Tag: Michael Brown

Ferguson: The telling is in the art

Posted on by kathiemm

by Kathie MM

Artists, musicians, and poets often seem to have a special capacity for empathy and a driving need to use their gifts to resist violence and oppression. Their work makes a chronically troubled world a better place, a place where hope can survive,  resistance to violence can grow, and diverse peoples can join together for good.

A spectacular recent example of art and poetry as vehicles for peace and reconciliation can be found in the book, Painting for Peace in Ferguson.

This book is advertised as a children’s book; it has been viewed as a resource for helping children deal with the “national tragedy” that rocked Ferguson, MO, in 2014, when an unarmed 18-year-old man of color, Michael Brown, was shot and killed by a white policeman, and the community erupted in protests that turned violent .

As a children’s book, Painting for Peace in Ferguson is a deserving inclusion on the 2016 Teachers’ Choices Reading List.   But it is far more than a children’s book.

Like its companion piece, Painting for Peace: A Coloring Book for All Ages , it is a beautiful and inspiring book for every human being with a heart that can be moved by loss and by pain, and by recovery and healing. It is rich enough in color, words, and message to deserve a place of honor on a coffee table, an engaging item for all eyes.

The author, Carol Swartout Klein,  has gifted us not just with eye-delighting artwork from the boarded up windows in post-riot Ferguson, and not just with moving photographs of volunteers working to substitute art for wreckage, and not just with messages of peace from inspiring sources, but also with hope, with inspiration, and with appreciation for the power of a community that works together to heal.

Proceeds from the sale of Painting for Peace in Ferguson and Painting for Peace: A Coloring Book for All Ages are being re-invested in arts and education programs in the community of Ferguson. The healing goes on.

AMERICA’S MOST PERSISTENT ILLNESS: RACISM

Posted on by kathiemm

By Guest Author Emmanuel Mbaezue

Editorial cartoon criticizing the usage of literacy tests for African Americans as a qualification to vote.
Image is in the public domain.

Statistics have that in the United States, the number of unarmed  black men and boys gunned down extra-judicially by white police officers since the killing of Michael Brown appears to be rising. Unfortunately for the future of the country, these human rights abuses do not just take America back to the shameful days of the Jim Crow Law, they also plunge the nation’s image into a downward spiral of distrust on the global scene.

Even some developing countries in the African, Asian and South American continents seem to enjoy better police-civilian relations than much of the US. The murderous disposition of some white police officers towards people of color in America is not only reminiscent of the dark days of apartheid South Africa, it also appears to be the new face of the Ku Klux Klan.

No great country ever escapes its past, although it can try to rectify its wrongs. The US continues to be plagued by racists moving blindly ahead in their murderous persecution of people of color. One of the most valuable truths that all Americans could learn is that the greatness of America cannot be measured in its military might, economic wealth, or scientific innovation.

True greatness can come only from respect and opportunities for the diverse peoples and cultures living here today—a respect that can enrich everyone far more than greed and prejudice. Borrowing the words of Yanni, the Jazz Man: “I am first a human being, then an Italian American, an Israeli American, a Chinese American, Iranian American, an African American…” 

Building a Racially Just Society: Psychological Insights

Posted on by kathiemm
Memorial to Michael Brown, placed during protests against his death, August 2014, Ferguson, MO.Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Author: Jamelle Bouie.

by Roy Eidelson, Mikhail Lyubansky, and Kathie Malley-Morrison

Authors Note. As three white psychologists, we offer this brief essay with the awareness that our perspective is necessarily limited by our lived experience as members of the privileged racial class. Through our many years of work as both psychologists and activists, we know first-hand how contentious and fraught racial justice discussions and efforts can be, even among colleagues and within organizations firmly committed to progressive social change. We share the essay below with the recognition that, to varying degrees, everyone is diminished by racism and racist institutions, and in the hope that this psychology-focused analysis may encourage constructive discussion and much needed action toward a racially just society.

This past August’s police killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed African American teen, temporarily brought the attention of the entire nation to Ferguson, Missouri. The days and weeks that immediately followed witnessed prayer vigils; peaceful protests; sporadic episodes of minor violence and property damage; a heightened (and, in the eyes of many, overblown) law enforcement presence with armored trucks, riot gear, tear gas, and rubber bullets; a statement by President Obama from the White House; and a visit to the St. Louis suburb by Attorney General Eric Holder. Now, three months later, Ferguson residents wait anxiously for the anticipated announcement of whether a federal grand jury has indicted Darren Wilson, the white police officer who fired the gun that struck down Brown.

Whatever the outcome and immediate aftermath of those deliberations, Michael Brown’s tragic death, the anguish of his family, and the turmoil within his community are all salient reminders that the United States is still far from being a racially just and equitable society.[1] These failings are broad and deep. They are reflected in the longstanding and seemingly intractable realities of unequal treatment, circumstance, and opportunity for African Americans – and for other communities of color. And they pose a difficult yet increasingly urgent challenge[2] – not only in regard to seeking justice for Michael Brown, but also in working to redress the widespread and daily harms associated with race-based inequities in law enforcement and other areas….

This is an excerpt from a longer essay that you can read  on Roy Eidelson’s Psychology Today blog. We hope you will do so, and send us your comments.