Shanamadele’s Coffee Break
Pet Peeve #162Archive for anti-racism
Relieved
So, I found a link to Project Implicit, which tests preferences that people have for a variety of categories.� (They probably test other stuff, but I took one about preferences around race.)� I am relieved to know that I am among the six percent of respondents who show a slight preference for African-Americans over European-Americans.�� Relieved, because I thought that my automatic response would more along the lines of moderate preferences for E-As.� I figure that if my automatic response is slightly anti-racist (if any preference is anti-racist–there’s something to contemplate), I have a chance of fighting the non-automatic responses. Which is not to say that I don’t have plenty of work to do, so don’t get me wrong.
Commentary later – now, my heart breaks
It’s a little over 7 minutes long. It won’t tell you anything you don’t already know, but I appreciate the reminder about why it is important to care about the little things we do and say about race. We make the change, one action at a time.
Anti-racist parent meme
Carmen at Anti-Racist Parent offered up this meme.� So, here’s my version, for your enjoyment.
1. I am:
White. Jewish. Female. Theoretically bisexual.� Mother’s family:� White, Ashkenzi (Eastern European Jews).� Father’s family: White, Welsh, Protestant. Father’s family has unverified claim to Native American heritage (Chippewa).
2. My kids are:
One kid – Butternut. He came to us through adoption. Not sure about his first father. First mother is White, Anglo-Saxon, with unverified claim to Native American heritage (Cherokee).
3. I first started thinking more about race, culture, and identity when:
As far back as I can remember.� Here are some highlights along the timeline: When I realized my father and his family of origin weren’t Jewish. When my mother made me apologize for calling the neighbor the “n” word when I was four. When I went to a high school with a 65 percent African-American population.� When I went to a college with a 99 percent white population. When I pursued a master’s degree in women’s studies. When I contemplated adopting.
4. People think my name is:
Unremarkable (which, I imagine, means that it registers as Anglo-Saxon, and, therefore, “normal”). I recall one teacher in elementary school insisting that it was French. It’s Welsh.� I sometimes hear, “Good, Biblical name” about my first name.
5. The family tradition I most want to pass on is:
Eating dinner together on a semi-regular basis — no TV, just us, together.
6. The family tradition I least want to pass on is:
Over-stressed, over-worked parents, spending too much time at work in order to keep food on the table and, maybe, send the kids to college.
7. My child’s first word in English was:
Well, it’s a toss up between “mama” and “ball.”
8. My child’s first non-English word was:
That has not yet emerged, unless we include American Sign Language. Then, I would say “milk.”
9. The non-English word/phrase most used in my home is:
Shabbat (sabbath), because we celebrate it weekly with our friends, so we talk about it often.� Actually, we usually say it with a lovely Yiddish accent — shabbos.� Tanta would be a close second — Butternut has many Jewish aunties.
10. One thing I love about being a parent is:
One thing? I only get to say one thing? How about the little happy sound Butternut makes when he’s pleased with himself?
11. One thing I hate about being a parent is:
That i am powerless to take the pain away from him. I can help him, but I can’t take it.
12. To me, being an anti-racist parent means:
Confronting my white privilege, challenging myself to recognize and interrupt racism in myself and others, teaching my child to see racism, giving him the tools to question assumptions, encouraging him to hold me accountable for practicing what I preach.� Acknowledging that this is difficult.
