This made me think of a retreat exercise that I recall made a powerful impact on one of my kiddos. Bear with me, if you like:

 

The retreat participants were designated into various groups. Each group received a brown lunch bag with varying amounts of tiny cinnamon candy.

 

One group with only 2 participants received a HUGE amount of candy; one group with 12 people received a bag with just a few pieces of candy. The groups were not allowed to share their candy with other groups.

 

The groups then were told to exchange their candy for various prizes. “Desirable” prizes like chocolate could be purchased for a lot of candy. “Undesirable” prizes like expired cans of sauerkraut could be purchased for a few pieces of candy.

 

The small groups ended up purchasing multiple desirable prizes; the large group could only purchase one of the undesirable prizes.

 

Apparently the exercise led to euphoria or frustration; bragging or complaining. Afterwards the group related this to the bigger pictures of poverty and inequalities. They talked about what they felt: power and/or outrage, and ultimately how they could do things different to make a difference.

 

While not perfect, I thought it was a neat way for awareness and to start the dialogue on poverty and inequality.

Perfect examples.

 

However, I DO think you can stand up for the guy in Cincinnati especially in today's world of technology. Call people out for an injustice. Stand up for someone publicly. Acts like these can make change become closer to a reality.

 

The "what can I really do" is partly why we're where we are. Self-fulling prophecy.

 

Stand up for the guy who you think got killed by a cop for no reason? That same guy who was a menace to society, fathered many bastard children, had several convictions, had drugs and drug money in a car that did not have the proper plates required and tried to drive away when being questioned?

I agree completely.

 

But, there are still entirely too many cases when people are "held back" simply because of the color of their skin.

 

Or because of their family and surroundings. I've known plenty of white folks that have not done a damn thing to improve themselves or their situation because they were conditioned to believe either it didn't matter what they did, or they shouldn't have to do anything. Those same folks are the people the immediately point the finger at someone else when they're facing problems.

 

I couldn't live with myself if I felt that way all of the time.

Society is already pushing for gender identification to be up to the individual. How is race identification going to be different? I'm not trying to stir the pot but I think that's a likely scenario down the line. Especially when it comes to awards and recognition etc.

Perfect examples.

 

However, I DO think you can stand up for the guy in Cincinnati especially in today's world of technology. Call people out for an injustice. Stand up for someone publicly. Acts like these can make change become closer to a reality.

 

The "what can I really do" is partly why we're where we are. Self-fulling prophecy.

 

While I agree, it can't be one sided. What about the young college freshman(black) that was killed by a home owner(white, I think)when he broke into that persons house. The family was interviewed by the news and said something along the lines of what's he supposed to do, he was raised in the ghetto and has to get by some how. That doesn't help either side but rather increases the divide.

All I know is this new social justice culture we have created with social media often does more harm than good. It is not that it is not warranted, but each time the ire is misdirected and not solving the problem.

 

Let me take some more high profile examples. The Rooney Rule and #OscarsSoWhite .

 

I am a supporter of the Rooney Rule and believe it has provided opportunities to minority candidates which would not have previously received a chance. However, the larger problem is there is a lack of managerial positions with minorities and virtually no influence at the ownership level. While it is great to hire a minority head coach, what does it say if the other 30 coaches and support staff didn't go through a similar process? I am not saying that should happen, but the Rooney Rule doesn't get at the larger problem.

 

#OscarsSoWhite is a faux controversy led by twitter civil right's activists that again miss the point. I will never forget after Denzel Washington (Training Day) and Halle Berry (Monster's Ball) won Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively in 2002, I believe it was the NAACP that released a statement that this shows everyone is now being judged upon their own merits, or something to that effect. And it was a huge milestone. No doubt.... Apparently we have regressed as a society since then. Numbers reflect that African Americans have been every bit proportionately represented for nominations and awards, but that doesn't matter because #OscarsSoWhite . In response, the Academy has made a large diverse addition to their Academy Class: Academy's diverse new class includes Idris Elba, America Ferrera Basically the blame has been thrown at the feet of the academy for not being inclusionary, so in response they created a more diverse field. Fair enough. But again, this does not address the larger problem. Hollywood is controlled by the (white) elites, they control what films are being made and evaluated.

All I know is this new social justice culture we have created with social media often does more harm than good. It is not that it is not warranted, but each time the ire is misdirected and not solving the problem.

 

Let me take some more high profile examples. The Rooney Rule and #OscarsSoWhite .

 

I am a supporter of the Rooney Rule and believe it has provided opportunities to minority candidates which would not have previously received a chance. However, the larger problem is there is a lack of managerial positions with minorities and virtually no influence at the ownership level. While it is great to hire a minority head coach, what does it say if the other 30 coaches and support staff didn't go through a similar process? I am not saying that should happen, but the Rooney Rule doesn't get at the larger problem.

 

#OscarsSoWhite is a faux controversy led by twitter civil right's activists that again miss the point. I will never forget after Denzel Washington (Training Day) and Halle Berry (Monster's Ball) won Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively in 2002, I believe it was the NAACP that released a statement that this shows everyone is now being judged upon their own merits, or something to that effect. And it was a huge milestone. No doubt.... Apparently we have regressed as a society since then. Numbers reflect that African Americans have been every bit proportionately represented for nominations and awards, but that doesn't matter because #OscarsSoWhite . In response, the Academy has made a large diverse addition to their Academy Class: Academy's diverse new class includes Idris Elba, America Ferrera Basically the blame has been thrown at the feet of the academy for not being inclusionary, so in response they created a more diverse field. Fair enough. But again, this does not address the larger problem. Hollywood is controlled by the (white) elites, they control what films are being made and evaluated.

 

 

Great post. All very true and exactly why Bomani Jones said what he said. Ask the people in control what can be done. America has made progress but is still largely controlled by white men.

Great post. All very true and exactly why Bomani Jones said what he said. Ask the people in control what can be done. America has made progress but is still largely controlled by white men.

 

If we go by the numbers it's likely to be controlled by white men for quite some time. That doesn't have to mean people are being alienated.

 

I feel like I'm in a generation that hates racism and would at times rather not acknowledge it because I(we) feel I'm not a part of the problem. Then in turn you have those that are effected by racism saying that we don't see it or just don't care. It's a vicious circle that's only brought on by ignorant people that can't accept equality for everyone.

Maybe the place to start is on a personal level. How many of us have friends of a different race, and since we are talking African-American and White, how many of us who are white have black friends and how many of us who are black have white friends?

 

By friend, I mean someone that you invite to your house to hang out or have dinner with your family. This is different than someone you may meet at the pub to watch football with but your families don't mix and don't really know one another.

 

Now that I think of it, I don't do this with too many white people either. But, if we are to understand one another and to have empathy toward one another, then we need to know one another on a personal level. I will be more likely to feel injustice, bias, and prejudice directed toward someone that I care about because our families are friends. How many of us know young men through athletics and we would do almost anything for that young man because he is a teammate or we coach him and we know his character. Nobody better mess with that person while we are around. Well, if our families had a reason to pull together (i.e. a close friendship), then we may recognize when one is being overlooked because of race or neighborhood, etc. This would create the opportunities for us to "stand up" against injustice and bias.

 

I guess the next question is: How do we establish a friendship with someone from a different race without that person feeling like we are making them our "project"? In other words, trying to be intentional about addressing this in the manner I suggested can feel just as inauthentic and be just as ineffective as hiring someone because they meet the profile. Even though it may be awkward to start, it may be worth the effort. Most of us feel like we can't effect change on a large scale (or even a medium scale) but each of us can effect change in our self. But whose to say if someone from a different race would even want me for a friend? There is risk involved but it seems like this may be the place to start.

ttt

 

This is an interesting thread and it actually has a good tone to it rather than the polarizing responses that I expected. It may be a thread with the most potential to effect change that is significant in people's lives.

 

Any more thoughts. Thanks, @Clyde for starting it.