- Don Lemon tells us about his interview with Stevante Clark following the death of his brother, Stephon at the hands of police officers who thought he had a gun when he merely held his cell phone. You can watch the interview here. (STEVANTE CLARK INTERVIEW) The story and subsequent interview provide a disturbing example of the inexorable frustration of the families of these young Black victims. What questions fill your mind as you read about the tragic death of Stephon and his brother's interview on pages 61-69? When you watch the interview, what thoughts and feelings flood your mind and heart?
- On page 76 Lemon highlights the ubiquitous saying as "Black. Lives. Matter". He cautions us that "the next tragic headline isn't happening on television. It's happening all around us at this very moment. Real lives....Real people, who deserve equal opportunities to breathe and be heard, to work and to prosper, to learn from mistakes, contribute to the greater good, and thrive in an atmosphere of security, peace and dignity." What are we doing at LMS to create this atmosphere for all staff and students? What do we need to continue to do? What do we need to create? What do we need to change?
- Chapter 4 begins with an explanation of what is truly meant by "Defund the Police". Later with the story of Ras Baraka (page 92), additional light is shed on the process. Were you reminded of anything or did you learn anything new from this section that you can remind the rest of the group about? How can we help our students understand the implications of the true meaning of this statement? How can we help them to not fall prey to the incorrect notions that are often created in the media and political venues?
- Stories like the one about Dave Chappelle on page 117 can create confusion. Lemon spends chapter 5 talking about the celebration of Confederate soldiers through monuments and how demoralizing such celebration of White supremacy is for everyone, but especially to our Black Americans. On page 118 he says, "Whatever the young people in my life are consuming, I don't want them to consume it in isolation." Yes! How can we create spaces for us to talk not only with our peers, but with our young people about what they are "consuming" in terms of points of view and information?
Sorry, I can't make it to the discussion today! Can't wait to catch up and hear everyone's thoughts!
ReplyDeleteFirst off, my heart broke as I was listening to the interview. You have a brother who is clearly grieving, and struggling to handle the presence of the media in his life. He's had is brother tragically ripped from his life, and he is trying to remain strong. The worst part of it all was the title of the video "Stevante Clark most awkward CNN interview Ever!" Are you serious? You have a man who is clearly grieving, who was trying to remain strong, and stay positive, as noted by his talk of the library in memory of his brother. Yet, the media now portrays him as being the "most awkward?" That infuriates me. Many questions flooded my mind as I read/watched the interview. The main question though was "why?" "Why was an african american male shot in the dark while he held his cell phone?" "Why 20 times?" "Why did the officers turn off their mics?" "Why does the media always try to pry into the lives of families following tragedies?" Lots of whys.
At LMS we see our students as individuals, as lives. We know that each individual student needs to be given equal opportunities. We strive to create an environment that is welcoming and secure for all students. We need to continue to focus on our students of color. We need to make sure we are hearing the perspectives of all, and not just the majority. To ensure that we are giving equal opportunities and that all feel safe in our school. We need to continue to collect data and continue to evaluate how we move forward. We need to keep moving forward, keep pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone, and challenge ourselves to make changes to our own practices.
I thought Don did a nice job in describing “defund the police”, explaining that the phrase really implies an instant change, that is unobtainable. I lol’d with the reference to eating a bag of m&m and gaining 100lbs. In contrast with Ras Baraka they talk about the measure he put into place when becoming mayor: body cameras, civilian review board, and other reforms. I thought it was interesting how Ras pointed out that things such as body cameras, and civilian review boards will make police safer as well. I think it’s important that people realize the implications first off of defunding the police. Do we need to defund the police...no. Do we need to change the system...yes. I think we need to help students see that people say they want to defund the police because they want change. Not because they truly believe that defunding the police will solve their problems. We need to discuss the potential implications of defunding the police, and then thing about ways that we can improve the police force (so ALL can be safe).
First, I think it’s important that we teach students not to accept everything they see at face value and encourage them to do their own research, and seek out their own information. We then need to encourage students to share information with others. As teachers we need to create a space where students feel comfortable sharing. Circles are a great way to do this. Your circles are a a judgement free space, with established rules for conversations. You start with basic topics, that students are already comfortable in sharing, like favorite food, music, and so on. Then you begin to branch out