The current cold weather reminded me of a story. A few months ago I read about a life-size statue of an ordinary man that was placed on the snowy grounds of a women’s college campus in Wellesley, Massachusetts (Wellesley College). He appeared to be sleepwalking with arms outstretched, eyes closed, and wearing only his underwear. The statue provoked outrage and controversy after its installment last winter.
Trayvon Martin. Michael Brown. Eric Garner. These black men’s deaths have sparked national outrage about the differential treatment of men of color by personnel in the criminal justice system.
Racism is embedded in our institutions. Well-intentioned people carry out racist policies and become part of institutionalized racism, just by being a part of these systems. We need to start with a hard look at our policies and systems to understand how institutionalized racism has been codified. If we want to change the criminal justice systems, our efforts cannot just be targeted there. We need to start earlier in the process. We need to think about how other systems teach our future lawyers, police officers, and judges that discrimination against people of color, and specifically Black people, is acceptable and expected.
01/6/15 12:41 PM | Rachel Latta | Social Justice, Race
Read MoreAt t3, we strongly believe that homelessness is not a November to January issue. It persists throughout our country in frightening and staggering numbers all year round.
12/25/14 01:39 PM | Rachel Ehly | Social Justice
Read More...You
look at your face your face
is old but suffering is
older...
—Anne Carson, Red Doc >
The holidays are here again and so are all the articles about what to be thankful for, how to be thankful, the importance of being thankful. I am supposed to be thankful for the job I have (which I love), the winding path that got me here to a place where I am able to do work that I find so valuable. Which means I have to think about all the things that happened to me that put me here. I have to think about the things that were wonderful and the people who gave me so much to feel gratitude for—and I have to think about the people who took so much from me, and in such irreparable ways that I could not do this work without being able to source my passion from my hurt. But it also means that I have to acknowledge, again, the depth of that hurt.
12/23/14 12:51 PM | Marc Dones | Trauma
Read More