Resources to help understand why people are protesting

Date: 6/16/2020

Protests continue to take place across the country, including in Western Massachusetts, following the death of George Floyd. Floyd, an unarmed black man from Minneapolis, MN, died after Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

In addition to an uprising of protests across the nation, there’s also been a call for education about systematic racism within the criminal justice system, policing and in everyday life in America. Books about systematic racism and the oppression of black men and women have been flying off of shelves and, in some cases, backordered on online websites such as Amazon.

In addition to books, there are compelling shows and documentaries on streaming platforms that can be accessed and used as education resources. Some, such as “Selma” are free to rent on iTunes.

Movies/documentaries

There’s a bountiful amount of documentaries, docu-series and movies about why the Black Lives Matter movement is important and how our country got to this pivotal moment in history.

• “When They See Us” on Netflix

 This four-part series directed by Ava Durernay who also directed “Selma,” is the re-enactment of the true story of five teenage boys from Harlem who, in 1989, were coerced into giving false confessions regarding the brutal sexual assault of a jogger in Central Park. The boys, who just happened to be present in Central Park the night of the attack and were between the ages of 14 and 16 at the time, were interviewed for more than 24-hours without parental consent or lawyers present, food, water or sleep.

            They were then all tried, found guilty and convicted despite a lack of physical evidence tying them to the attack. Four of the boys, Raymond Santana, Atron McCray, Kevin Richardson and Yusef Salaan, went to a juvenile detention center for a number of years, prior to their release. However, 16-year-old Korey Wise was tried as an adult and sent to adult prisons such as Rikers Island in New York. The five were later released and exonerated in 2002 after Matias Reyes confessed to the crime in 2002. They ended up spending between six and 14 years in prison. They sued the city of New York and were awarded a $41 million settlement in 2014, the largest settlement in the history of the state.

            To say this series is powerful and emotion is an understatement. I’m no film critic, but the acting by all those involved is spectacular and moved me to tears at numerous times as I watched. To see the young boys plead their innocence, have their futures ripped from them, as they serve prison time away from their families and as they attempt to re-enter a society that is now foreign to them is truly heartbreaking. It truly exemplifies the struggles of black young men in particular as they’re caught up in a whirlwind of media and crime just because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

While I can’t speak to the accuracy of the depiction of the motivation of the district attorney who prosecuted the case or the detectives who initially investigated the assault, and we may never know if the show’s depiction is true or not, the story uses real information from the trial, and the men’s lives, to illustrate how the system failed these men at a young age and that they will never get back the years that were taken from them.

• “Hello Privilege. It’s me, Chelsea” on Netflix

This documentary follows comedian Chelsea Handler as she embarks on a journey to find out what white privilege is and how it may have played a role in her life. Handler is candid about being a rich, white woman and openly discusses her upbringing, her rise to fame and the criticism she’s faced over the years, including when she released an autobiography in 2014 called “Uganda Be Kidding Me.”

Handler begins the doc by attending an event for people of color hosted by a university professor. While the group is receptive to her and willing to engage in dialogue, they make one thing clear to her: we are tired of doing the work for white people, this is a white person problem and they need to do the work.

Handler then begins talking to friends and strangers from all racial, economic and political backgrounds to understand how people see white privilege and if they think it exists at all. I have to admit, I’ve never been a big fan of Handler, I’m not a big fan of stand-up-comedy in general and have never sought out her material. However, watching her work through how to “be a better white person” is refreshing. Often we see people of color having to explain and walk white people through what privilege is and the part it plays in their life, however, with Handler’s approach she realizes that her privilege has impacted her in ways she’s never even thought about.

For example, she references how at the age of 16 she became pregnant several times by her then-boyfriend who happened to be black. She later recalls several times being pulled over while driving and being let go when her boyfriend was held. She later visits her ex-boyfriend, sitting with his family and having a meal.

While it’s nice to see white privilege from the perspective of a white person, I dislike that there are no solutions given, just examples. I know it’s important to point out the problem, and it’s a great starting point for those who might be struggling to understand their privilege, I just wish it offered more guidance as to what steps white people should take after facing their privilege.

• “Time: The Kalief Browder Story.” This docu-series follows the true story of Kalief Browder. Browder was just 16-years-old in 2010 when he was arrested in New York City after a man accused him of stealing a backpack weeks earlier. Despite his insistence that he did not commit the crime and a lack of witnesses, Browder was thrown in jail at Rikers Island in New York. His case was dragged out for three long years, two of which he spent in solitary confinement.

While Browder was at Rikers, which is known as one of the most violent adult jails in America, he endured beatings by guards, some of which was caught on tape and later released. At one point, Browder even tried to commit suicide while at the jail. However, despite the abuse and hardships he endured while at Rikers, he maintained his innocence and refused to admit guilt or take a plea deal. His accuser eventually dropped all charges and Browder was released without the case ever going to trial, but not without consequence.

Due to his extended time in isolation and experience at Rikers, Browder suffered with mental health issues. Once home, Browder once again tried to commit suicide. Fortunately, he failed, however, in 2015 he tried to commit suicide for a third time and succeeded.

Since his death, his family, legislators and even celebrities such as Jay-Z have spoken out against the use of solitary confinement and the need to segregate adult inmates from juveniles ones. Another point of contention by those who have spoken out against the legal system on behalf of Browder was the use of cash bail. Browder, an adopted foster child, was one of several children whose family could not afford the cash bail requested to free him from Rikers while he awaited trial. It was because of that he endured psychological and physical abuse through the use of solitary confinement and beatings from guards.

Browder’s family went on to sue the city and won a multi-million dollar lawsuit, but it still couldn't bring back the family’s beloved son, brother and friend. This powerful, multi-part docu-series outlines how the system was designed to fail kids and families such as Browder’s and the powerful, lasting impact solitary confinement can have on an individual. The series features footage from interviews with Browder, where you can visibly see the pain and emotional trauma he experienced in the years he was released. The series also shows emotional interviews with his mother who has since passed, his siblings and his friends.

Other movies, documentaries and series to watch include:

• “The Glass Shield” on Netflix and Amazon Prime
• “Selma” on Amazon Prime
• “13th” on Netflix
• “I Am Not Your Negro” on Netflix
• “The Death and Life of Marsha P Johnson” on Netflix
• “LA 92” on Netflix
• “Let it Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992” on Netflix

 Another resource I?recently discovered is iTunes is offering free rentals of movies such as?The Hate U Give, Just Mercy, Antwone Fisher, Ali, Selma, Brian Banks and The Secret Life of Bees.

Books

Instead of a Netflix binge, if reading books is more your style , you’ve come to the right place.

On social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more – there has been heavy discussion of books for people to educate themselves surrounding discussions of race, the history of racism and more. The following are a few highly recommended and significantly discussed books on social media.

• “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” by Robin DiAngelo

“White Fragility” is a book that seems to quickly have sold out in many online retailers. Fear not – as of this writing – it is available on paperback on Amazon.

Author Robin DiAngelo has been a consultant and trainer on issues of racial and social injustice for over 20 years, according to her bio, and she formerly served as a tenured professor of multicultural education at local Westfield State University.

The New York Times best-selling book “explores the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality.”

In the foreword, Michael Eric Dyson explains, “...antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and ‘allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people.’ Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.’”

• “This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work” by Tiffany Jewell

A book categorized for children and young adults, “This Book is Anti-Racist,” has 20 chapters that describes itself to “spark introspection, reveal the origins of racism that we are still experiencing, and give you the courage and power to undo it.” In addition, each chapter provides an activity to get the reader thinking and aid in helping them grow with the knowledge they gather in the book.

The book explains, “This book is written for everyone who lives in this racialized society – including the young person who doesn’t know how to speak up to the racist adults in their life, the kid who has lost themself at times trying to fit into the dominant culture, the children who have been harmed (physically and emotionally) because no one stood up for them or they couldn’t stand up for themselves, and also for their families, teachers, and administrators.”

Author of “This Book is Anti-Racist,” Tiffany Jewell, a Black biracial writer and Anti-Racist Montessori educator and consultant, lives in Western Massachusetts.

Other recommended books include the following.

For adults:

• “So you want to talk about race” by Ijeoma Oluo
• “The Emperor Has No Clothes: Teaching about Race and Racism to People Who Don’t Want to Know” by Tema Jon Okun
• “Conversations in Black: On Politics, Power and Leadership” by Ed Gordon
• “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir in Essays” by Damon Young
• “Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice” by Paul Kivel
• “An African American and Latinx History of the United States” by Paul Ortiz

For children and young adults:

• “Anti-Racist Baby” by Ibram X. Kendi
• “The Stone Thrower” by Jael Ealey Richardson
• “More, More, More, Said the Baby” by Vera B. Williams
• “A is for Activist” by Innosanto Nagara
• “The Story of Ruby Bridges” by Robert Cole
• “I am Jackie Robinson” by Brad Meltzer