Hi, Everyone,
I’m addressing the group of us at the Zoom happy hour inspired by James
Shapiro’s new book, Shakespeare in a Divided America: What His Plays Tell Us
About Our Past and Future, but I couldn’t single our small group out, so I hope
no one minds getting this email.
What can I/we do? was a question several people at the happy hour asked
themselves aloud. The question reminded me of a moment in a PBS News Hour
Special "Race Matters: America in Crisis,” aired in early June, that knocked me
out.
Moderator Judy Woodruff, toward the end of her interview with Black filmmaker
Ava DuVernay, asked what DuVernay would say to white people about what they
could do. DuVernay's answer gave me, and I hope all viewers of the program,
just what I hadn’t quite figured out I had been profoundly longing to hear:
"I have a lot of white people calling and texting me, great friends of mine,
people that I love dearly, asking me, what do I do? And my answer is, Educate
yourself.
There have been white allies throughout the history of America who have gotten
together and come up with muscular strategies for change. And many of them have
worked. I feel like this “What do I do? What do I do?” …. really is asking for
Black labor— in this moment—to help you think through what to do. Trust me:
there’s something to do, right where you are.”
The whole segment, which includes an introduction to the program and another
impressive interviewee, Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, is
about 14 minutes long and is, to my mind, a must- watch. Here’s the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwJAHghmU6s
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwJAHghmU6s>
Thank you for letting me drop by your Sunday afternoon!
Alice
_______________________________________________
Winedale-l mailing list
[email protected]
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/winedale-l
