Beautiful weeper post: "Love. Joy. Justice."

This post from Tea&Cookies made me cry like crazy.

December 9th is the day gay couples in Washington State were legally able to get married.  Tea&Cookies post does such a lovely job of capturing the joy, beauty and the rightness of the day.  And her pictures reflect all that. 

I'm so grateful to live in the day this important step in human justice and equity became possible.  I'm so grateful that all the people I love get to marry that one that they love. And so grateful to Tea&Cookies for noting it so beautifully.

"A Land Called Paradise"

Ever heard of Kareem Salama?  He's a Muslim country singer who grew up in Oklahoma.  I hadn't either, but a friend (who deeply understands my love of a good weeper) recently sent me a link to Salama's song "Land Called Paradise."

Take a look.  It is beautiful, funny and very touching.

Rosie's in a music video!!

Check out how cute she is!  Our family is so proud to get to contribute to this video for an issue so close to our hearts.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' Same Love

If We Ever Needed to Vote, We Sure Do Need to Vote Right Now

Reverend Dr. William Barber II addressed the NAACP Wednesday, July 11 with this moving call to action.  

The delivery and cadence is amazing. There is lots I'd like to say about it, but I think the message and delivery stand stronger on their own.  I hope you are as touched and inspired as I. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Playing The Game

Forwarded from a friend who I deeply respect and admire (and think is super fun to boot), this post - on Whatever by John Scalzi (who I know I'm supposed to know but can't pull out of my brain's muddled files) - is a great way to think about and explain privilege. I'm thinking it is a perfect start into yet another conversation with my white son about what society/culture has handed him without implying that he is or has done something bad. Which usually leads to the accompanying Spiderman "with power comes responsibility" talk.

The part about "Gay Minority Female" almost made me spray coffee out my nose.

Click through on the first line to read the entire post. It is well worth your time.

I’ve been thinking of a way to explain to straight white men how life works for them, without invoking the dreaded word “privilege,” to which they react like vampires being fed a garlic tart at high noon. It’s not that the word “privilege” is incorrect, it’s that it’s not theirword. When confronted with “privilege,” they fiddle with the word itself, and haul out the dictionaries and find every possible way to talk about the word but not any of the things the word signifies.

So, the challenge: how to get across the ideas bound up in the word “privilege,” in a way that your average straight white man will get, without freaking out about it?

Sara's Should Read List

Okay, so I said I was going to put my blog on pause for a while.  And I'm cleaning out my bookshelves so that I have room to store and easily access the materials I'm using for my courses.  This means something has to go - I have books stacked all over.

One entire bookshelf is dedicated to books I think I should read - but haven't gotten to. The shelf started a few years ago and continues to grow.  The problem is when I'm looking for something to read, I never stroll over and pick something out because there are 4 other books someone just handed me or recommended.

With a deep breath, I'm clearing off the shelf.  I figure if I list everything here, I can easily come back to the list and then request the book from the library.  In the meantime, such desirable titles should fetch me a pretty penny at HalfPrice, right?

I was going to make a paper list, but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find it again. Ditto for a list in some random place on my computer.  But my blog, I'll remember and be able to find the list again on my blog.

Without further ado:

- Echo by Terry Moore (no wait, this is a graphic novel by one of my favorites, I'm putting this book upstairs on my bedside table)
- Nurtured by Love by Shinichi Suzuki
- The Magic of Matsumoto: The Suzuki Method of Education by Cr. Carolyn Barrett (okay, this has actually been on my to read pile since Theo was 18 months old.  Boy am I glad to see it go, though I hear it is a lovely book.)
- A Young's People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn (uhhhh, I can't let this go.  I just need to preview it a bit for Theo. Guess it goes in the homeschool shelves.)
- The Explosive Child by Ross Greene (I don't know why this book is on the shelf.  I read it.  It had some good points, though I didn't love the solutions. I'm putting it on the parenting shelf for helping me identify my kids' triggers.)
- The Seven Days of Kwanzaa by Angela Medearis (I read this one, too. Goes in the Christmas box).
- Sula by Toni Morrison (I love Toni, I just can't do dark books right now)
- Playing Smart by Susan Perry (This is a great book about all sort of fun things you can do with kids to improve their physical, social, emotional and academic intelligence.  Just leafing through it makes me feel inadequate.)
- Can We Talk About Race by Beverly Tatum (I've read parts of this, too.  She's a great writer, and this is a subject I think is vitally important to our family and I'm 10 steps behind on. I feel really guilty for not taking the time to finish it right now.)
- Hearts West: True Stories of Mail-Order Brides on the Frontier by Chriss Enss. (I think my mom lent me this book.  Time to start a new pile.)
- Growing up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World by Homa Sabet Tavangar.
- Freemasonry by Giles Morgan (left by one of the British soccer coaches we hosted.  Apparently very interesting peek into the old boys network of George Washington et al.)
- Dance of Attachment by Holly van Gulden (OH!  I've been looking for that)
- In Their Sibling's Voices by Rita Simon and Rhonda Roorda (Oh, I was looking for that, too)
- Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies by Kenneth Bock
- The Oxytocin Factor by Kerstin Moberg (losing my resolve on this on, it was a hard to find book about a subject that may still come in handy to understand more deeply, putting it back on a shelf somewhere)
- Ultra: Seven Days by Luna Brothers (recommended by my hubby, putting it back on his shelf)
- Our Red Hot Romance is Leaving me Blue by Dixie Cash
- Money for Nothing by PG Wodehouse (okay, Wodehouse books makes me laugh so hard I cry.  It goes back on the shelf.)
- Little Birds by Anais Nin (ooohhh, I was looking for this, too.  Goes back on regular book shelf. Maybe up high out of 10 year old reach.)
- A Short History of Ancient Times by Philip Van Ness Myers, part of the History At Our House series (another hard to get one.  Goes in the Ancient History bin for Theo to read next time we hit this cycle, he'll be 13 or 14)
- White Men on Race by Joe Feagin & Eileen O'Brien. (gosh, another one I know I will benefit from reading in the long run and be so glad I read)
- One Minute Mysteries: 65 Short Mysteries You Solve with Math by Eric Yoder (WHY is this on MY to read shelf??)
- 101 Things Everyone Should Know About Math by Ze, Segal and Levy (obviously I know everything I need to know about math because I survive or go ask my hubby or buddy Jenn.  This must go on the homeschool shelf.)
- Raising Black Children Who Love Reading and Writing by Dierdre Paul (This book is from 1964.  I know I've got the children who love reading part down pat.  When I got this book I was looking for good books lists starring black children for my kids to enjoy.  Now, there is so much more out there, I need an updated book.)
- Dear America: the Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson by Andread Davis Pinkney (book from the perspective of a 12 year old just after Brown vs Board of Education. A quick glance tells me it is a pretty great book.  Going into the American History bin for next cycle.)
- Pie by Sarah Weeks (a book about a cat name pie, just the picture on the front sort of makes me want to gag.)
- book with homemade cover out of green construction paper.  (It's a great book with a HORRIBLE title.  I call it the book of shame, but I'm for sure keeping it. And no, I probably won't tell you what it is.)
- The Man with the Iron Mask, the Marvel Comics version. (Apparently I don't do Dumas in picture form.  Giving back to Bill.)
- Lapham's Quarterly: Ways of Learning, Gall 2008.  (From a friend, guess I need to figure out if she wants it back first)
- The 100 Best African American Poems by Nikki Giovanni, with CD (definitely goes in the poetry book shelf)
- The Power of Rest: Why Sleep is Not Enough by Matthew Edlund (this book ROCKS.  I have the revie copy and have loved it.  Another one of those books I've been looking for.  I wonder if the released book is different.....)
- Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring home the Lost Children of nepal by Conor Grennan (I have literally NO idea where this came from or when)
- Hey, Cowgirl, Need a Ride? By Baxter Black (whaaaa?)
- Baby Bargins, 8th edition (sadly, no need for this anymore)
- The Nature of Animal Healing: Definitive Holistic Medicine Guide to Caring for your Dog and Cat by Martin Goldstein (filed back on health book shelf, this is one of my faves.)
- Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog by Volhard and Brown (refiled, too)
- To Teach, the journey, in comics by William Ayers (back to Bill)
- Teach Like a Champion: 49 techniques that put students on the path to college by Doug Lemov (the picture on the front looks like one of those inspirational golf posters, sigh)
- A Children's Garden: 60 ideas to make any garden come alive for children by Molly Dannenmaier
- The Family Kitchen Garden by Karen Liebreich
- The Crochet Answer Book by Edie Eckman
- PhotoReading by Paul Scheele (another mis-shelved book)
- Cartwheels in a Sari by Layanti Tamm
- The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
- The Cheese Chronicles: a journey throughout the making and selling of cheese in America, from field to table by Liz Thorpe (sounds delicious...)
- How to Open and Adoptiong by Patricia Martinez-Dorener (haven't read yet, but goes on the adoption shelf)
- Branded, the Making of a Wyoming Cowgirl by Deirdre Graves (must be from mom)
- Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood by bell hooks
- What Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum (I read this forever ago and was actually looking for it the other day.  Goes in the shelves.)
- African American Firsts by Joan Potter
- Eternal Life: A New Vision by John Shelby Spong
- killing rage: ending racism by bell hooks
- Nature Walks in and around Seattle by Stephen Whitney (I think I'll hold onto this, and put it in the homeschool shelves, we could use some new adventures)
- Race by Marc Aronson (this is an awesome book I'll really enjoy some day)
- Fearless Girls, Wise Women& Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the World (definitely goes in the homeschool pile)
- Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama (lent from my mom)

Three books I'm putting back on the to read shelf because they were gifted to me by girlfriends when I asked for copies of their favorite books:
- The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
- Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
- The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Ahhhhh.  That narrows it down from 2 full shelves to 5 books.  That guilty knot in my stomach feels much better.  Now I know what to pick up when I finish my current read, "Before she gets her period" by Jessica Gillooly.

Back from Pact Camp 2011

We're back from another amazing year at Pact Camp. This makes year number 5!

Major props to the Pact staff for their continued drive to create this experience that changes our lives year after year.  Beth Hall, Susan Ito and Deanna Matthews deserve gold medals for all they give and do to support our families. Here are my highlights for what their dedication brought to us this year.

The counselors were amazing. Every year Pact brings in young folks as counselors from all over the country, though mostly the Oakland area.  Pact spends 2 days training them on race, adoption, behavior as an expression of struggling emotions, and how to handle most of whatever our kids might come out with while in their care. These young people come back year after year, their love and dedication for the campers shining through.  Both of my children adore their counselors (some of whom they've worked with for 5 years now!!) and thrive under their care.

The adult programs were, as usual, superb.  JaeRan Kim (blogger of Harlow's Monkey fame) and Mary Sheedy-Kurchinka (author of "Spirited Child," "Kids, Parents and Power Struggles, " and "Sleepless In America") both spoke as keynotes.  JaeRan inspired me to think in the long term about our kids' journey and identity development in life. They are children for such a short time. We as parents we need to aim towards adulthood, equipping our kids with the skills and relationships they need once they leave our homes. JaeRan showed a beautiful combination of professional, expert presentation and authentic personal vulnerability.  It is truly an honor to sit in the presence of someone so willing to share so deeply of herself for the good of my child. It stills makes me weepy to think of the depth of the gift she offered us.

Mary Sheedy-Kurchinka's talk focused on how to connect with our kids - calm, collect, collaborate.  Almost everything she said came back to sleep - no-one in America seems to be getting enough sleep and being tired makes everything harder. I loved her overall messages, and I was blown away by her dynamic presentation style that was fun, entertaining and seemed to take into account reseach-driven principles about how people learn best.

Behind the scenes with our kids I know there were professionals prompting thoughts and conversations with our kids.  While I didn't hear much back from kids about the conversations or their own thinking, I know the people working with my kids did a great job because of the enthusiasm both Theo and Rosie showed in sharing their art with me. Sessions were set up to communicate back to parents the work that was being done with the kids, however I missed or opted out of them. Because....

One of the draw backs, always, about camp is that there is too much wonderfulness going on for me to absorb it all.  This year camp organizers created a multitude of small group sessions.  Each afternoon I benefited from presentations and conversations while longing to duplicate myself so I could attend other sessions at the same time. I sat in on conversations about blended families (adopted and born to siblings), the racial achievement gap, "can kids of color thrive in a white environment?", and very sadly napped through two spoken pieces by adult adoptees that I deeply admire.

What really makes camp amazing is the people.  Not just in their roles as presenter, therapist, adult adoptee, counselor or adoptive parent, but the people as their whole selves.  The insight, sharing, pain, regret, struggles, victories and resources that so many people shared with me teach and inspire me how to be the person and parent my children need.

Set near Lake Tahoe, the logistics of camp were much easier for us this year than in the past.  Real beds and fully insulated walls helped with sleeping.  The food worked great for our family, hallelujah!  The site was beautiful, easy to navigate and had a truly lovely swimming pool with an actually hot hot tub.

Finally, a giant bonus for my family, there was sunshine!  With this very wet Seattle summer, we were all grateful to be warm and dry for a few days.

These 4 days at camp will bring lasting change to our lives again this year.  While the changes we make for our family are no longer so abrupt and visible, the depth and honesty of the conversation allows space for each of us to grow and learn.  It is an amazing experience.

I hope you will join us next year!

I Can't Be Racist

Here's a fascinating post by JaeRan Kim about how people (I'm figuring really it is mostly white people) justify that they can't be prejudiced because they have a _______ friend.

It reminds me of my post a while back struggling with the word "friend."  And it brings to mind the challenge at Pact Camp every year - as white parents of children of color, who are we *really* friends with - who do we share dinner with, who do we worship with, who do we spend our leisure time with.

I really like JaeRan's point that we all grew up with and still carry prejudice.  What is important is what we choose to do about it.

We have our biases and our prejudices – the point is, when do we decide we are going to be responsible for what we say, and take ownership when what we say is based on stereotype and assumption? What do we do? Say, “I’m sorry you were offended” (which always blames the victim). Or do we say, “wow, I didn’t realize that what I said was offensive” and then take active steps to learn from that experience?

Taking stock of the reality of our relationships can be very challenging.  But really, isn't it worth it to look around and see who we're really telling ourselves and our children is worthy of our time, attention and love?

Old Prejudice

image from Gap.com

can't find an attributable source for this

                

Earlier in the month, I posted about my frustrations with my jeans wearing too thin too quickly.  I blamed it on my extra weight, but in the comments section someone suggested it was the Gap brand quality and that I should try Levis.

Normally, I consider suggestions like that pretty seriously.  But without a second thought, I marched off to the Gap and bought 2 pairs of jeans.  I didn't consider looking at Levis, I didn't even try to figure out where there might be some I could try on.

This morning the reason why dawned on me.  Cowboys wear Levis, people from town don't.

Wow, is that an old and very random prejudice rattling around inside my brain that I had NO idea was there.  One along the lines of town people are much more sophisticated than kids from ranches, and sophisticated is of course, better. Shocking to me because both sides of my family are/were cowboys.  My mom still wears Levis (she also did barrel racing).  Assumably, being a town girl, I picked the idea up in high school where kids divided themselves into cliques and established odd rules to protect the order: cowboys, jocks, stoners, band/orchestra people, choir kids, activists.

Somehow to me, Levis became a marker of second class membership. Not like I was a model of sophstication or high social standing. I was in the band, for pete's sake. Reminds me of the star bellied sneeches. Maybe I'll go buy some Levis this week and clean some of the cobwebs out of the hinter regions of my brain.





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The barrel racing clip is actually really great.  If you didn't click on it, you really ought to go back and look at it.

How to be an Ally

One of the things I hear/read regularly in both the adoption related world and the race related world is that as parents and people of privilege, we need to act as allies. Which sounds really great.  Except I've never deeply understood what that means or how to go about becoming an ally (which doesn't stop me from trying - as random and misguided as I maybe).

This week I came across an article forwarded by someone on the Coalition of Anti-Racist Whites (CARW) list serve. The article, entitled Interrupting the Cycle of Oppression: the Role of Allies as Agents of Change, contains the definitions and explanations I crave to better understand what being an ally means and some steps I can take to get to the point where I would actually start to believe I lived my life as an ally to my family and friends instead of just another well-meaning white/straight/non-adopted/able/middle class person.

I hope you'll read it and join me in working to become agents of change.  Post in the comments, I'd love to hear what you've learned or enjoyed about the article.

In addition to grooving on the content, the writing style pleases me.  The author engaged me immediately and continued to make the topic approachable, enjoyable and interesting. Here's the first bit of it:

 The Role of Allies as Agents of Change 

The Rev. Dr. Andrea Ayvazian 

Many of us feel overwhelmed when we consider the many forms of systemic oppression that are so pervasive in American society today. We become immobilized, uncertain about what actions we can take to interrupt the cycles of oppression and violence that intrude on our everyday lives. One way to overcome this sense of immobilization is to assume the role of an ally. Learning about this role-one that each and every one of us is capable of assuming- can offer us new ways of behaving and a new source of hope. 

Through the years, experience has taught us that isolated and episodic actions - even dramatic, media-grabbing events - rarely produce more than a temporary blip on the screen. What does seem to create real and lasting change is highly-motivated individuals- usually only a handful at first- who are so clear and consistent on an issue that they serve as a heartbeat in a community, steadily sending out waves that touch and change those in their path. These change agents or allies have such a powerful impact because their actions embody the values they profess: their behavior and beliefs are congruent. 

read the rest of the article here: Interrupting the Cycle of Oppression: the Role of Allies as Agents of Change

Pact Camp 2011: July 17-21

Yesterday I registered our family for our 5th year of Pact Camp.  This is the annual camp for transracial adoptive families that fuels and informs our life.  Pact puts on an amazing program, both for kids and adults, with speakers and facilitators of amazing quality.

Pact Camp is a funny mix.  Full of honest, caring people who will look you in the eye and tell you the truth about your life and the world, camp can bring out what's not working in our lives.  So that's challenging.  At the same time, there is so much that is deeply enjoyable and rewarding about spending days with such forthright people who care so much about our kids and our family - most of whom also love to find the bright and laughable in life.  And of course there is the true beauty of spending 4 days not having to explain our family, just enjoying sharing with other families like us.

The kids are given the opportunity for lots of real conversation about their lives, along with plenty of fun and games. The kid's counselors come back year after year.  They care so much about our kids and remember them from year to year - my kids glow on that first day back they see those familiar welcoming faces. I am constantly in awe of how carefully Pact manages to address the needs of both my adoptive African American child and my white biological child.  Their staff really sees and provides for the whole family.

We go every year and each year camp changes who we are and how we see the world.  I hope you'll join us and get to know this remarkable group of people and the support and change they bring for our families.

Oh, and yes it is in California. Believe me, it is worth the trip.

To read more about camp, read this by John Raible and Pact's official camp page here.  Then, go register here.

Blinded by the White?

Teaching my kids history seems like a land mine to me.  History can be taught from so many angles and is, in many ways, very subjective.  As a white person, trained mostly in European history, I lack the solid background I'd like to have to teach my children about the world in a way that reflects both their races/cultural backgrounds.

After several years of agonizing over various curriculums and approaches I really didn't like, I finally landed on the History at Our House program, which I love. It is a Western Civ history course, which I know many people object to, in general. It is taught by a white man (which some people probably object to in general). But I honestly think understanding the history that has created Western Civilization is vital to understanding the world in which we live.  It also provides a relative reference for understanding the history of other cultures. I've listened to all the lectures over the past few years, and the teacher's treatment of sensitive topics has seemed somewhere between delightful and completely reasonable to me.

Imagine my distress in learning recently that one of the other families I knew was using the program quit.  Not just any family, but a family of color whose mother I hold in very high esteem. They were all so offended by the course's treatment of Columbus that they left the class. This was one of the subjects I felt nervous about and after listening the the lectures thought the teacher handled the very well.

I'm pulling out my Howard Zinn books to see what about the subject matter I'm so completely missing.  I'm certainly willing to teach my kids alternative views of this, and any period, of history.  What really concerns me, though, is my own level of awareness.  How did I completely miss out on what was objectionable?

Am I completely blinded by my White education, privilege and self as to not be able to even see the experience of others?

Another Year on the Fine Line

An ad in my email inbox from Jockey.com (they have sleepwear on sale) reminds me that November is National Adoption Awareness month.  With companies all over the country advertising support for adoption support this month, I feel compelled to write. Again.

There is something weird to me about all this drive to support adoptive families.  Because in the end, I don't really think we're the ones that need support.  Not that I'm going to turn down free money, but I've been vetted and interviewed to bring children into my family. Part of the process of adopting children is proving one has the resources (financially, emotionally and community-wise) to meet their basic needs.  

There's something whacked about a whole nation of marketing focusing on supporting the families caring for children in a second family rather than on meeting the basic needs of the family that brought the child into the world.  How about National Pregnant Mama Month raising funding and awareness about the vulnerability of being a pregnant woman in this country.  Or Parenting Skills Month where companies could bring in funds to create services and support for parents struggling to do differently for their kids than was done to them. Heck, even Foster Families Month where people all over the nation could support children in transition, their first parents who are working to create a home for them, and the foster families that create a safe space for the children during that time. Oh, I have a radical one - National Adoption Eradication Month where the whole country works together to eliminate the poverty, manipulation and privilege that create the need for children to be separated from their families.

Of course, we the adoptive parents are the ones of privilege, getting our "issues" known and helping create national marketing campaigns. Perhaps we could begin to use our powers for the good of our whole community and not just the children we have removed to our homes.

This is where I walk the fine line.  Longing for the placement of a baby in our home NOW and holding the knowledge that my blessing is the result of suffering and oppression of others.

Welcome to National Adoption Awareness Month.  I hope you will share a deeper awareness of the real issues of adoption with those you know this month.  

Colorblind = Blind

From Tim Wise's blog, here is a really interesting and compelling study.

Colorblindness Reduces Kids Ability to See

People are sometimes shocked by the things I discuss with my children, and the ideas and situations my children bring up with me.  I do it because I think my kiddos need to see and understand what is really happening in the world in order to both survive it (literally for black kids, live) and change it.

This study seems like nice confirmation of my choices.  And encouragement to do more.

The Mindlessness of Privilege

Last night, I was taking a big-picture look at my blog.  In particular, I was thinking about categories.  It occurred to me that in the past month of posting, probably the only category I didn't post in was "How White I Am."

Somewhere between surprised and sad and embarrassed, I decided that this in and of itself is a signal of how white I am.  I think about race and its effects on my family most days. But there are days when I can easily not and rarely a day when race related issues are really up in my face. Heck, I can go 29 days without a post mentioning race.

The mindlessness of being white is a privilege most of us white folks probably never fully recognize or understand.

Playmobil Privilege

My kids are on a Playmobil tear right now.  You know, the posable people with cool sets like airplanes, horse trailers, knights castles and pirate ships?

The sets encompass just about anything kids could ever want to pretend.  They are well made, durable and easy to manipulate.  There are animals galore.  The kids easily afford them with their allowance. It seems like everything about Playmobil should be perfect for our family.

Yet I have this sense of unease about Playmobil in my home.  I think I finally figured it out last night.

Playmobil figures represent a most insidious kind of racism and privilege to me.  Every set and character reflects the idea that "normal" people doing "normal" things are white.  The airport people.  The RV folks. The pirates.  The knights and princesses. The horse farm. The soccer team.

It's only once we get into the specialized sets that we buy brown people. The pyramids.  The wild west Indians. Occasionally, there is a token brown person in a set.  Of course, you can buy a set of African American or Hispanic family.  But they're not normal.  You have to search them out, and there is only one set.

So you can't have a black princess in a beautiful dress or a brown knight in chain mail.  And if you and your Playmobil girlfriend want to go riding on your horses together, you have to be twins because there's really only one black girl. Even the soccer set comes with all white guys.  Soccer!?!  There are for sure more brown soccer players in the world than white, and at least around here if we see a group of men playing soccer, a large number of them are people of color.

Where does that leave my darling black 7 year old?  With the clear information that she's not normal, that   she's the token piece off to the side, that she isn't really invited to dream herself into the largeness of all the world has to offer.

And that makes me sick to my stomach.

More on Racebending: Avatar releases July 1.

Forwarded from my beloved hubby, check out this *great* post about racebending and "Avatar: The Last Airbender" at Floating World.

Take a few minutes to look around the rest of the site - it offers some delightful writing and interesting point of view.

Racebending

Do y'all know that my husband works as a cartoonist?  He's very funny.

Being married to a cartoonist means that our life and home swim with superheroes, comics and pop culture.  All of this being mostly foreign to me, I have learned over the years to enjoy and embrace quite a bit of it.

One of the scandals in the community right now comes from the release of The Last Airbender movie.  Turns out the cartoon features Asian and Inuit characters but Paramount chose to cast white actors for the roles.  After serious public outcry, they did manage to pick one non-white person as a main character.  In the role of the bad guy, of course.

People outraged by this whitening of their beloved heros mobilized online - and very cleverly named their site Racebending. Go check it out to learn more about the specifics of The Last Airbender, but also prejudice casting behaviors and how Hollywood's racist practices affect us all, especially our kids looking for heros that look like them.

I'm really impressed by the work by the Racebender crew. Seems like every in real life (IRL) discussion and virtual discussion group should all agree to follow the guidelines outlining racism discussion policies.

On Seeing Black Boys

For 6 short weeks, I actively looked at the world as the probable mama of an African American boy.  I'm amazed at how that lens changed the way the world looks to me.  That group of black boys on the corner at the bus stop?  Somebody's little sweeties on their way to school.  Those black "thugs" who continue to break into neighborhood houses? Somebody's baby boys who are struggling mightily.

Yeah, this is that media induced racist-fear issue we all carry.  We're so trained by the media to fear black teenagers (and men).

Now I find I'm checking out their haircuts, wondering what their mamas say about their low-rider pants, watching how they walk and talk with each other and evaluating who they're hanging with.  Flipping through radio stations a few days ago, I heard a woman passionately talking about the need for a change in education for black children, citing the fact that 60% of black boys will never graduate from high school.  And this thought goes through my head, "my boy will make it through college and then he'll be fine."

So this article really caught my attention today.  In Job Hunt, College Degree Can't Close the Racial Gap.

It turns out when you're black, being smart and working hard still isn't enough.  You still have to hide who you really are to get in the door.

More on Museums

In the course of our school year, the kids and I have visited quite a few museums.  I've noticed that some are just a vast wash of white people and some attract a great mix of races. I wonder what it is about them that draws certain people.  Is it the subject, the advertising, the hours, the outreach programs?

Here's my current classifications:

The "mixed" ones
Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center aka Maritime Museum
Seattle Bug Safari
SAM
Northwest African American Museum

The "white" ones
Pacific Science Center
Museum of Flight
Woodland Park Zoo
Seattle Police Museum

Ones we've not seen or it's been ages
Wing Luke Museum
Burke Museum
Frye Art Museum
Science Fiction Museum
EMP

What do you think about the idea of grouping museums this way?  Do you notice the same attendance on racial lines? Would you put the museums in the same groups as I do?  Any favorites that I missed?