Hello participants!

 

First let me say that I am not an instructor, and my comments are
general in response to this topic rather than specific to teaching
classes, but I have a deep interest in race relations as a white
adoptive parent of black children and with black grandchildren.  Here
are some of my current thoughts and concerns:

 

With the unequal distribution of power, privilege, and wealth that we
currently have in the U.S. favoring whites, what will happen when whites
are the minority?  Will it be another South African story with the
whites trying to maintain power and privilege and wealth and keep people
of color as second-class citizens, or will it be that, because we are a
democracy, we will be able to avoid that situation through people of
color claiming their rights through democratic action?  The power and
privilege of white people is ultimately unsustainable, but the question
is what processes will we go through before we come out on the other
side of this shift?  I see this as more of an educational issue for
whites to realize that the shift is inevitable and that it will be less
painful for whites if they become advocates of a just and peaceful
sharing of power and wealth.  The question that Angela Smith asked in
her post, "What are the attitudes and behaviors, particularly those from
the dominant culture (instructors and administrators) that perpetuate
the current status quo (knowingly or unknowingly)?" 

is a great question to ask.

 

Donna Brian

Moderator, LINCS Workplace Literacy Discussion List

Off-list contact djgbrian at utk.edu <mailto:djgbrian at utk.edu> 

 

 

________________________________

From: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of margery freeman
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 9:43 AM
To: The Poverty, Race,Women and Literacy Discussion List
Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 1599] Re: Discussing Diversity and Power
Issuesfor Professional Development in Adult Literacy

 

Good morning to participants!

 

Thanks to Daphne Greenberg for setting up this discussion, which will
take place during the coming 2 weeks.  We are especially happy to have
this opportunity, since it will enrich and inform a similar discussion
that will be taking place during the WE LEARN conference in New York
City on March 7-8. 

 

I have worked for many years as an anti-racist organizer in the
education world, most recently in adult literacy education.  My
experiences teache me that when we understand the construct of race and
racism that shapes our society - when we have a common language and
analysis - we can better understand how all of us "fit".  Racism divides
us all - white people, Latino/as, African-Americans, Asian-Americans,
indigenous people.  Whether we're immigrants or native-born, we are
divided against one another in a society whose institutions privilege
one group (white) over everyone else.  If we are going to come together
to organize for social justice and racial equity - for all people - we
need to learn more about racism, what it is, how it was constructed, and
how it is kept in place.  In our society today, we have been told (most
recently by the Supreme Court) that we should be "colorblind."  But
being colorblind simply keeps the current power arrangements in place.
In the literacy world, that means that People of Color are
disproportionately mis-educated and that the "school to prison pipeline"
is filled primarily by Black and Latino people.

 

So how do we, as literacy practitioners, respond to this reality in our
classrooms and in our communities?  What strategies do we use to open up
authentic conversations about power and race both with our students and
with one another as colleagues?

 

I look forward to your responses!

 

Margery Freeman

Margery Freeman

The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond - Northeast Regional
Office

718-918-2716; cell: 504-813-2368

  

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