I began this book last week and would love to have discussions based on the prompts provided within the book. The book is set up so that after each day's reading, there are a handful of prompts to respond to. Feel free to respond to as many or as few as you like. I would love for this to be a discussion and a place where we can learn and grow together. Please be honest, because that is the only way anything will change.
Additionally, I have been compiling a list of books under the #BlackLivesMatter Reading List tab. I am usually adding books daily that I find, or are recommended by others. Please leave a comment on that page if you have titles to add. I hope you can find titles on this list that you will learn from as well.
Day Twelve Prompts
What have you learned about you and racist stereotypes? Begin by making a list of the different racial groups of people found in your country. Where possible, break these down into countries.
1. What are some of the national racial stereotypes in your country - spoken and unspoken, historic, and modern - associated with Indigenous people and non-Black POC?
2. What are the racist stereotypes, beliefs, and thoughts you hold about different racial groups of people? In what ways do you paint them all with one brush rather than seeing them as complex individuals?
3. How do you think about POC who are citizens in your country differently from those who are recent immigrants? How do you think about those who are more assimilated versus those who are less assimilated (e.g., if this practice your country's social norms, if they have accents that sound like yours, etc.)?
4. How do you think about and treat Indigenous children and non-Black children of color differently from white children?
5. How do think about and treat darker-skinned Indigenous people and POC differently from those who are lighter-skinned?
6. In what ways have you superhumanized parts of the identities of Indigenous people and POC while dehumanizing other parts?
Let's talk!
Sarah
This looks really interesting, I'm going to get it. I like the idea of daily exercises to examine yourself for built-in racist thoughts and behavior. Thank you for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteIt is a fantastic read. I actually read through it in less than the twenty eight days, because I could not put it down. The questions have really made me see that no matter how much of an ally we think we are, there are still problematic behaviors and these biases we have to confront. Feel free to add your own thoughts to any of the other posts as well; they go up at 9 AM CST each day. I am slowly but surely working on posting my answers, in the hopes of sparking more conversations.
DeleteYou continue to raise important questions and your #BlackLivesMatter reading list is impressive. I have actually read a few of them. The one that really stays with me is The Autobiography of Malcolm X which I read many years ago in my 20s. I've never forgotten young Malcolm's explanation of the Holy Trinity as being like 3 in 1 oil! He was a wise and intelligent man, another one that we lost much too young.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are finding value in the questions! I am slowly but surely getting my own responses added to the previous posts. Sometimes I have to sit and think a good long while, so it is taking me longer than I intended - but I will post answers to all. I am glad you pop in to join the conversation and I hope you continue to do that. I am planning to read his biography soon - I have so many on my hold list t the library, plus Cambridge University Press has made all their texts on race, policy, policing and protesting FREE through July 12th. Lots of great titles. I will be adding them to the reading list ASAP.
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