Posts Tagged ‘education’
NARRATIVE PATHS JOURNAL July 10, 2020 Guest Column:
Wake-Up America! Part II
Healing Racism
by Dr. Kim McMillon, Professor & Author
Dr. Kim McMillon, author, historian, activist, over twenty years of experience producing theatre
The Conversation
- How do you become an ally to those experiencing racial oppression?
- The public has not protested the atrocities that have been taking place in our country, but yet during a pandemic, people are taking to the streets to protest the death of George Floyd, why?
- How do you believe we can change the world for the better?
- As a poet, how would you like to be remembered?
- What line or stanza of poetry best describes you?
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Author Teresa Jade LeYung says: The tagline in Dr. Kim McMillon’s poetathon is: “If not NOW, WHEN?” I believe that that mantra plus the ability to document incidents with our personal electronic devices (especially cellphones) plus the speed in which to broadcast content through social media add up to a World Town Crier galvanizing people to protest the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and other victims. Here we are, fighting a global enemy named Coronavirus – people old and young risking their lives to save lives – folks making sacrifices by staying home to reduce the spread of infection – friends and neighbors sharing resources . . . yet, all the while, the hideous monster named racial injustice looms across our past and present. What can I do after protesters have gone home? How do I confront apathy and denial? I pledge to get more training from www.ihollaback.org: “We’re on a mission to end harassment—in all its forms.” The folks at Hollaback! (in 16 countries) have developed new programs, including “Bystander Intervention to Stop Police-Sponsored Violence and Anti-Black Racist Harassment” and “Stand Up Against Street Harassment.” I pledge to not wait to read voting material right before elections but to routinely visit websites of my legislators to communicate to them what laws I want changed, so that I stand with fellow Americans to fully exercise our rights to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” http://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration
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Author Teresa Jade LeYung says: How can we change the world for the better? While I have no answers, questions weigh on me as a U.S. citizen.
- Education – “Why do zip codes influence how much money a child receives in public schools? Do ballot measures show this inequality?” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tale-two-zip-codes-covid-19-exposes-deep-disparities-u-n1227646
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- When the media brag about lowest unemployment rate, I want to know: “How many of these jobs actually pay a living wage?” “Who are selling and buying ‘cheap labor’ and where are the human beings toiling?”https://livingwage.mit.edu/articles and https://livingwage.mit.edu/articles/61-new-living-wage-data-for-now-available-on-the-tool and https://www.worldhunger.org/ and https://www.worldhunger.org/hunger-news/united-states/
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- When groups blame immigrants and migrant workers (all tax payers by the way) for “taking away” jobs, I ask “Why are we denying the fact that U.S. companies send millions of jobs overseas?” and “What happened to the companies who had urged us to be patriotic by buying products made in the U.S.A.?” https://www.thebalance.com/how-outsourcing-jobs-affects-the-u-s-economy-3306279
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- Why are we afraid to look at “ugly”?
- Abject Poverty https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/poverty/
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- Hate and Bigotry https://www.splcenter.org/what-we-do
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- Modern day Slavery also known as Human Trafficking https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/partnerships/look-beneath-the-surface
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Do we have a chance of becoming our better selves? Yes! We can wake up! Perhaps if we continue asking lawmakers these and other questions, our united voices shall change the world for the better.
“Thank you, Dr. Kim McMillon, for giving us this forum to wake up in unity.”
Lines from Martin Luther King Jr.’s Nobel Lecture on December 11, 1964 – “Each of these problems, while appearing to be separate and isolated, is inextricably bound to the other. I refer to racial injustice, poverty, and war.” www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/lecture/
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James Baldwin’s arguments in the debate with William F. Buckley at Cambridge University (1965) “Has the American Dream Been Achieved at the Expense of the American Negro?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFeoS41xe7w
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“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” – quote from George Orwell’s book 1984.
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Jeffery Robinson’s lecture on August 24, 2017 “When Heritage = Hate: The Truth About the Confederacy in America” (full version) – What was the American civil war really fought about? Men. Women. Children. Chattel. Slaves. White Supremacy was the reality/truth. Who has been and are writing history books? What we can do to learn from our past and combat systemic racism. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOPGpE-sXh0 and https://www.aclu-wa.org/events/when-heritage-hate-truth-about-confederacy-america
https://www.ihollaback.org Hollaback! in 20 cities globally!
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https://www.standup-international.com/fr/fr Agissons ensemble contre le harcèlement de rue.
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https://www.standagainsthatred.org/ Stand Against Hate
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https://www.asianpacificpolicyandplanningcouncil.org/stop-aapi-hate/ Stop AAPI Hate
I wish you and everyone around you safety, kindness, excellent health, clear water, blue sky, delicious foods, and sweet laughter!
Bonne journée!
Sincerely,
Author and Theme Consultant Teresa Jade LeYung
“To help prevent spread of COVID-19, I wear face-covering AND keep at least 6-foot distance with people who don’t live with me. No blaming No shaming; I protect myself and everyone else.”
Teresa Jade LeYung, American naturalized citizen of Chinese ancestry, is a manuscript-theme consultant, author of Love Made Of Heart (archived at the San Francisco History Center), Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days, and Talking To My Dead Mom monologues, and, advocate for public libraries and public schools. Teresa speaks out and offers resources through her Blog: http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/
The fair, organized by the AsianWeek Foundation, was packed with nonstop attraction and many firsts this year – including a Mah Jong section, a Wine and Jazz Area, and a balut eating contest.
Also, for first time in AHSC history, the San Francisco Consulates General of Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore in the spirit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) collaboration, jointly participated in the festival, hosting a pavilion that featured their countries’ respective cuisine, arts and craft, tourism and trade.
The crowd, estimated at 100,000 throughout the day, munched on delicious Korean tacos, BBQ, lumpia, and cupcakes, while others could be seen sipping from their commemorative souvenir wine glasses as they scoped out the numerous arts and crafts booths. The most popular item of the day, without a doubt, were the furry Panda hats, which could be seen on fairgoers of all ages and ethnicities.
A much buzzed about exhibit – the giant inflatable 20 feet long Super Colon, presented by the California Colon Cancer Control Program, did not disappoint. Many eagerly strolled in to get a up-close look at healthy colon tissue and various stages of colon cancer. The display was part of a comprehensive health section that also featured hepatitis B screenings and education, liver cancer awareness, HIV rapid testing, body fat screenings, asthma screenings, blood pressure checks, and the chance for people to register to become bone marrow/stem cell donors.
Fresh off their tour recent Japan tour with Lady Gaga, the adorable boys of Far*East Movement all sporting shades, had hundreds of screaming fans crowding the Civic Center stage, bobbing their heads and pumping their fists in the air as they performed a handful of songs, including their hit, “Girls on the Dance Floor.”
“The festival keeps getting bigger and more successful each year.,” said Supervisor Eric Mar. “It is doing a great job of helping revitalize the Little Saigon and Civic Center area.”
Mar also commended the AHSC for their school fundraising program, which provides prizes and administrative support for San Francisco students and school groups to sell raffle tickets, with all proceeds returned to participating schools
A big smash hit of the day, was the Balut Eating Contest sponsored by Mama Sitas and the Filipino America Arts Exposition. Hundreds watched nine contestants all clad in bright orange Lola Sitas aprons, quickly crack their eggs and gobble away.
The annual event stresses the diversity of the Asian Pacific American community with representation from all ethnicities performing live on stage, and offers a huge selection of arts and crafts, plus food. In six years, the celebration has become the country’s largest assemblage of Asian Americans.
The celebration was co-presented by the California Pacific Medical Center and Subaru of America.
Sincerely,
Teresa LeYung Ryan author of Love Made of Heart
Love Made of Heart on-line store & gift shop
Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published is the 22 minutes for 22 days workbook by Writing Career Coach Teresa http://WritingCoachTeresa.com