Thoughts on Self Education

I've been watching my white friends talk about all the anti-racism books they've read recently, or are going to read soon - primarily on social media. On the one hand I'm jealous. Farm workers don't have a lot of spare time or energy for reading! I am also impressed - a lot of you can now quote people I've only seen on the best-seller lists, and this is a pleasant change from 5 years ago, when I was struggling at Clark because nobody wanted to acknowledge the volume of racism my peers and I were dealing with. 

I do, however, worry about how many people seem to be reading so they can check the books off a list. I am, of course, purely speculating. But as a person of color, you'll have to pardon me for being suspicious that some white people are really just hankering for confirmation that they are not racist without doing the unpleasant work of changing their hearts and minds. 

As a teacher, we always make learning objectives for every lesson. I think it would be cool if people started approaching at least some* books with the goal of learning something. For example, I started reading Just Mercy to learn more about our criminal justice system. I started reading The Hate U Give because I wanted to have a Black perspective on the murder of an innocent Black youth. And/or, if you're really not a fan of school, I still encourage you to make time to reflect on what you learned. For example, after I read The Hate U Give I actually journaled for a couple weeks about how many terrible assumptions I had been taught and accepted about Black families, and how glad I was that the Asian and Black characters decided to stand in solidarity with each other (fun fact: that is NOT portrayed in the movie. Go read the book!). Learning is usually more fun and fruitful if you do it with a friend, and depending on the situation, it can be a great way to start conversations about race with your children, or somewhat racist family member that you're on good terms with, or... whoever! 

I do say "sometimes" because I think it is important to normalize reading literature by and about people of color for enjoyment, not just education. But keeping that in mind, I think most of us Americans are still in the education phase (which is not a negative judgement), and processing what you learn is an important part of making hte lessons stick!
Happy reading!