{"id":4782,"date":"2020-06-09T11:41:32","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T18:41:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=4782"},"modified":"2020-06-10T06:24:31","modified_gmt":"2020-06-10T13:24:31","slug":"black-white-and-brown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2020\/writing\/black-white-and-brown\/","title":{"rendered":"Black, White, and Brown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Black, White, and Brown – what difference does it make? It shouldn’t, but it does, evidenced by all the injustice in our society and world history. Books on Racism<\/strong> are selling out right now. We need to understand more than ever, to make changes, to bring about justice for all. My list of book recommendations are below, but first, my thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Black,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The massive protests worldwide<\/strong> over the horrific death of<\/strong> George Floyd<\/strong><\/a>\u2014at the hands of a police officer\u2014have given me so much hope for this and the next generation. We have truly become one global community\u2014young and old, Black White Brown, gay and straight and everything in between. I wish that George Floyd could see the love out there and know that we know the treatment he received by the police was unjustified, and that the world won\u2019t let his life and death be forgotten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Racism<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve experienced prejudice in my life, being a child of immigrants, so I understand what it means to be rejected and demeaned by those who think they\u2019re superior. Those wounds cut deep but I don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like to be discriminated against because of the color of my skin. I haven\u2019t experienced racism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My father did. He was White, but he tanned so deeply, while working in the fields during the Great Depression, that some called him Darkie<\/strong>, a name used for Blacks during the 1930s. He couldn\u2019t find employment, not sure if it was because of that, or because he was an immigrant from Ukraine (back then part of the Austrian Empire).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I knew only one Black man<\/strong> when I was a child, but that experience informed me. My grandmother, Lukia Mazurek (the protagonist in my biographical fiction Sunflowers Under Fire<\/a><\/strong>) <\/em>rented a room to this fine Black man in 1948. Mom and Dad were working in a meat packing plant and my baba was home when Crosby showed up to rent a room in our rooming house. He\u2019d seen a sign in our window. There were few Black men in Winnipeg, Manitoba at the time. He was a musician and a porter. He was so sweet; bought me my first doll. I am so thankful I came from a family that judged someone on how they behaved and presented and not on the colour of their skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Superiority<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve never understood, even though perhaps I should, given my social work background, why so many think they\u2019re superior to someone else, because of race, sexual orientation, or religion. That\u2019s why I\u2019m so heartened to see so many protesting\u2014old and young, Black White and Brown, gay and straight, and on and on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who are white supremacists are cowards, fearful of losing ground to others. I\u2019m not sure what they\u2019re trying to prove by bullying and intimidating. They look weak, ignorant, and self-serving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More Than Race<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

These protests, though emphasizing Black Lives Matter<\/a><\/strong>, are more than about racism.  They are about the inequities in our world for all mankind. Greed is destroying not only lives but also our planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not too long before the pandemic, Canada had its own protests. Some thought it was about a pipeline, but it was more than that. It was about Indigenous Rights and respect for a voice over their land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what\u2019s most remarkable is that these protests are taking place in the middle of a pandemic. These are brave souls taking the time to band together to show those in power that policing has to change. Hope you are all safe and respecting the power of this virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recommended Books on Racism<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Books that have informed me about Black lives<\/strong> are: Gospel of Truth<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, by Caroline Pignat, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings<\/em><\/strong><\/a> by Maya Angelou, Beloved<\/em><\/a><\/strong> by Toni Morrison, and The Book of Negroes<\/em><\/a><\/strong> by Lawrence Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Black,<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a list of more recent books on Black Lives in Canada that CBC recommends.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve also tried to understand our history with Indigenous people<\/strong> in our country through reading their stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They Called Me Number One <\/em><\/strong><\/a>by Bev Sellars, and Medicine Walk<\/em><\/a> <\/strong>by Richard Wagamese. I was privileged to have met both these authors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Black,<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

And read Indian Horse<\/a><\/strong>, by Richard Wagamese, about his father’s experience in a residential school and\/ or see the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Final Thought<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Someone once said, You don\u2019t how that person has lived until you\u2019ve walked in their moccasins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comments are always appreciated. Thanks for visiting. <\/h4>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Black, White, and Brown – what difference does it make? It shouldn’t, but it does, evidenced by all the injustice in our society and world history. Books on Racism are… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[744,88,4],"tags":[995,1106,1102,1105,78,1108,1107,678,1103,1104,1021],"class_list":["post-4782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-life","category-writing","tag-bev-sellars","tag-black-lives-matter","tag-books-on-racism","tag-caroline-pignat","tag-diana-stevan","tag-george-floyd","tag-indigenous","tag-lawrence-hill","tag-maya-angelou","tag-richard-wagasame","tag-sunflowers-under-fire"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/racism.jpg?fit=509%2C339&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-1f8","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1140,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2012\/life\/a-tale-of-two-countries\/","url_meta":{"origin":4782,"position":0},"title":"A Tale of Two Countries","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"2 \u041b\u0438\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043f\u0430\u0434\u0430, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"With election fever running high with our southern neighbors, I\u2019m reflecting on how we are different, how we are the same. 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To say it should\u2019ve at least been nominated for an Oscar for best film, is a no-brainer. I was stunned by its\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/film-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Straight Outta Compton","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Straight_Outta_Compton_poster-190x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":782,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/writing\/the-help-black-and-white-and-red-all-over\/","url_meta":{"origin":4782,"position":3},"title":"The Help: Black and White and Red All Over","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"14 \u0413\u0440\u0443\u0434\u043d\u044f, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The 60s was a time when the relationships between the Blacks and the Whites grew embarrassingly red for many. The shame of it all is brilliantly captured in Kathryn Stockett\u2019s novel, The Help. 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