DemocracySpace.org

Friday digest-open thread 5/16/08

"One city ... thousands of voices heard ... democracy is here." That's the message of the winning video from the Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center, which took the $1,000 prize this week in Everyday Democracy's "Making Every Voice Matter" YouTube video contest. Using dozens of photos, music that moves from dramatic to energetic, and inspiring quotes about outcomes, the INRC entry shows how change is happening in neighborhoods throughout Indianapolis. As Everyday Democracy deputy communication director and operations manager Carrie Boron wrote on our website, "The video shows that all kinds of people are having a voice in improving Indianapolis neighborhoods. And it demonstrates that by employing simple production techniques, a community can use video to showcase its work in a medium accessible to lots of people." Read more here.

Everyday Democracy got another major media mention this week, this time in an essay, "Where Racial Healing Happens," from Rob Corcoran in the Christian Science Monitor. Quoting a friend who told him that "change happens from the bottom," Rob writes, "And he's right: Ordinary people are coming together to do extraordinary things. Healing conversation is already under way. In hundreds of local efforts across the US, diverse groups of citizens are bridging the traditional boundaries of race, class, and culture. Thousands have engaged in dialogue, symbolic acts of reconciliation, and collaborative problem solving. Organizations such as Everyday Democracy and Hope in the Cities (a project of Initiatives of Change) are facilitating this." Read it all here. Rob is national director for Initiatives of Change in the United States.

The past two weeks have been horrible ones for natural disasters including the cyclone in Burma and earthquake in China. A discussion at the Skoll Foundation's Social Edge website has been asking social entrepreneurs and community organizers to think about both how people can help affected areas now and what they'd do if a disaster hit their area. For example, author Jill Finlayson asks, "Are there grant applications or proposals for programs that you need funded that you can pull off the shelf and submit after a disaster?  Having these written in advance can enable you to promptly take advantage of funds that become available (before interest and support wanes), without having to start from scratch or take time away from the critical response efforts at the point of an emergency." Read more and join the conversation here.

Everyday Democracy executive director Martha McCoy spoke Thursday at the United Way's annual national conference in Baltimore. Her talk focused on "Engaging the Community, Building Community Knowledge." Also Thursday, United Way president Brian Gallagher outlined a new 10-year campaign focused on halving the number of high-school dropouts and working families that are struggling financially. "The country is at a crossroads right now," Gallagher said. "I've never felt a time in my career where there's this combination of enough pain, feeling of a lack of progress, feeling like we've stalled, combined with a next generation of leadership demanding change." Gallagher took questions about the goals in this live discussion at the Washington Post website.

Don't forget: There's now less than a week to catch the early-bird rate for Everyday Democracy's national meeting June 12-14 in Denver. Go here for more info, including the entire conference program now available in pdf form.

Jax dinner serves hope

The Dinner with a Difference held last week in Jacksonville, Florida, was a great success. We had approximately 430 attendees, many who were totally new to the study circle process of action-oriented dialogues that bring together a wide variety of people. The event brimmed with energy and allowed everyone to get a taste of a study circle session.

After the catered meal, we began by looking at a video which depicted the disparities between races in everyday life. Then we had more than 40 facilitators, each speaking with groups of 10 to 12 people each at separate tables. Everyone openly and honestly discussed the video along with their perceptions of race in Jacksonville.

At the end of the evening we had closing thoughts and a strong next-steps statement which motivated people to continue to learn about the study circle process and get more involved. Our director, Charlene Taylor Hill, summed up the event’s vision and sent everyone home with a sense of purpose. Many business, civic, and political leaders who normally would not be at this type of event were there. The biggest comments were that people now had a feeling of "hope" and that "the city has never had an event like this before.”

We are now moving forward and looking to capitalize on the success by launching more study circles, identifying potential facilitators, and establishing relationships with new coalition partners. Internally, we are moving forward in setting up our action Forums, planning a facilitator gathering to introduce Anthony Butler, the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission’s manager of education and community outreach, and establish a new focus. We are also looking to refine our coalition partner list and focus on a more specific aspect of the racial equity issue as it pertains to a particular social ill in our city. All in all we are excited about where we are and eager to move to the next step: focused action.

Lisa Stafslien works for the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission, one of nine programs taking part in Everyday Democracy’s Communities Creating Racial Equity initiative. Contact her here.

If your community would like to post a report of its organizing work here at DemocracySpace, please contact blog manager Julie Fanselow. 

Hispanic or Latino?

So, how should you refer to people from most of the countries throughout Latin America or Spain? Hispanics or Latinos? It depends on who you ask.

The origin of the word "Hispanic" is the Latin term Romans used when referring to Europe’s Iberian Peninsula – "Hispania" –made up of Spain and Portugal. Many people I know balk at being identified as Hispanic, noting that Spain colonized their family’s country of origin and they in no way want to show acceptance or even tolerance of that historical fact.

The National Council of La Raza website notes: "the terms 'Hispanic' and 'Latino' are used interchangeably by the U.S. Census Bureau to refer to persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central and South American, Dominican, Spanish, and other Hispanic descent; they may be of any race. Some segments of the population also use the term 'La Raza' which has its origins in early 20th century Latin American literature and translates into English most closely as 'the people,' or, according to some scholars, 'the Hispanic people of the New World.' Mexican scholar José Vasconcelos coined the term to reflect the fact that the people of Latin America are a mixture of many of the world's races, cultures, and religions." (Click here to learn more about Vasconcelos.)

The NCLR web site goes on to explain how "some people have mistranslated 'La Raza' to mean 'The Race,' implying that it is a term meant to exclude others. In fact, the full term coined by Vasconcelos, 'La Raza Cósmica,' meaning the 'cosmic people,' was developed to reflect not purity but the mixture inherent in the Hispanic people. This is an inclusive concept, meaning that Hispanics share with all other peoples of the world a common heritage and destiny."

But Carlos Hernandez-Chavez, a friend of mine born and raised in Mexico and now a U.S. citizen, reminded me, whatever the reference you use – Hispanic or Latino - our cultures, regardless of one’s opinion of Spanish colonialism, has a strong European influence from Spain. "What’s this ‘Latino’ thing about?" he asked. "Not all Spanish-speaking people are Latin American. And not all Latin-based languages are Spanish. Calling myself a Latino makes no sense to me." Latin-based (or Romance) languages include French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Romanian. If forced to choose between the two, Carlos opts for "Hispanic." After a few moments, he added, "if you really want to be accurate, call me what I am – Mexican."

According to a 2002 survey by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 53 percent of Hispanics had no preference between "Hispanic" and "Latino." Among the 47 percent with a preference, 34 percent preferred "Hispanic" to "Latino" (13 percent). That same survey also provides a good lead on what to do when faced with the challenge of not knowing whether to refer to someone as Hispanic or Latino - 88 percent of "Hispanics" prefer to identify themselves by national origin rather than either of the two more generic references. It seems to me that the more we generalize ethnic references, the more likely we are to slip into stereotypes. No, we don’t all eat tacos.

Everyday Democracy created a dialogue guide about immigration for communities that want to address this hot button issue. Conversations are designed to help participants consider that Hispanics or Latinos are but one cluster of ethnicities that make up U.S. immigrants. Click here to read about communities who have addressed their immigration issues through dialogue aimed toward taking action and here to download a free copy of our immigration discussion guide.

Gloria Francesca Mengual is a program director for Everyday Democracy. She is of Puerto Rican and Spanish descent and because she identifies more strongly with her Puerto Rican heritage, prefers Puerto Rican. If the choices are limited to Hispanic or Latino, Hispanic feels more accurate to her.

Friday digest-open thread 5/9/08

Welcome to another weekend. Everyday Democracy was mentioned on National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation" program Thursday! Katherine Cramer Walsh, author of Talking About Race: Community Dialogues and the Politics of Difference, suggested Everyday Democracy to a college professor who called in asking how she could add social context and discussion of personal experiences to a class on the biology of race. "The first thing I'd suggest is that you get in touch with an organization called Everyday Democracy," Walsh said, noting that her studies of community dialogues led by Everyday Democracy formed the basis for her book. She went on to say that Everyday Democracy offers assistance with curriculum and facilitation for such dialogues and that "outside help might be great if you have folks who are practiced in leading discussions about race."

Here's a link to the program. Walsh's interview begins at the 30:20 mark, but the entire 47-minute broadcast is worth a listen. Via the show, we also learned about the new Exploring Race blog from Chicago Tribune columnist Dawn Turner Trice, who writes at the site, "We have a moment in history to have a national discussion about race. We should seize it and try to mine it for what it's worth. I want this to be a safe place where people of all races can explore their views and biases, openly and honestly."

And we need as many of those places - online and in our communities - as possible. As the Democratic presidential primary season winds down, it appears that Barack Obama will be the first African American presidential nominee of a major party, guaranteeing that race will continue to be a major theme in the 2008 elections. But in a PBS "News Hour" show this week, commentators agreed that - so far, anyway - the media has not risen to the challenge of addressing race in a meaningful way. "You know, when you look at a lot of the reporting coming out of the primaries in the Democratic race, and you see the number of times that we break things down by racial categories in determining how people voted, we are, in some ways, abetting what I would regard as a fairly narrow and superficial discussion about race," said Keith Woods of The Poynter Institute.

"So, you see a full vocabulary for talking about white Americans in this debate, from blue-collar, a euphemism for white blue-collar workers. We talk about lunch-bucket Democrats. We talk about the soccer mom and the NASCAR dad, all of which are euphemisms in the national discourse for white Americans," Woods added. "And then we talk about black people, as though they are all the same, with pretty much all the same views. And Latinos and Asians haven't fared much better. And we don't talk at all about Native Americans." Read the transcript or access audio or streaming video here. Woods has a follow-up essay on the Poynter website, too.

Several friends of Everyday Democracy are mentioned in an article in the May-June issue of Utne Reader, which has "Re-imagining the American Dream" as its theme. In "Tear Down the White Picket Fence," Hannah Lobel writes about how a new civic ethic is encouraging people to move beyond partisan gridlock. A snip:

Whoever moves into the White House next year needs to nurture this civic reflex both within and beyond the under-30 set. And to help, a number of groups are already gearing up for the day after the election.

The November 5th Coalition, an informal group of civic engagement experts, is pitching national service programs that focus on developing leadership and problem-solving skills. Not the kind of service programs, says Peter Levine, director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement and a coalition member, “where you just have a bunch of people drafted to paint buildings or something.” They’re also promoting national and local forums that bring together diverse groups to tackle the vexing issues that haunt politicians and communities, such as health care and education reform.

In Bridgeport, Connecticut, for example, “community conversations” about the down-and-out industrial town’s schools not only led to improvements—smaller classes, more-involved parents, fewer poor-performing schools—but also laid the groundwork for a thriving culture of civic participation that has stretched beyond school halls, the think tank Public Agenda notes in a 2007 report.

“Civic participation,” says Melanie Campbell, executive director of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, “is about engaging in a process that helps to improve your individual life, your family, your community, your nation, and your world.”

Isn't it thrilling to see dialogues on race and growing civic engagement mentioned nearly every day in the national media? And then there's the Associated Press story from earlier this week reporting that voter registration is soaring this year, with big gains reported "for blacks, women and young people. Rural and city. South and North. Overall, the AP found that nearly one in 65 adult Americans signed up to vote in just the first three months of the year" and that registrations are up a whopping 64 percent from the same period in 2004.

Do you want to learn how to harness all this energy to help create lasting change in your community? Sure you do. That's why you ought to consider attending Everyday Democracy's national meeting June 12-14 in Denver (the early bird registration deadline has been extended to May 22) and/or the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation's 2008 conference Oct. 3-5 in Austin, Texas. (NCDD's early registration deadline is May 16.)Take these opportunities to meet and network with others who share your passion for making democracy work for everyone, every day.

May Day brings rallies

Livin’ in a city where the streets are paved
With good intentions and a people’s faith   
In the sacred promise a statue made
Livin’ in a city of immigrants ...
~ Steve Earle, "City of Immigrants" (lyrics, video)

May Day, known as International Workers' Day throughout most of the world, has in the United States lately become a rallying day for supporters of immigrants and immigration reform - and today is no exception, though rallies this year are expected to be smaller than the historic processions held two years ago. In Detroit, a four-block-long throng marched downtown at lunchtime, carrying signs calling for an end to workplace raids and deportations that separate families. But in Miami, activists are placing more emphasis on a family celebration set Saturday than on a modest march planned today.

In the nation's largest cities, however, crowds will turn out today. Organizers expect a large turnout for a march and rally set later this afternoon for New York's Union Square. In Los Angeles, up to 100,000 people are expected at four different marches that will wind up at a rallying point near City Hall. From the Los Angeles Times:

While most of the attention will be focused on the marchers, the LAPD will also be under a great deal of scrutiny today after last year's mostly peaceful event ended with riot police beating journalists and demonstrators in MacArthur Park. The beatings, captured on television cameras, took place as the police were trying to clear the park after 20 to 30 people starting throwing rocks and bottles. This year, after additional training and cooperation with march organizers, the Police Department leaders say they are better prepared to keep things under control without letting conditions turn chaotic.

Click here for a list of May Day marches around the country and here for some interesting history on why May Day has always been associated with immigrants in America. Finally, here's a compelling column from Ruben Navarrette of the San Diego Union-Tribune on why today's calls for immigration reform are of interest to the 80 percent of U.S. Hispanics who were either born here or are legal residents.  "When they talk to me about the immigration debate, they condemn the hypocrisy of a society that is addicted to illegal immigrant labor but looks for others to blame for the addiction," he writes. "...  Most of all, they scoff at the claim that, as U.S. citizens, this debate doesn't concern them and that the attack is limited to illegal immigrants."

'A Very Human Being'

In lieu of the Friday digest this week, here's a poem that Imam Abdur-Rahim Muhammad of Auburn, New York, wrote  - and recited by memory to us during the Communities Creating Racial Equity Learning Exchange this week:

A Very Human Being

I gave him just a passing glance -
His face and hair, his shirt and pants -
All covered in a split-second no more;
After all, I'd seen "his kind" before.

... But a spark in his eyes surprised me, and then
He opened his mouth, and surprised me again
For what came from him came to me unexpected;
Its echo, inside me, could not be rejected.

Experience deserted me, inside my brain went cold
Faced with a category that I couldn't pigeonhole;
"This one's not like the rest of them"; but even I was seeing
My stereotypes refused to bend - to fit a human being!

I started getting angry then, but really at myself;
My noble, lofty principles had fallen off their shelf
I had to reassess them, now confronted and adjusted,
For here - inside of my own mind - a bigot had been busted!

Life on other worlds may seem impossible to find,
But here on earth, to recognize a human heart and mind
Is harder still for those who think that just a certain kind
Of people qualify, with all the rest somewhere behind!

The sorry truth is this for those who claim to have priority:
Denying others' birthright bares their own inferiority!
To change this sorry state of mind, disguised as "the human condition"
And remake the world, in human form,
Is every single human being's mission!

Reactions? Post your thoughts here or send them via email to rightarm2000 at adelphia dot net.

 

What are you taking home?

The first Communities Creating Racial Equity Learning Exchange is winding down. Here are some photos of us all learning, sharing, and playing together (and there are more in the photo album at right). Go to the comments to add your reflections on the work you did here this week.

Welcome to the Learning Exchange

About 50 people have gathered in East Hartford, Connecticut, this week from around the country to join in the first of two Learning Exchanges for Communities Creating Racial Equity. Everyday Democracy executive director Martha McCoy (below) greeted us by saying that the program is "a step in a dream we've had for a long time."

Formerly known as the Study Circles Resource Center, Everyday Democracy began focusing on racism during the 1992 civil disturbances in Los Angeles after the Rodney King beating. But in the 16 years since then, America has changed the way we talk about racism, McCoy said.

Early discussions were driven by King's plaintive question, "Can't we all just get along?" At first, it was enough for tens of thousands of people to come together in communities nationwide to talk about racial differences. Eventually, however, communities - and SCRC - understood that real change had to come on the institutional and policy level. Today, Everyday Democracy helps lead the effort to turn community organizing and dialogue into substantive change.  "We're working on two of the leading edges in the country," McCoy said: racial equity and making democracy work better.

CCRE participating communities include South Sacramento County, California; New Haven and Stratford, Connecticut; Jacksonville, Florida; Hopkinsville, Kentucky; Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland; Syracuse, New York; Burlington, Vermont; and Lynchburg, Virginia. Today at the conference, communities will tell their stories, discuss structural racism, and learn tools for evaluation and communication. Tomorrow, participants will look forward to the next six to 12 months of work, using markers of progress we'll identify this week (and backed by action grants that Everyday Democracy will award via generous funding from the Kellogg and Mott Foundations).

And along the way - via DemocracySpace, our website, and other tools - we'll share much of the communities' progress with you so that cities and towns beyond the initiative can take what we're learning and make it your own.

Welcome to the water cooler (4/08)

Update ... click here for the easier-to-read, threaded version of this discussion.

Welcome to the water cooler, DemocracySpace’s series of virtual roundtables with interesting people who are doing citizen engagement work. I’m Julie Fanselow, online organizer for Everyday Democracy (formerly the Study Circles Resource Center) and your moderator for today’s session. Our topic today is how local activists are working to create greater racial equity in communities across the nation.

Here's how today's live blog will work: We have a series of questions (posted yesterday) that I'll ask starting at 1 p.m. Eastern to guide our discussion. To see them, click on the word "comments" below this post.

To answer the question or make a comment, look for the phrase "POST A COMMENT." Below it, insert your name (real names, please); email address (it will not be visible online); and, if you like, the URL of your organization or program’s website. Write your question or comment in the box, then click “post.” In addition to my questions, feel free to ask a question of your own, or share other information on how your community is working to dismantle racism.

Please note: You will need to refresh your browser periodically to see the latest questions and comments that have been posted and answered. If traffic gets heavy, you may be asked to verify your comment with a "captcha check," or typing in a string of letters.

We'll post a rethreaded, easier-to-read version of this live blog at our wiki within 24 hours. (You can read past water cooler discussions there, too.)

We'll blog live here until 2 p.m. Eastern. Thank you for your good work and for taking part in this discussion! And please visit DemocracySpace regularly for more news that will help you engage growing numbers of diverse people to create positive community change. (You can have each day's post - usually just one each weekday - emailed to you via the "subscribe" box in the upper right-hand corner of the blog.)

Questions for the water cooler

It's almost time for this month's water cooler live blog session here at DemocracySpace. The event - set for 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, April 17, will focus on communities nationwide that are working to promote and achieve greater racial equity. Participants in Everyday Democracy's Communities Creating Racial Equity project will use this as an "ice breaker" for the Learning Exchange set at our offices in East Hartford, Connecticut, next week. But anyone interested in greater racial equity is welcome to join in.

All you need to do to participate is show up here at DemocracySpace and look for the post reading "Welcome to the Water Cooler." To help you get ready, here are a few questions we'll put on the table:

Who's here and where are you from?

Why are you interested in working to dismantle racism in your community?

What are the greatest challenges you're facing in this work?

How about successes you've seen so far and goals for the future?

We'll also have opportunities to ask questions of one another and share some information on how the Internet can help your community promote its racial equity programs, attract young activists, and record your progress. See you back here at 1 p.m. Thursday!