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George Zimmerman was acquitted in the killing of Trayvon Martin on a Saturday night in 2013. The next morning, I went to church wearing a hoodie.

This was mid-July, hardly hoodie weather. But other brothers showed up similarly attired, including our pastor. This gesture an expression of solidarity and raw pain was no surprise. Indeed, Id wager it was repeated in many black churches and almost no white ones.

And that, I think, speaks to a central thesis of The Black Church, a documentary that premieres Tuesday on PBS. Namely, that when Black people and white ones talk about faith, they largely tend to mean two different things. For African Americans, faith is not confined to the hope of heaven, but must also contend with the hardship of Earth.

Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., who executive produced and hosts the documentary, tells me this is why Karl Marx was mistaken when he criticized religion as keeping people from rebelling because they could suffer anything on Earth and go to heaven forever. That may be true for some, but it was never the case for Black people. For African Americans, says Gates, church is where we learned to worship a liberating God. We learned to develop faith in the future and not a future after death, which was part of the religion, of course, but a future here on Earth where our children and their grandchildren would one day be free.

It is a perspective that often not always, but often confounds our white brethren. Note that the more directly a black preacher confronts racial and social inequality, the more likely he is to be treated by them as somehow counterfeit not a real preacher. Its happened to Sen. Raphael Warnock, to Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Jeremiah Wright.

And yes, it happened to Martin Luther King, who, on the last night of his life, said, Its all right to talk about long white robes over yonder, but ultimately, people want some suits and dresses and shoes to wear down here. That message is at odds with how some of us conceive faith. But as Rev. William Barber of the new Poor Peoples Campaign puts it, Theres something wrong with a religion that has nothing to say about the oppressive realities that exist in life. God is the God of the oppressed.

Nor is that oppression some mere artifact of the past. Barack Obamas election woke up the sleeping giant of white supremacy, says Gates. I tell my students at Harvard, there are two streams flowing under the floorboards of Western culture. One is anti-Semitism, one is anti-Black racism. Barack Obama in the White House, man, that stream came erupting like Old Faithful at Yellowstone Park.

African Americans deal with that stream now as they always have: marshaling faith as a redemptive force for a nation whose original sin was found in their own ancestors enslavement. This faith, says Gates, enabled them to make a way out of no way, not to kill themselves or kill everybody around them, to hold on, to have families, to suffer the indignities of slavery from beatings and rape, through uncompensated labor making other people rich, because one day, you would be a journalist at The [Miami] Herald and I would be sitting at Harvard University. Now, they wouldnt have known about The Herald, they wouldnt have known about Harvard, but they knew that a better day was coming, here on Earth.

It is a faith that still, somehow, miraculously, abides, as The Black Church documents and that Sunday morning in July attests. For 400 years, the church has been where we took our hurt.

And found our hope.

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Leonard Pitts is a best-selling author and nationally-syndicated columnist for the Miami Herald.

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PITTS: Faith not confined to hope of heaven - Muskogee Daily Phoenix

February 12, 2021 | :

by J. Luke Wood & Frank Harris III

The concept of gaslighting comes from the 1938 playGas Light by Patrick Hamilton. In the play, the main character, Bella, lives in London with her husband, Jack. Throughout the play, Bella is manipulated psychologically by Jack, who intentionally causes her to question her own sanity. Once a vibrant woman, Bella becomes emotionally withdrawn. Jack shamelessly flirts with maids in front of her and then denies doing so, leaves the house without explanation for extended periods of time, and hides objects such as pictures, silverware, and penchants, and then accuses Bella of stealing them. When Bella asserts she has not stolen anything, Jack retorts, You know perfectly well how you imagine things. Bella starts to believe him. Soon after, Jack hides his watch and then accuses Bella of stealing it. He then gives Bella the silent treatment for denying she stole the watch and refuses to speak to her until Bella cries out, Hit me, hurt me, but for pitys sakespeak to me. Jack largely succeeds in making Bella second guess her own sanity by convincingly and forcefully telling her what she sees, hears, and feels is not reality. He appears to be a devout Christian, even reading the bible and leading household prayer. Given that Bellas own mother suffered from mental illness, and the insistent manner in which Jack asserts her insanity, Bella comes to doubt herself, even when faced with glaringly obvious truths.

Dr. J. Luke Wood

Derived from this play (and subsequent film adaptations likeAngel Street), the termgaslightreferences Bella seeing the gaslight in their home dimmed (meaning Jack was using light elsewhere in the building) but believing him when he said the light wasnotdimmed and she had only imagined it. Informed by this play, gaslighting occurs when one begins to question their own sanity and reality because they are being manipulated by others. This type of psychological abuse causes people to second guess their experiences, emotions, knowledge, judgment, memories, and ultimately their humanity.

Although gaslighting is devoid of a racial context, similar manipulative tactics (whether intentional or unintentional) impact the daily lives of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). For example, it is well known that slave masters provided enslaved Africans with heavily redacted versions of the bible that reinforced their state of bondage as indeed ordained by God. Many of the enslaved were convinced to believe that their subjugation was part of a natural order and that their submission to this order represented Gods will. They were manipulated and brutalized into questioning the sanity of their desires for freedom. A more contemporary example of gaslighting occurred when former National Football League player, Colin Kaepernick, was widely criticized and lost his career because he chose to kneel during the national anthem in silent protest against racial injustices experienced by Blacks in the United States. Responses by those who opposed Kaepernicks silent protest accused him of being unpatriotic and desecrating a national ritual while completely disregarding the systemic racial oppression that was the impetus of Kaepernicks protest. Perhaps the most visceral gaslighting response to Kaepernicks actions came from former U.S. President, Donald Trump, who had this to say during one of his rallies: Wouldnt you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, Get that son of a b**ch off the field right now. Out! Hes fired. Hes fired! The pervasiveness and passion with which these claims were made led some Black people to question Kaepernicks actions. Overall, the tactic of deliberately asserting false information to and about communities of color has been used as a weapon against thema weapon made even more powerful when they themselves begin to believe them.

Informed by the notion of gaslighting, we offer racelighting as a concept to represent a unique type of gaslighting experienced in the daily, normalized realities of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Racelighting refers to the process whereby People of Color question their own thoughts and actions due to systematically delivered racialized messages that make them second guess their own lived experiences with racism. When racelighted, People of Color may begin to question their interpretation of reality and begin to wonder if they are being overly sensitive. In our own experiences, racelighting most often occurs when other Black people question our mistreatment. When this mistreatment is called to the attention of the perpetrator, the perpetrators passionate delivery of innocence and claims of the victims misinterpretation can be incredibly convincing. A common example of this is when a Black student is told, with a sense of surprise, that they are actually smart. If this microaggression is brought to the attention of the person who said it, their most common response is to state, with extreme conviction, that the student misunderstood, took their comments out of context, or is being too sensitive. The level of conviction can lead to the student considering if theyactually created the problem in this interaction rather than the person who caused the infraction. Whether the goal is to protect themselves from accusations of racism, deliberate lying, or obliviousness, the power of racelighting cannot be

Dr. Frank Harris III

underestimated.

When experiencing racelighting, People of Color often feel invalidated and become overwhelmed by feelings of inferiority and self-doubt. For example, a Black staff member who has been passed over for a promotion may start to believe it was because they are not professional enough. A Black administrator who receives unnecessarily harsh feedback and destructive criticism of their work from colleagues may begin to question their own intelligence and capabilities. A Black professor whose scholarship is viewed as lacking rigor because it focuses on racial equity and social justice may question if they belong in the academy.A Black boy who is suspended from school for a minor action while their White peers are not punished for the same exact behavior may question whether they are actually bad or a troublemaker. In all cases, self-doubt can emergewhere Black people begin to internalize racist and stereotypical notions that they are bad, not smart or capable, undignified and unrefined, overly sensitive, and ultimately unworthy of honor and deserving of mistreatment. These messages sow seeds of doubt. The persistence and veracity with which such messages are delivered can make them begin to seem verifiable and reasonable. This phenomenon was exemplified when former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who is Black, advised Black and Latinx people to avoid tobacco and alcohol due to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color. He stated: African-Americans and Latinos should avoid alcohol, drugs and tobacco. Do it for your abuela, do it for your granddaddy, do it for your big momma, do it for your pop-pop. We need you to understand, especially in communities of color. We need you to step up and stop the spread so that we can protect those who are most vulnerable. Many saw Adams remarks as racially insensitive and unfairly targeting BIPOC who were being exposed to the virus because of systemic social inequities not because irresponsible or unhealthy behaviors. Many also questioned why he did not extend the same counsel about avoiding tobacco and alcohol to Whites and wondered if he believed BIPOC were more irresponsible in their use of alcohol and tobacco than Whites. Both external and within-group racelighting is why many BIPOC students, educators, and corporate professionals struggle with imposter syndrome and, at times, begin to tacitly accept criminalized messages about their communities, and even start to believe stereotypes that their culture and communities are lesser than. Chester Pierces and Derald Wing Sues work on racial microaggressions demonstrates the pervasiveness and normality of such messages. Our own research has shown Black students are most commonly affected by assumptions that they are criminal, less intelligent, and come from communities that are undervalued.

Although gaslighting is usually discussed as occurring at the individual level (i.e., one person to another), racelighting is both systemic and experienced individually. For instance, after a Black person is murdered by police officers, it is common for media to victim blame by conveying the person somehow deserved being killed. For example, Trayvon Martin was assumed to be a criminal because he wore a hooded sweatshirt at night, which prompted George Zimmerman to confront and ultimately shoot Trayvon because he defended himself. Some tried to attribute George Floyds death to him having small traces of fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system rather than the criminal actions of officer Derek Chauvin, who placed his knee on Floyds esophagus for nearly 9 minutes and restricted his breathing. Many pointed to Breonna Taylors relationship with an assumed drug dealer as the reason why she was shot and killed rather than the actions of the police who recklessly fired gunnshots into her residence while serving a controversial no-knock warrant. Overall, when racelighting occurs, media amplifies past mistakes, suggest they did not fully comply with law enforcement, blame them for their clothing, or cite small infractions. This can even lead to Black people questioning the morality of the Black community and whether these narratives are indeed accurate. The consistency of these victim-blaming messages makes them more believable, even in part.

At the individual level, racelighting could occur after a Black kindergartener is pushed by another child. The child may go to the teacher to tell them they have been pushed. In many cases, the teacher may respond by saying, What did you do to cause this to occur? In our research, we often refer to such instances as reverse causality (i.e., victim blaming). Incidents like these may lead a child to question whether they deserved being pushed or brought it upon themselves. The negative effects of these individual-level incidents may also be further intensified by the pervasiveness of similar messages at the societal level. Of course, we know from William A. Smiths work on racial battle fatigue that the accumulation of these messages has long-term negative impacts on the psychology (i.e., depression, anxiety) and physiology (i.e., fatigue, exhaustion) of Black people.

Dr. J. Luke Wood is vice president of student affairs & campus diversity and Deans Distinguished Professor of Education at San Diego State University.

Dr. Frank Harris III is a professor in the College of Education at San Diego State University.

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Racelighting: A Prevalent Version of Gaslighting Facing People of Color - Higher Education - Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

The ambitious undertaking in the traveling exhibition Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem to summarize the prodigious achievements of artists of African descent over the last century astounds in its impressive displays.

There is the larger-than-life oil canvas portrait of Kevin the Kiteman, a 2016 work by Jordan Casteel, set against a rich, lushly textured representation of a Harlem street that evokes joyful contentment. Chakaia Bookers 1995 sculpture of rubber tires and metal, Repugnant Rapunzel (Let Down Your Hair), challenges the viewer to contemplate the moral and ethical implications of an industry that historically has exploited the labor of young African people. Kerry James Marshalls 1986 Silence is Golden, a work of acrylic on panel, riffs convincingly on the themes of Ralph Ellisons 1952 novel Invisible Man. The stunning shimmering effect of Mickalene Thomas Panthera, a 2002 work of a panther rendered in rhinestones on acrylic and a birch panel, resonates as an expression of the strength and beauty of the Black woman. Black Righteous Space by Hank Willis Thomas is a 2012 video installation, which immerses the viewer in a visceral historical counterpoint incorporating elements ranging from the Confederate flags stars and bars to the Pan-African tricolor flag of black, red and green, along with the voices of black cultural leaders.

At the center of the installation is a microphone for exhibition visitors to answer the call and voice their own response. Kehinde Wiley, who was commissioned in 2018 to create the official portrait of former President Barack Obama, references an 18th-century French tapestry to create his own Jacquard tapestry with The Gypsy Fortune-Teller. Wiley, of course, is well known for depicting subjects in contemporary outfits and fashion, who historically have been excluded from representations in the elaborate, ornate backgrounds of classic art media and aesthetics.

The Utah Museum of Fine Arts is the fifth of six U.S. destinations to host the traveling exhibition, thanks to the efforts of the American Federation of Arts and the Studio Museum in Harlem. The exhibition will be at the UMFA through April 10. UMFA and the Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton, Massachusetts, are the only two college-affiliated institutions in the traveling tour. UMFAs presentation of the exhibition also is supported by the universitys Black Cultural Center.

The Studio Museum is currently closed to the public as construction proceeds on its new home in Harlem. The museums previous homes have been in a second story loft and a 100-year-old building that housed variously a bank and a furniture store. Its new home will be the first facilities designed for the institutions specific mission and needs, since it opened in 1968. The Studio Museums new home, designed by architect David Adjaye, will be located on Harlems most iconic thoroughfare: West 125th Street. Choi, in an interview with The Utah Review, says that as construction continues, were deepening our roots and partnerships in the Harlem community as we think about how we will broaden our programming, education and engagement.

With 100 works from nearly 80 artists dating to the 1920s, Black Refractions is a magnificent and generous sampling of the Studio Museums expansive collections representing not just acquisitions but also works of many artists who have developed their creative expression through artist residencies at the institution. The residencies have been instrumental to the museums development since its earliest days.

For pandemic-weary individuals who might be thirsting to travel to iconic institutions in the nations art landscape, Black Refractions truly brings the experience handily to the doorstep for UMFA patrons, students, artists, teachers and art enthusiasts. Take, for example, Glenn Ligons 2007 work of PVC and neon, which had graced the Studio Museums lobby up until its closing for construction of its new facilities. Give us a Poem (Palindrome #2) is an homage to Muhammad Alis famous response to a students request for a poem during a 1975 Harvard University appearance. That poem was me, we, now preserved in flashing neon lights as a wonderfully relevant signal to guide the viewers journey through the Black Refractions exhibition.

The traveling exhibition was curated by Connie Choi, the Studio Museums associate curator, who worked with UMFAs Whitney Tassie, a senior curator and curator of the museums contemporary and modern art collections. Rather than organize the works in galleries by chronology or media, Choi wisely anchored the exhibition on multidimensional perspectives that command the viewers attention to consider the deeper implications and themes of artists of African descent as adding to and broadening the history of the American art experience. The narrative and aesthetic emphases on display dramatically pinpoint what it means in fulfilling the expectations and elucidating results of diversity and inclusion.

Perhaps the best way to take in the exhibition is to first stand at the entrance of a section of gallery space and scan it in its entirety to appreciate the generous scope of the works being shown. Then, the viewer should take the time to absorb and engage with specific works in each space. An excellent feature that every exhibition visitor should check out is the set of audio responses to specific works presented throughout the galleries, as recorded by various Black leaders, creative producers and professionals in the local community.

The themes emerge in layers. There are works, for example, that reframe stereotypes and empower anew the subjects of the piece not just in gender identity but also in terms of class, history and sexuality. One fascinating area of distinction concerns abstract and representational expressions. Forms, media and materials were not always being explored solely for the purposes of skill and technique but the abstract works also could address the same social, political and cultural critiques and concerns that animate the inspirations behind some of the exhibitions representational works.

In fact, the title of this current exhibition reflects upon the legacy of the Studio Museums founding and in part some of the controversy and negative feedback that arose during the institutions first solo show. For that first exhibition Electronic Refractions II, the museum selected Tom Lloyd, an African-American sculptor who worked in light. The Queens native already had established a solid, visible reputation for his abstract electronic constructions of aluminum, lightbulbs and plastics laminate. However, the Studio Museums opening with the Lloyd show left some in the Harlem community disappointed because they had hoped for work that was specifically representational and relevant to the contemporary voice during the most dramatic, consequential moments of protest and calls for social justice of the time.

One of Lloyds works was Moussakoo, a configuration of animated colored lights that have been programmed in diamond-shaped sections and can be arranged in various patterns. The effect is like watching the urban landscape dynamism in terms of the citys nightlife and business activity, jazz and other musical nightclubs, traffic signals and marquees of a citys theaters. The Studio Museum acquired the work in 1996 after Lloyds death but three of the four original motors for its programming were lost prior to then. Meanwhile, William T. Williamss 1969 screen prints are compelling additions to the abstract works featured in the show. Evocative of geometric images important in the artists life (the urban vibe as well as the craft excellence of his grandmothers quilts), the prints were part of Williamss Diamond-in-the-Box motif series, where he placed a diamond shape in a rectangle, which then is refracted and cut through with straight and curved bands of color.

In representational works, the shows curatorial objectives raise other fruitful areas that demand more than passive viewing for the arts beauty of form, color, media and technique. Artists reposition how progress and societal advancement should be defined for the benefit and impact of the Black community and what would be the real possibilities of sincere efforts for diversity and inclusion that involve comprehending the multifaceted dimensions of the Black experience in the general American society as well as their own neighborhoods. Marshalls Silence in Golden is one example.

Another is a work from Wileys early period when he was an artist in residence at the Studio Museum at the turn of the millennium. His oil canvas painting from 2001, Conspicuous Fraud Series #1 (Eminence), already suggests the well-developed focus of his later works, which would be acclaimed and acquired by major museums. The mans hair becomes the decorative motif and backdrop in Wileys signature interpretation of the portraiture style, as the hair twists and extends across the entire canvas. Meanwhile, the figure commands a larger-than-proportional space in the paintings composition. Likewise, there are more than a few works in Black Refractions that speak expansively to what encompasses Harlem as a community, a theme integral to the Studio Museums own position as a nexus for artists of African descent and as a cultural, entrepreneurial anchor in Harlem.

Indeed, the artist residencies at the Studio Museum have become effective launch pads for the careers of many participants who have used their opportunities to experiment, test and prove their expressive capacities in the visual arts. One significant epiphany in assessing the impact of the residency program at the Studio Museum is how so many artists have astutely appropriated elements of modernism and reinvigorated aspects of portraiture, for example, and other representational styles, mainly because they speak so clearly to the sociopolitical and sociocultural relevance at the current time. So many pieces in the exhibition capture the essential subtle balance of timeliness and timelessness that makes the art as transcendent as it is transformative in perspective. Casteel, for instance, had no formal art training when she entered Yale Universitys master of fine arts, with a predominating interest in portraiture. When a jury acquitted George Zimmerman in 2013 for the murder of Trayvon Martin, the news inspired her to adapt portraiture to telling stories of Black men that rebuke racist stereotypes. Moving to Harlem in 2015 to start her residency at the Studio Museum, Casteel said in an interview that Harlem was the only place [in New York] Ive ever felt at ease. There she met street vendors and neighborhood residents such as the kiteman, who is featured in the large portrait included in Black Refractions.

Casteels predecessors in the residency program also had set their own bars for challenging the conventions and traditions that have been part of the usual art history canon. Thomas, the artist who created Panthera, also went to Yale and developed a style that blends classical elements with pop culture aspects in portraying Black women and Black feminism. This includes a commissioned portrait of singer and songwriter Solange Knowles. In a Smithsonian magazine interview, Thomas said, Whats happening in art and history right now is the validation and agency of the black female body. We do not need permission to be present. Incidentally, she also was the subject in a portrait by Wiley.

William T. Williams, whose prints are featured in the show, conceived the Studio Museums residency program, which includes studio space, a stipend and an exhibition. Choi says the 11-month program allows artists coming out of schools with their college degrees to experiment and make work they have never made before. The open studios are integral to the museums programs and the residencies introduce artists to many avenues in the art world understanding how museums are run, making connections with private collectors and galleries, organizing shows and situating themselves as they see fit in the larger art world.

Many of the alumni in the program, as already noted, enjoy impressive careers including artists whose works are not featured in this traveling show. Wileys traveling exhibition A New Republic was seen in seven major museums and received tremendous reviews. A 2012 mixed-media painting by Njideka Akunyili Crosby (The Beautyful Ones, depicting the artists older sister) commanded a $3.1 million bid at a Christies auction in 2017.

UMFAs hours are Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Thursdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the first hour each day reserved for seniors and high-risk individuals. Gallery capacity is limited and visitors are required to reserve tickets in advance, including for free first Wednesdays and third Saturdays. Visitors are also required to wear face masks and to maintain social distance from other household groups in the galleries.

Works from Black Refractionswill be on view not only in the museums first-floor temporary exhibition galleries but also on the Highlights Wall in the museums lobby and in second-floor galleries devoted to modern and contemporary art. A new installation of UMFA contemporary works also focuses on racial and gender inequities.

UMFA is offering various events connected to the exhibition, with advanced tickets required. As part of the museums Sight and Sound Series, a free March 3 event, beginning at 6 p.m., will feature DJ Amir Jackson from Ogden, Utah, who will present several generations of soul, jazz and other musical styles, as inspired by works in the exhibition. A two-part ACME session on March 25 and March 27 will include the screening of Charles O. Andersons critically acclaimed dance theater project(Re)current Unresta meditation on the American Dream and Black nihilism, with Anderson and dance artist Alexandra Barbier leading the March 27 followup workshop.

Major support forBlack Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlemis provided by Art Bridges. Sponsorship for the national tour provided in part by PURE. Support for the accompanying publication provided by Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.

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UMFA presents magnificent, generous traveling exhibition Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem, covering century of...

I didnt used to be a political person.

Ten years ago, as an undergraduate in college, I idolized the author Anne Lamott for her writing about spirituality. I bristled, however, any time she veered into politics on Twitter, which was often.

Brennan poses with Anne Lamott's author photo on the back of a copy ofBird by Bird.

I clicked unfollow when she called former president George W. Bush, a man who committed war crimes, a war criminal.

Its not polite, I remember telling somebody, to be so angry, so critical its abrasive. Shes alienating half of her audience. Cant she just stick to writing about Jesus and leave the politics to, I dont know, the politicians?

Where had I learned to talk like this? I was attending a tiny Christian college surrounded by Ohio cornfields, learning the Bible from white men who believed the first sin was a political one. The governor of Eden said, This is the rule: Dont touch the apple. Its not up for discussion, and the governed said, Why not?

If Eves sin was in challenging and eventually defying the policy God established, then best to be unlike her and obey whatever rules the church and government put in place. Better to not be a questioner, disrupter or unity wrecker.

Better to avoid calling people war criminals, if you can help it.

Ive since given up that way of thinking. It didnt happen instantaneously, but I can trace the shift in my beliefs back to 2013, when Id met a friend for breakfast and weak diner coffee. We, along with the rest of the country, had just learned that a jury had acquitted George Zimmerman of murdering Trayvon Martin. My friend was Black, and we couldnt not talk about it.

I tried to come up with something diplomatic and apolitical to say about Zimmerman, to try to use words from the Bible to explain what happened, when my friend shook her head and said, Lyndsey, you dont get it.

And I didnt.

I knew vaguely that sin and evil were responsible for the wrongs in the world but had no words to describe the sinful social realities like racial profiling and stand-your-ground laws that brought about Martins death.

I could tell you why the United States was a great Christian nation but couldnt tell you the specificpoliciesthe government enacted to hurt its non-white citizens, many of whom were Christians.

I didnt know the history of civil rights in the United States, and I had no idea what went into organizing a protest, but I could tell you what a Christ-like one would look like.

I prided myself on knowing nothing but the Bible, and I now saw the irresponsibility of it: my friend was sitting here on the verge of tears, and the best I could do was rattle off some words translated from a language I didnt speak, written by a man I didnt know in a political situation I didnt understand more than 2,000 years ago.

It had been easy to call politics irrelevant when they didnt negatively affect me. But the uncomfortable truth Id been avoiding is that politics doesaffect someone. And if I wanted to live in a country where those someones had the same rights and privileges I had, I couldnt demand that my comfort take priority over the physical safety of the Black community anymore.

We need to see ... reality with clear eyes, because nothing has held back America more than its denial, said author Ibram X. Kendi, writing that the first step in eliminating a problem like white supremacy is owning up to it. The carnage has no chance of stopping until the denial stops.

I have an early memory of me in my purest form. Im six, my brother is four, and were outside playing with the neighbor kids. I have buck teeth and choppy bangs that wont lay flat. Two cool eight-year-olds who live a few blocks over ride by on their bikes, point at the Velcro on my brothers shoes and laugh in an unkind way that makes him stare at the ground, embarrassed.

I love that this sets the blood in my little body to boil. I bark at them in my six-year-old voice, using six-year-old words to tell them, essentially, to fuck off. As I watch them speed away on their bikes, I understand the power of my voice for the first time.

I think now, this is the job of a journalist in its purest form: to point at the people who are hurting others and bark at them to stop. To join the chorus of voices acknowledging and naming the politics at play in the world, even when others call us abrasive and click unfollow.

To raise hell in hopes of arriving at something like heaven.

I think Anne Lamott would agree.

Lyndsey Brennan is an opinion writer. Contact her at lbrenna7@kent.edu.

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OPINION: Leave politics out of this? No thanks. - Kent Wired

(The Center Square) The Florida Legislative Black Caucus Tuesday unveiled a 16-bill package of fair and just policing and criminal justice reform measures that seek to reimagine law enforcement.

When you look at the bills being rolled out right now, theres one thing thats very clear: No one is pushing to defund the police, Democratic House Co-Leader Evan Jenne, D-Dania Beach, said of the 29-member caucuss proposals.

The bills address Floridas Stand Your Ground law, no-knock warrants, police militarization and qualified immunity; seek to establish a minimum arrest age of 10 and a state police misconduct registry; mandate body cameras be worn by all officers, set a minimum standard for police training and prohibit peremptory challenges to strike prospective jurors in criminal trials.

For many of us, the reality is we live in two Americas, two Floridas, said House Minority Co-leader Bobby DuBose, D-Fort Lauderdale, at a Capitol news conference alongside 10 other caucus members.

One Florida has families telling their kids to trust and look for the police when theyre in trouble, DuBose continued. The other Florida has communities that are fearful of law enforcement officers.

With Democrats outnumbered in the House, 72-48, and 24-16 in the Senate and the Legislatures GOP leadership fast-tracking an anti-mob bill cracking down on protests it would appear the package is DOA.

Not so, said Rep. Fentrice Driskell, D-Orlando, noting many of the bills include input from House Republicans and law enforcement agencies.

We were able to take a collaborative approach and make sure all voices and input are included, she said, launching a #HearTheBills campaign. So yes, I am optimistic some of this legislation will move and once it moves, well define that as a success.

One measure, which Republican leaders are certain to oppose, nevertheless has been assigned to three panels and awaits hearings. Whether it gets one, never mind the three necessary to make it to a floor vote, is uncertain.

House Bill 6035, filed by Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson, D-Gainesville, would end stand your ground defenses by deleting a provision allowing the use or threatened use of deadly force to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony.

To this day, the murder of Trayvon Martin at the hands of George Zimmerman haunts the African American community, Hinson said. We have seen throughout history various laws and legal principles enacted to preserve the status quo of white supremacy. Stand your ground is no different. Its a long past time for Florida to go in a new direction.

HB 6035 was filed Jan. 19. The other proposals in the Florida Legislative Black Caucuss package were introduced between Feb. 3-9 and have not been assigned committees. They include:

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Florida Black Caucus calls on Republicans to #HearTheBills in policing reform package - MDJOnline.com