Take responsibility for the face of the world.
The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow. Notice the swastikas and the other signs of hate. Do not look away, and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.
Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
I heard the desperation in their voices, and I saw the book, clutched with both hands. Did you read this ? You must read this book ! Each time, it was always a book written by a black or indigenous writer. Or someone from the LGBTQ community. You have to read this book ! I would think, my great-grandmother could have written the book. I could have written it.
A white librarian at a local branch, excited that she had seen the film Selma, urged me to do the same. Go see it ! You have to ! Now that she had approved of the film, it was appropriate for my viewing, I should go see it. How quickly I became invisible. If I were ever visible. How could I, a black woman, know what's best, let alone, know what happened on that bridge in Alabama?
When former President Obama was on the campaign trial, some of those same liberals wanted me to know they approved of Obama and would vote for him. I should do the same. During this same period, it was curious to see some of the classic works written by Richard Wright or Nathan Hare or Zora Neale Hurston on the sidewalks outside of local bookstores in Madison for dirt cheap. Old copies, true. But why these books? Why now?
I'm living in Philadelphia among another set of activists when Obama wins the presidency. The desperation I once heard in the voices of friends from Madison has faded. They are no longer recommending I read anything or see any film. They suggest I take a break from the writing. Better still, quit writing. Or write a children's book. I was living in Don't follow the news!
The atmosphere went from chilly to freezing, and I remembered, years ago, in the 1980s, being confronted by white students in Chicago who wanted me to understand that slavery wasn't so bad, and now, it's over. I should move on. And what of my commitment? The study of Trans-Atlantic slavery? Jim Crow? The Modernist period? Would these fields of study dissolve once I exit the classroom?
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