this atrocity occurs in their cities. Already Chicago has a MOMS
group of over 3000 who are learning from Black moms who had already been making
similar defense for their children. Creative Oregonians are choosing Hope over fear and Courage
over cynicism.
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| Back of black short sleeve women's comfy top. |
During the primary I designed a black short sleeve women's tee shirt for stylistically encouraging participation in
democracy. Inspired by the stage play Hamilton, it has a white
musically themed asymmetrical VOTE on back left shoulder and HOPE in front
left pocket area. Please help my collaborator Katherine Getta keep her graphics business going during the pandemic by treating yourself or a friend to one of these attractive screen-printed tees. At her etsy site, scroll down to the tees.
