February puddles from a moment I took just for myself. And this:
“‘For Ahkeem,’ along with ‘Quest,’ and ‘Step,’ reminds white audiences that it is not enough to agree that black lives matter, but that it is also necessary to try and understand how black lives are lived.”
– Peter Keough for the Boston Globe
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From a film review of three recent documentary films, “For Ahkeem,” “Quest,” and “Step,” which chronicle the lives of black teenagers living in America. Three films to watch this February and to consider far longer than that. Related reading: This piece from Courtney Martin about Opportunity Hoarding.
11 Comments
Always looking for film recommendations… Thanks for sharing. The Opportunity Hoarding piece is great too!! As a mother raising children in Guatemala, this really struck a chord with me. So many of our actions come from a place of privilege. Good to keep that at the forefront, even though it’s hard.
Yes! Loved that Courtney E. Martin piece and the conversation she is bringing forth.
I’m sure you’re familiar but also wanted to note that Nicole Hannah-Jones has done so much important work on segregated schools and the problems they bring to bear (problems that many white people do not want to face). Her NYTimes piece “Choosing a School for my Daughter in a Segregated City” (http://nyti.ms/2nZgEle) and her This American Life piece “The Problem We All Live With” (http://bit.ly/2D9d95k) are illuminating/heartbreaking/crucial for white people to sit with.
Also thanks for cluing me into these films. Very interested in seeing all three!
Yes, agreed! Thanks for including the links here!
I went to a conference on white privilege recently, led by Robin DiAngelo (author of many great books on the subject). Her resounding message for those of us who identified as white was how crucial it is for us to deeply confront how our own white lives are lived. How have our lives been shaped by race? I have personally really appreciated her work and perspective.
Much respect to you for using your platform to allow for this conversation.
Thanks so much, Sophia.
Thanks so much for these links to follow!
I was talking to my mom over the holidays about white privilege. She has dedicated her life to fighting injustice in the schools systems for children with a disability – of all races, but she was really uncomfortable talking about race and white privilege. I think being raised in the culture of ‘not seeing colour’ makes it hard for that earlier generation to be challenged to think otherwise. The Seeing White podcast was incredible- it gave me the language to describe and talk about race. I definitely feel hopeful for the next generations of white kids where their parents and caregivers are actively seeking to disrupt the systems at play, rather than ‘tolerate’ difference. It is so complex and everyone will have their different journeys but it is so very heartening to see these discussions in the public sphere, so we can be more informed in our private sphere conversations.
Much thanks again!
Thanks for the reminder about the Seeing White podcast that Erin has shared here. Been meaning to listen. Downloading now.
Forgot about the Seeing White series from the Scene on Radio podcast! Thanks, Erin, for sharing that one here previously, and Kat for the reminder. Downloading now.
Aaaaaand I replied twice. :)) Tech issues yesterday. Whoops!
Thank you for sharing! Your photography is so inspiring and makes me want to capture smaller, intimate moments in nature. So lovely!
The Opportunity Hoarding piece is so great. Preschool is on my mind, and where I live the public school system is universally condemned as a haven for drugs and violence – only people who have no other choice send their children there. As a child I attended public schools for several years in the highly-segregated school system of Cincinnati, where I was usually in the very small minority of white children in my class.
I’m excited to see other parents wrestling with this dilemma as well. Thanks as always for sharing these perspectives.
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