Starting to Synthesize the Sources
When starting to synthesize my research I found I need to separate ideas and attach sources to them. I thought the best principle to start with was putting subjugated voices at the moral center.
Paulo Freire’s conversation with Myles Horton on the subject of understanding people’s ideas sparked up the deeper meaning of understanding the voice of the people themselves. When people are heard they have power by reaching their audience, whether that be a town hall meeting or speaking to a member of congress. Paulo begins his point by explaining how society has a large impact on social movement, that the people’s power is in the “renew in the understanding of power”(Freire & Horton, 1990, p.97). When people’s knowledge is validated that is both empowering to the individuals and their communities. Connecting this to The Ethics of the Margins principle of placing subjugated lives at the moral center, it means it’s our ethical duty to listen and listen to the thoughts and experiences of people in marginalized communities.
Though Paulo is talking about the role of an educator I believe his words can be applied to people universally “We first have to get the knowledge about how the people know…then to understand the way they speak, their syntax, their semantics”(Freire & Horton, 1990, p.98), only when we have an understanding of their essence can we join them in liberating their oppression and empowering their thinking. That is because empowering others lifts society as a whole.
In the words of Lila Watson “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together”. This quote awakened me to how important intention and understanding of how your philosophical framework is and plays a major role in determining how you impact the communities you are working with. noting the differences between charity and solidarity was important to analysis the impact I have been making during my time with the service-learning program. Charity work functions to provide direct services for basic needs like shelter or food. The dynamic of power and accountability in Charity work is inward, meaning their cooperate leaders and funders decide what work is beneficial. We need immediate triage charitable organizations like the Red Cross to provides to our society. The part of charities that is very problematic is that their goals and execution of resources can be racist and self-serving to the agenda of the leaders and funders. Where Solidarity work differs is it turns accountability outwards allowing it to serve the specific needs of the population, and the people who receive the services decide on if the work is beneficial or not. It was hard to determine what type of organization Canal Alliance is. I believe the branch I worked with UP! is solidarity work because their program relies on the academic need of each student. Yet, I have to wonder who decides what services they provide, it also provides immediate aid through their food bank. I think they lean towards the side of social justice and solidarity driven. My hope is that during my time at service-learning I have contributed to social change. Whether it was in the lives of the students I worked with, or to my peers who I share my knowledge of the educational inequality and racial disparity in Marin and the US.
Service-learning has taught me many things about my values and the importance of understanding my own biases and personal views. For every new principle we unraveled in class I’m left with a multitude of questions. My experience with the 2020 Census was an enlightening experience. The women I and my fellow classmates interviewed were passionate and had a lot to say about how the census would affect their community. Since the interview was conducted in a language I am not proficient in, it was a good opportunity to sit and listen to them. During the interview one of the parents expressed how they had little access to Spanish handouts about the census. It made me sit with my privilege and the resources I have access to and take advantage of. Horton states simply in his conversation of neutrality with Friere that “it’s hard to see privilege when it benefits you”(Freire & Horton, 1990, p.98). Their subject also brings up the social injustice and ignorance that arises from remaining neutral. Horton describes his logic when stating “If I believe that I’ve got some reason for believing than I’ve come to that belief by a lot of processes”(Freire & Horton, 1990, p.106), a well put together idea and opinion is crucial to the conversation of social change and reform. This leads me to reflect on Audrey Lorde’s words on fighting the silence that oppresses’ and disconnects communities. “The women who sustained me through that period were Black and white, old and young, lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual, and we all shared a war against the tyrannies of silence”(Lorde, 41). This quote really helped me understand how much the dominate narrative controls what type of message is received and work to perpetuate archaic racist systems. Cultural myths are a product of an imbalance of power and the separation of groups. I remember in class the story our professor shared with us about going to a different school. I can’t remember if it was your quote or one we read of the powerpoint that talked about the effect of integration on these myths. I believe it explained when frequent positive interaction happens between two different groups it will lessen their cultural myths about each other. It made me think of Kendi’s writing on Anti-racism how impactful our predetermined fixed mindset can be.
Kendi’s writing I thought it was very intriguing how he corrected a societal misconception that people’s conditions are their personal responsibility. It made me reflect on my past reflections. Had I been too focused on the individualist part of being an ethical being. The answer I found is yes. My personal viewing of possible ethical solutions was too microscopic to address the large issue. What is stopping people from taking agency in their lives, it is not themselves but the result of internalized depression that facilitated by racist policies in a corrupt system.
Now let’s look closer into what Kendi implores the reader to do to take a more active role in being an “Anti-Racist”. Kendi explains anti-racist as a conscious who recognizes racist behaviors in society and individuals and actively fights against these policies. He explains the negative consequences that come when people and a society radicalize behavior. Kendi states “When someone describes something as ‘black behavior’ they are expressing a racist idea” (pg. 96). He further explains how the duty of an antiracist “there is no such thing as racial behavior” and that science has never specified a single “black behavioral trait”(96). We as a society take the behavior of individuals and use these stories to marginalize and build prejudice against the community both dominant and subordinate. Kendi believes that it is a logical fallacy to racialize behavior stating “just as race doesn’t exist biologically, race doesn’t exist behaviorally”. This made me ponder about how cultural myths and bias affected people in the Canal Area. I want to look into how it affects their occupational opportunities and their mental health. From my time with my service-learning students, I’ve heard them discuss how they differentiate themselves from the white people of the Canal Area. In my paper, I want to examine the intricacies that connect the scale of systematic racism from national to Marin county and look into practical efforts to raise awareness for the injustices that are happening in my communities of Marin and Maine.
