Study Hall! Ebonics, capitalizations and cultural appropriation.
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Happy Saturday!
Here's a roundup of questions and insights from the past week. I'm calling these Study Hall now! We introduced some new topics this week in our newsletter series to act as a foundation for more nuanced, thoughtful conversations moving forward. Excited to continue to dive into this work with more perspectives as we grow.
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Nicole
ps – many of send a note skeptical that we will receive it. But we do! We recently implemented something on our Mailchimp account called Conversations, which sends your responses to an inbox on Mailchimp instead of my personal email inbox. It makes it easier for our growing team to organize responses, and for contributors to log in and respond to you directly. It might look like you're sending your response to a random string of text, but we are receiving them. So don't worry!
TAKE ACTION
1. Reflect on the questions prompted by our users and by our team in the responses below.
2. Ask yourself two questions about one of the topics we discussed this week. Discuss these questions with a friend or colleague.
GET EDUCATED
ICYMI: Last week's Newsletters
Friday July 17, 2020: Analyze representation in media.
Thursday, July 16, 2020: Respect AAVE.
Wednesday, July 15, 2020: End racial bias in school discipline.
Tuesday, July 14, 2020: Embrace your race privilege.
Monday, July 13, 2020: Respect the roots of Black hair.
Sunday, July 12, 2020: Learn how air pollution exacerbates COVID-19.
Questions from the Community
What about the term Ebonics? How is that similar / different to AAVE?
In response to Respect AAVE from Thursday, July 16.
The word Ebonics and AAVE are essentially referring to the same language. Ebonics, a blend of "ebony" and "phonics" was coined in the 1970s and popularized by African American psychologist Robert L. Williams (Hamilton College). Although the term itself isn't a slur, the word Ebonics is often used that way. I noticed that AAVE was used more frequently in the resources I gathered, so stuck with one term in the newsletter for the sake of clarity.
Aren't there other forms of English that we discriminate against, like "country twang" or "Southern accents"? Why are we only making a big deal about AAVE?
In response to Respect AAVE from Thursday, July 16.
Yes! There are other accents and dialects that people discriminate against all the time! And it's equally unfair that we do that. When we talk about AAVE specifically, we focus on the discrimination that contributes towards a larger, comprehensive system of racism against Black people. But this insight isn't intended to detract from harm that may happen when we judge how anyone speaks, only illuminate one specific instance.
This type of questioning can be an honest, thoughtful reflection. But often, this type of criticism is a common argument against anti-racism conversations. And, to the reader that submitted this, I know you were challenged like this when you shared this newsletter with your friend. I group these into the "all lives matter" arguments – the argument that if everyone is somehow impacted, then there can't be a specific issue on one group of people. Trump recently said this himself about police shootings (LA Times).
If all people can be harmed by discriminatory practices, or harmful systems, shouldn't we all be trying to change them? Yes, many people can be judged unfairly because of how they speak. And it's a major barrier for Black people. So how do we adopt practices that prevent that from happening to anyone? Yes, white people get killed by cops, too. And Black men are 2.5x more likely to be than white people. So what policies can we implement to ensure all people don't lose their lives?
What people often forget is that when we center those most vulnerable, or most marginalized, in policies and practices, we tend to create more equitable spaces that positively impact the lives of everyone.
Shouldn't we all agree on one common language that's taught at schools and used in workplaces? Is it not acceptable to expect coworkers to use SAE in a professional setting? What’s the appropriate way to make space for AAVE being the mother tongue of Black coworkers while having SAE be the default language at work?
In response to Respect AAVE from Thursday, July 16.
Personally, I challenge the idea that there has to be one common language that we embrace, and would prefer to see our schools teach several types of English. What notions have we been taught about dominant culture that define the idea that there's only one "professional" language appropriate for schools and the workplace? How could embracing multiple forms of language improve workplace culture? Encourage students to feel more comfortable learning?
What's the reason against using an uppercase W when referring to white?
In response to Embrace your race privilege from Tuesday, July 14.
A couple people this week asked about capitalizations, which we covered in an earlier newsletter on June 25 (read Capitalize the B in Black and I in Indigenous here). The newsletter offers various opinions on the subject, and most major publications are using the lowercase w for white, likely because of the points in this paragraph (an excerpt from the newsletter):
The need to add respect and understanding to the Black community is also in response to whiteness. I mentioned above that acknowledging Black and Indigenous as a community helps to "articulate the common challenges," and these challenges are an effect of being marginalized and exploited by dominant culture (more on that here). Some use this point to argue against white being capitalized, because white people already have enough power and don't need further acknowledgement. In these cases, some writers also note that white supremacists often capitalize white to demonstrate that they should remain in power. I paraphrased a detailed perspective you can read here >
We follow this approach in our editorial guidelines.
Where is the line with cultural appropriation? Can I wear Dutch braids, that might look similar to other forms of braids worn by Black people but are actually from my European ancestors? Can I wear a kimono to a Japanese celebration where the attire is appropriate? Can POC wear lederhosen to Ocktoberfest? What about the Native American earrings I bought in New Mexico to support local businesses?
In response to Respect the roots of Black hair from Monday, July 13
The voices here at Anti-Racism Daily cannot possibly speak on behalf of everybody on the appropriate way to culturally appreciate all cultures, backgrounds, and heritages. I encourage us to think beyond the binary when it comes to anti-racism work. There are certainly clear and deliberate actions we can take against more blatant forms of racism. But the more nuanced and subtle ways that we perpetuate systemic oppression have more nuanced and subtle responses, too.
Instead of seeking a stamp of approval*, ask yourself these questions instead. Reflect on how your participation in culture is appreciating it, or appropriating it. To which extent are you minimizing the voice and perspective of other people in your participation? Are you mocking it or degrading it? Are you using the culture of someone else to make yourself seem cooler, edgier, more "exotic"? How did you come across the items you're wearing? Who profited off of what you bought? Why did you buy these items, and how do you plan to act while you're wearing them?
Harm happens when we don't think about the impact of our actions and only focus on the intent. So sit deeply with these questions. And know that we ultimately can't control how anyone feels about anything that we do.
*I'm not insinuating that you all emailed with these questions for a stamp! I'm simply emphasizing that this type of reward-based behavior isn't the right approach.
CLARIFICATIONS
Learn how air pollution exacerbates COVID-19, Monday, July 13
Tommy sent a note that scientists now believe COVID-19 is a vascular disease (which still affects the respiratory system), not a respiratory disease as this email initially stated. Learn more on The Daily podcast from NYTimes. This will be updated in the archives.
Analyze representation in media, Friday, July 17
Helen, and a couple others, noted that Black soldiers are mentioned in Hamilton in the song Yorktown in the lyrics "Black and white soldiers wonder alike if this really means freedom" and in Your Shot with the lyrics "But we'll never be truly free / Until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me / You and I / Do or die / Wait 'til I sally in on a stallion / With the first black battalion". Although I believe Ebony meant to emphasize a mention beyond lyrics (as in dialogue between characters, plot points, etc), the email as written is factually untrue. This will be clarified in the archives.
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