Christmas 2017 Day 4

"to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the hearts." Howard Thurman

Yesterday, I watched an excellent talk on residential segregation by Richard Rothstein given at the City Club of Cleveland a few weeks ago. Click here to watch it. He began by describing the areas that we in the US have been working to desegregate - voting, schools, water fountains, banks. Then he asked why we're not addressing residential segregation. There's a myth that because it's defacto segregation (due to individual choice), therefore, the government cannot interfere.

This is not true. The segregation in our cities and suburbs - and, therefore in our schools - was subsidized and mandated by the FHA policies of the 40s and 50s. The FHA loans that lured white people to the suburbs were subsidized by the government and only offered to white people. They were legally not available to black people, who were then stuck in the cities paying rent rather than earning equity. This translated directly into more wealth for white people, which in turn directly impacted the education differential between white people and black people, even before accounting for charter schools. Again, this was mandated by the government of the United States.

What does this have to do with rebuilding a nation? It points to possible paths forward. 1. The US government needs to be held accountable to correct this injustice because it was government policy that created it. In the same way that charity maintains the status quo, individual actions will not enough to correct this problem. 2. We all need to be more mindful of what our children are learning. We need to demand more inclusive history books that do more than throw a bone to the African-American experience, the Native American experience and women's experience. That means we need to ensure our students have the ability to read, including the ability to think critically about what we read. I read a jeremiad yesterday by Dr. Miguel de la Torre of Iliff School of Theology that placed our current political situation squarely on the shoulders of ignorant white people and Fox News. Fox News can only spread their lies because their viewers unquestioningly swallow what they're being fed. Educating our children in critical thinking will create informed participants in our democracy - all of them actually.

If you're anything like me, you're reading this and wondering, "What can I do?" I'm here for you. 1. Educate yourself. Don't take my word for any of this. Go see for yourself. Turn off Fox News - they are not a source of reality. Instead try CNN - if the pres is calling them 'fake news' they must be doing something right. The Washington Post is also good.
2. Call your reps and senators, both state and national. Let them know your concerns. They may not do as you like but sometimes enough people calling can change minds. They should welcome hearing from you.
3. Look around your community. Get involved and informed about its government. Local government often has a greater impact on our lives than the state or federal government.
4. Run for office! Why not? Surely you could do better than Trump.
5. I don't have kids and am avoiding talking too much about their education, but kids or not, get involved with your local school board. They choose the textbooks your children learn from.

Of course, very few of us have time for all this, right? Pick one or two. If nothing else, educate yourself about the racism, sexism, and classism inherent in our governmental policies. Remember, it's our job as citizens to be as informed as possible. Push back against bigotry of all forms. Speak up for those whose voice has been marginalized.  Those are things all of us can do better at.

Yesterday I asked if we really want a society built on the richest stealing from the rest of us. If your answer was no, then let's get to work on rebuilding our nation in a more just and equal fashion.This is the work of Christmas that Howard Thurman talked about. Only then can there be peace among the people. Only then can we all make music in our hearts.