Hear the Voices

Hear the Voices

Awakened

to the voices

shouting

history

we

then waved

past



and did not change



Aware

of the voices

showing

history

we

now weave

forward



and must now change

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Voices Subdued

I believe all voices must be heard, but we have not heard them, though they have screamed. The Black people and people of color who daily walk and sleep in fear due to the systems of racism that creep into and steal the American dream for equality for all Americans.

Although I have recently written about this here, I am aware how feeble this is, this attempt to help. But know this: whatever you can do and voice is better than the silence that has subdued the screams for help.

Laura Gibbs, in her recent post, Twitter Highlights: June 4, shared two resources I think will help-- because educators can not be silent:

• a podcast from Teaching Higher Ed, Antiracist Writing Assessment Ecologies,  that may help with both thinking about it, and in planning writing work to develop awareness, which leads to action
• a blog post, The Myths of Western Civilization: Decolonizing and Queering European History, in which students discovered through primary and secondary sources "what was included and excluded from those narratives" of textbooks on that topic; looking at what was and was not included will help us towards a better understanding of that history-- and of Black history

Learning from diverse sources helps us stand back and notice events and ideas from a broader perspective into which we can dig for more concise narratives that may provide a more complete picture, one that honors more than one viewpoint and story.

As someone who now stays home due to the virus that has disrupted the world, my support can be in writing and poetry and art. Write letters to our local representatives. If you live in Washington State, this page will help you find your legislators. Google a similar page for your state.

Blog and create art, like I have here.

Do what you can!

How do you listen to the voices? How do those voices affect your actions locally?

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Go boldly and scatter seeds of kindness... Reflect curiosity and wonder... Live to make the world less difficult for each other. ~ George Eliot