Morning, Friends:
I have had Dr. Glaude's video in my inbox for several days now, and I have watched it several times for both its content and for its applications.
Some of you may know him, but if not, here is his web page at Princeton: https://aas.
What he says both passionately and pointedly to the MSNBC team is, in my opinion, spot on. As a white man in my senior years, I have spent quite a few years teaching students to embrace their internalized racism and come to grips with it. I have spent several years as well listening to the stories of what it means to farm while Black in America, capturing them in print and on film.
And, in terms of what brings us together in fighting systemic racism within the USDA, Dr. Glaude is spot on. America and its white population have never had to come to grips with our racist past and present, and future, if we do not look in the mirror. As Dr. Glaude says, "This is us!" Yes, this is us.
If this is us as a Nation, and it was seen most vigorously under the previous administration and the insurrection on January 6 of this year, then we must continue down the path of correcting and healing.
The color of Biden's cabinet is a start, and his choice of Vice President Harris, his rhetoric of facing institutional racism, and the participation of people of color at the inauguration of Biden/Harris give me at least a modicum of hope for the future.
And, in terms of what calls us together, if indeed the professor is correct, that this is us, then "this is us" is situated within USDA, and that must be the target of our efforts to change its culture and the systemic factors that keep racism entrenched and Black farmers and women employees marginalized beneath the thin veneer of "we're better than we've been before."
These are things to which I am committed.
Here is the interview with Dr. Glaude:
Respectfully,
Waymon
Waymon R. Hinson, Ph.D.
Researcher/Activist
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