 So today we were told that our theme is listen learn and mobilize so I'm really excited to Be able to start this dialogue and have this conversation with you all So I'm going to begin I think By telling you a little bit about who I am and sharing with you something That is on my heart and on my mind this morning So my name is Kaia Morris as you may have seen from the bio and I serve in the legislature in the House of Representatives Here for the state of Vermont. I come all the way from Bennington, Vermont So if I get a little tired, it's just because I only had one cup of coffee and I started driving at 5 a.m. This is important. It's all love. It's all love no complaints on that So what I wanted to share with you is a Feel it's central to the discussion. We're gonna have today about what activism Looks and feels like in our everyday lives and how we can transform that into advocacy to get actual policy done That also impacts our lives. I Am a wife and a mother of a young son my son Jamal is six years old and and As it is throughout the nation as it is throughout our country's history the movement of women the movement of black women into places of power of Influence of leadership Be it as a business owner be it as a teacher be it from a number of different roles is always fraught With oppression And is always met With resistance violence and threats To your life to your spirit to your heart. We know this to be true I don't have to give you statistics on that. It's something we've felt and Seen in our lives in many different ways So last year Actually, we can go back a little bit further when I first ran for office Decided to just take that step I'd already been working very diligently in the community It came to know a number of people from the court systems to the schools to our health care system And had been really encouraged to consider taking the next step of becoming an actual titled leaders so to speak and I remember I had a campaign event We decided to make it a block party type of thing and I did it on the corner of the street and That this particular Block and a half is maligned in our community as one of those horrible places where all crime and all the drugs are not Surprisingly, we're all people of color live and where poverty is high Now one of the things that people don't know about that neighborhood is it's actually more of a neighborhood than most places in Bennington, Vermont where the neighbors actually know one another and they're out on the streets looking out for each other's Kids, you know like how it used to be Before you had five people on your street and didn't know who any of them were But I decided to have this party at a live band free music. We had child care We had kids activities all sorts of things and this gentleman came to the event and actually came up to my husband And was like I had to come today. I had to come he said why it's like because your wife left one of her brochures on The dresser mean on the door outside of my house And one of my neighbors came over and brought that brochure and said can you believe the audacity of this nigger to think She could run for office And he said I had to be there He said I must come and I must show support So this is where this began and this underbelly this theme of Racism Has never left and it came to a glaring head for my family last year with actions from a not only hateful person full of self-hate but From his supporters from his compatriots in Their mode of white supremacy a gentleman by the name of Max Misch whose grandmother survived the Holocaust to say the least and it become a diehard neo-nazi combat veteran bodybuilder who does a lot of steroids and reads a lot of 4chan and Places like that so he had a great opportunity to build up on all of his masculine pride and Violence against his own wife for he tried to murder her and Decided to turn the target on me and my family So I'm sharing this story with you because last week We couldn't figure out what was wrong in our home We could not figure out why we were so distressed Why we were arguing with each other why we were feeling like we were talking to one another But not hearing each other why we couldn't sleep why we couldn't eat and Came to realize that it was the anniversary of the day that three men broke into our home at three in the morning With full intentions to harm us law enforcement was under no illusions that they came to steal actual items of value because they left those behind and instead took items that would be able to use to restrain us and to terrorize us if not for our dog Who on that same night last week Also awoke from a dream about that night barking and stressed out So these are the things that Happen to us on a daily basis These are the things that we don't heal ourselves from these are the things that come inside of our soul and They try to come out of our voice, but sometimes our throat is just caught and it is that Pain and it is that anger it is that frustration of seeing these injustices happen That drive us towards activism It is an act of saying you're going to hear me You will fully understand my story because someone is not listening to my pain To the pain of my people to the pain of my community and to the very real things that are happening Every day someone is not listening and they need to be made aware That is at the heart of Activism so now that I've done that I could feel the whole room going. Oh dear god. What do we do with this? So I like to ask you all to take a moment Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths So we can start to release this a little bit Breathe in some tranquility Know that you are in a safe space Know that your pain is validated Your pleasure is not ignored Your fears are real and your passion is mighty Oh man To talk about some activist movements that have meaning for you I don't have to be last week it could be from the start of this country it could be from another country And I just want to give a chance to name some of these different movements So we can kind of recall a little bit of that power and that energy that's going into trying to shape our world Suffragist movement any others We're gonna try to get them all down Justice reform Hairspring Alliance for the mentally ill Anti-gun Anti-fascist any other Labor movement Any particular acts within these movements that you want to call out Keep carrying on any others First Hard to hear you over here Oh the planting tree movement in Kenya This is we're just scratching the surface Community people who said we have to shift something we have to shift it fundamentally Within these movements were lots of little actions that took place Some large some small and many people played many different roles in order to be able to make that happen. So Where is this activism brought us? Let's see if we can Come up with some laws that have helped us advance the cause of social justice and mean that we've arrived at social justice But they got us started towards finding human and civil rights for all Violence against women act anything here in Vermont anyone wants to call out in particular you've had quite a few lost The brick and decision really right to engage Commissioners judgment outlying insurance Discriminations against transgender So let's talk a little bit about what activism is and so when we think about Activism we think about the activist movement that happened again. They were both very large-scale organized Organized movement that has many different pieces to them many different approaches to try to get a message across As well as smaller bits that different people picked up at different points in time Activism what it does again is it forces the conversation that may not take place Activism so when we talk about activism we think of protests and demonstrations. We think about letter-writing campaigns hunger strikes sit-ins acts of civil disobedience protest art petitions boycotts and Really they're centralized on a concept of amplifying a voice and story Activism is striking it requires it demands urgent response Activism demands audience without invitation. Activism shows the magnitude of people power Behind a vision of voice Behind the work It demands a seat at the decision-making table and it can be quickly implemented so one of an activist movement that happened in Chicago, which is where I come from originally that Was really really powerful at a time when Chicago's violence much like it is right now was at the highest of its peak And people said no more we need to get our kids which hard of seeing your children in body bags And so we saw the black and Latino communities coming together and during this time a Latino community called Little Village on the north side Chicago said we need a School of our own that our kids can go to that safe that's clean that has all the things that are promised to us Right through our educational laws and equal access to education And so they were promised funding to build a little village high school That money was taken away and instead used to build the most state-of-the-art expensive school in Chicago's Needles to say it's almost predominantly so these mothers said These are our children. This is not a game and they went on a hunger strike Is that we're going to place our bodies on the line To save our children's lives and you're going to hear us and you're going to understand and our death It's going to be on your hands If you don't take action And so only through doing this violence to their own bodies Were they able to get the funding that they needed and now it's a fantastic school built on social justice These women had to say from their vantage as a woman as a mother I Have a responsibility to do what I can to fight What is happening in the injustices that are occurring right in front of us that we can't be passive and let anything happen to us Not everyone can do that. I don't want to say that that has to happen, but that activism led to a distinct policy change So while there still is a system of pressure in Chicago, that's pretty hefty They were able to reverse it fairly quickly with a new mayor and new administration and bringing in a CEO Instead of having a superintendent didn't take very long for them to flip it back to where they wanted it to be But it still gave a venue and a mechanism for people to say you can't stand for this so advocacy is a little bit different Then activism and I bring this up because it's important. It's going to really help shape some of our conversation today So we think of advocacy and it's very baseline lobbying There are good lobbyists. There are plenty of good lobbyists in this room Not every lobbyist works for farmland Not every lobbyist works for big tobacco There are many that are out there fighting for causes that are dear to your heart It includes education of lawmakers because you know, we're all people and not everyone is an expert on everything And so as a lawmaker you kind of need to understand the nuances sometimes of the laws that you're passing because you probably didn't even write them yourself So understanding what that means and what it would look like when you implement it It's around building a awareness campaigns talked about the mother's against drug driving That was a group that came up and much of their movement was building awareness, right? That's why we know their name in that particular found media outreach policy recommendations and Usually the kind of results in a task force or working group of some sort It's driven through the voice often of an individual or someone representing So versus people on the street coming forth in large numbers as a show of force It's one individual sitting across the table sometimes From that decision-maker from that policy maker on that task force to get that work done It may actually be the result of activist action People coming together and saying you don't get to sell off our water. That's not happening You need to change the law that there can't be municipalities that do that kind of thing right Long term Long term the machine of bureaucracy is a big hefty one and it moves mighty slow It's a long term and game But it's system-oriented. How do we change the system to make the laws work and be effective? And it works towards the answer of I heard you you are absolutely right a number of black kids going to Woodside is ridiculous it is repugnant so now what? It asks the question so now what we try to come up with an answer to that and it drives the Implementation to ensure that the work actually gets done Advocacy works with a champion usually within the system so it could be a legislator It could be an administrator. It could be somebody within the system That's going to fight to try to make sure that that law gets passed or to make sure that somebody's held a Inside has to come back give us a report say whether or not we're pleased with the work that got done Once we gave you your charge. Did you actually do it? So you usually have someone or it could be multiple individuals who are the champions for that work and They generally hold a seat back And again, that's not meant to be a point of privilege But it's to say that's the individual who may have a particular set of skills That's really good at negotiating really good at being able to understand this completely confusing intentionally so Behemoth of a system that we have that is affecting our everyday lives in multiple ways so When I think about that I think about the term political courage So I'm going to tell you a little bit about political courage I'm going to give you a definition and then I'd like to hear from you as how you think these three Concepts come together so political courage is the ability to push forth Policy that's responsive to the people's needs regardless of consequence And I first heard about the idea of political courage long before I thought about running from office I'm a young woman named Amara and yet who decided to run for mayor of the city of Chicago She's the daughter of immigrants like 35 time PhD and educational policy and urban planning and Saw what was happening the disparate things that were happening throughout the city And said I want to run for office and wait grassroots not door-to-door. She's like I'm a progressive candidate I'm doing it. She worked her butt off for two years And I want to tell you about the sad story of how the machine shut her down But here's the thing that she made people ask because she was going up against Rahm Emanuel who was an established well protected Mayor who was ushered in through President Obama's administration and did some pretty horrible things To the city during his term She wanted to go up against the machine She said you know what that's where you need to start answering the question Do you have the political courage to actually do what you said you want to do do you truly believe That education is a right for all children because if you do then why are you shutting down the schools? Why are you laying off your teachers? Why is this why are we seeing these disparities if you believe that police brutality is wrong now? Why are you putting people on your commission? Who have histories of police brutality? Why are you doing these very things that are counter to making a thriving community and to caring about the voices of people? It's a political courage Also is about the ability to drive agendas that may not be popular But are absolutely necessary you get voted into office you get voted out But you know what you have job to do while you're there You have jobs to do while you're there And you hope that you'll be able to hold your seat, but go down swinging as Women and especially as women of color this courage must work towards the eradication of issues around race gender Class civil rights violations that courage has to be centered on true social justice so How does that We have 13 minutes no way So I'm sorry, how does political activism feed into political courage for example of the women who went on hunger strike You're putting yourself your body and maybe your family At risk for some consequence and that builds experience and courage Tell me what willingness to do the next thing willingness to do the next thing to organize for more people together activists Experience many fewer successes than wins, but That those successes including the success of Feeling the collective power row are enough to keep people moving to change policy to change Stop a situation to change a community So Mari has been a part of a team through rights and democracy that's been going to DC to protest against the health care But the reason why I'm bringing this up is because one of the things That I had the opportunity to see when I was down there was that political courage was lacking in many places You had individuals from the disability community that were literally sleeping. They're sleeping outside in the rain outside of the Senate offices Just wanting an audience with their legislators who were unable to get back because they refused to even hear them They say you gotta agree Hear them there takes a certain level of political courage to have your way of thinking Challenge directly by looking into the face of that parent with that kid in a wheelchair and saying I I Promise you it won't hurt if we do this policy when you know that it's not true It is harder to hold that accountable So that political courage is something that's needed in order to truly even be an activist centered Legislator to be an activist centered Administrator so something that I do want to come to I think is really important as we think about this It's the concept of call-out culture Okay, anyone tell me what call out culture is Like bring it up if somebody says something racist or somebody says something misogynist. It's the I Mean, I think in a neutral sense It would be just that you say are you aware right you're bringing up But I think it has a negative connotation right that of that we're always tearing each other down We don't have a perfect understanding So when is calling up? Appreciate that. Thank you. What is calling out important? In the first thing called out is the person in the position of power As opposed to someone you're trying to bring in and call in you may have to publicly shame someone to get them to do the Right thing if they're holding power Back to that any other box when someone's being harmed Endanger in some way Physically spiritually emotional Well, you're in a group of white folks that are being racist I'd say anytime when you hold privilege Anytime when you hold privilege in situation it becomes your responsibility to speak So One of the things that I want to challenge you on is The intersection between activism Political courage and advocacy when it relates to call out culture Anyone can tell you if you go to our white state website. It's almost impossible to navigate figure out where anything is Understand how these processes work It's a crash course when you get in there and you're in the office to even understand where you drop off pieces of paper Or what you have to sign or don't sign and who you talk to about even where your little cubby is Government is by design a really big huge complicated overly complicated machine and Part of the challenge that happens within call out culture is that sometimes especially when we talk about our political champions Our administrative champions that may be within these places is that our activism our real pain Causes us to call out people at times when it's It's not helpful So I will share our story briefly Of something that I saw that was really unfortunate. I think this year that happened in our legislature. We had Money that was set aside in the budget It was specifically line item to be able to do water cleanup for Lake Shantt Lane Now within this understand that there's already I come from Bennington. So we pretty much feel like we don't exist You know, we're gonna just fade into New York or Massachusetts and pretty much So we're one community of many that are outside the Chittenden County bubble Right Chittenden County gets a bad rap for that as well feeling like hey, you know, don't be mad at us I'm sorry We're trying to get things done. Well, so Lake Shantt Lane cleanup was really important for a lot of people I'm thinking about our environmental issues and the issues of environmental justice, right? Which is actually intersectional It's got race. It's got class. It's got gender built into how we make our waterways clean and what that means for our communities, right? So we had this money set aside and within an austere budget where we weren't even going to be able to get anything past There were some reductions in this dedicated line item, which most communities don't have at all There are no dedicated line items for cleanup and water in Bennington We actually had to sue our polluters in order to get money from mediation and an activist railed against others Where that money got reallocated to help support housing because you know, we have an affordable housing crisis here in our state We have a homeless issue here in our state and these are important issues and It was ugly and it was horrible to say well, you should have fought Well, maybe instead of calling out that calling out our other allies I call them sellouts for taking that money to be able to make sure people aren't homeless But we think a little bit differently about how that flows Within the work that happened with the racial justice panel, there were so many fits and starts Between the messages that were being put out in the community and the activist community And what was actually happening in the building to the point where it almost killed the bill twice And that wasn't because of resistance within the building But it was because of people being called out that should not have been called out and again coming from a place of real pain That is absolutely valid But was causing a reactionism That was turning people away and say making people say we don't want this fight to go on We we got other things to think about right now But we've pressed on didn't we we got it signed and they almost Signed in the way we wanted There's so many things like that that happened that are difficult because you say I wanted this full amount and I didn't get Everything I wanted and we need the extremes on sometimes of people to say don't compromise But understanding that in order to get something's done. It's kind of look and feel very different So that is all to say, please don't stop protesting Please don't stop letter writing. Please don't stop calling. That is not what we need to do It's not about silencing voices, but it is about understanding That there are different roles that we can each play within this movement to make things better And there are people who are very Good at making signs for protests. There are people that are very good at organizing people There are people that are very good at writing letters to the editor There are people that are good at so many different places and come from a good place and need to be able to get their work done And we have to all work together on this so Take your concerns as you see them happening work with agencies and organizations that you believe in and trust on some levels which It has to be earned. We get that But trust that it is a it is a shift that we have to make in order to get things done because if we're fighting amongst each other That's when that's when they win because we're distracted Questions Questions comments thoughts Like you can totally identify what you need to be strategic when you want that big thing to move and In the workshop that I attended first Hearing from ebony that when she has something to say and she's angry about it We need to listen and and accept and embrace her anger And so it kind of sounds like you're saying you don't do what ebony was saying When you're in the political arena, but could you just speak to like the two how those two come together? I want to make sure that I'm understanding your question correctly So essentially it's a you're saying that in the previous workshop the message was delivered to say I have this place of pain I have this anger and I want you to hear it and acknowledge it and and speak to that right and she said it in the context of other people Criticizing her for the way. She talks about her pain or something So I'm imagining someone having that same pain wanting to come and testify in front of the legislature Those feel like almost two different things yeah, so Yeah Ebony was talking about telling her story and her truth Which is a very different anger than calling out another person for what they've done and attacking other people And I just think there were very different things and you need to be when you're telling your story You've got to be able to tell it your way, and that's different than attacking other people Yeah, I can I just know that there are times when people are attacking others and telling their story And it plays itself out that way a lot. It does. Yeah, it does it absolutely does and some of that Some of the pain and the fear that comes through on that and that moments. It's it's not invalid But it may not be accurate it may be speaking about something that's Positioned differently and this is hard because I'm trying to tell these stories But I don't want to tell other people stories as I can speak to legislators that are like we're in tears over the bathroom They're going why am I being attacked? I'm championing this thing like why are people saying that I'm not trying to pass these bills I'm the one that's out there listening to this craziness coming at me, you know, and so it's It's really, you know, we press on that's our job Choice if you're of any worth if you're worth your salt you have to press on regardless of what comes at you because that's We've been charged to do but understanding that we also want to be able to make sure we're building bridges and there were also not Excluding ourselves from these circles so that people are saying I can't work with you. What you just did was foul Because we don't have time for that either It's too urgent The thing a lot about that the last couple of weeks. I know what she went through Have you been going through a lot and I I think about how we you know We all want to do and be and have that courage and be our better selves and do the exact right thing in the moment But I think we gotta have room for each other to not be So perfect all the time because when someone is in your face Calling you a nigger you're not always going to react in the perfect way So that I just have been thinking about that a lot lately Yes, we don't want to do damage, but maybe we can hold a little faith for each other and how we do things And I appreciate that because you're speaking to the humanity and you're speaking to the humanity of the activist community But there are actual people there in that building too Yeah Then it also diminishes my ability to even accurately say what you want to say for I'm speaking somehow on behalf of our community I want I want to hold that I'm saying every single person I just wonder as a legislator if you could offer us any specific strategies or ideas because I think when I'm coming more from the activist community and Like what is the most effective way? So we have all these people that are angry about something, you know Like what is the most effective way to get that to you without attacking other? Legislators or you know, we we want to be strategic about it I want to be really clear that I'm not advocating for silencing voices Absolutely need to be on those front steps do that do that all day comes it on the floor And it's really hard actually for activist politicians. You're like, I usually am on the floor. This is like It's I don't know that there's a perfect strategy for it But I do know that there are really excellent people in the building excellent people in this room who do this work every day and They can take that story and that pain and you can say I need to tell my story and they can even maybe get you in front of the microphone To be in that committee room and tell you truth and that's what they do all day First of all, I just want to thank you for your leadership and your role at the state house It's just awesome First on a fine political courage really I I'm just appreciating how you frame this whole Talk and because for a while. I'm just full disclosure. I'm one of those advocate lobbyists at the state house and I often feel that I'm asking myself how to help legislators get that political courage I feel like you friend it in a way that says we all have to come together to give you that courage to give you that support to have your back and One of the things that I think about is often being inside the state house, but being on a left issue This is violence against women. I I Feel like I lean heavily upon the activists on the outside of the state house Who are just rabble rousing like out there like screaming? because I'm sort of more in in the system if you will inside and In so in that way I really love how you frame this because you're talking about us all having different roles and Appreciating one another even though while we're on the same side of the issue We may be upsetting each other's Apple cards, you know, but really in the end we're all on the same side of the issue and And there's an advantage to having someone out there screaming about the thing that I'm sitting there negotiating In order to have you be able to say I got all those people and flip the paper and all those people and flip the paper, right? All on all together backing you up And so I just feel like it's a really nice way of pulling that whole picture together And I feel really empowered right now. So thank you. Thank you for that Thank you for your work. Thank you for all of your great work One last comment, I saw you make a hit at work. I another Appreciation for you when I was being an activist around the racial justice work at the state house last year And there were several different streams of activists from different organizations Bringing their amazing feedback into the process and it's as someone who Was not involved in the The bill making and that that process I was apart from it they could it was confusing about which What should I support? And I reached out to Kaya and she was incredibly helpful. So I would encourage you and Kai is not my representative Technically I live in Addison County But she was still as a leader in that Creation passage of that bill incredibly helpful. So thank you I just want to say we're ending talking a lot about the legislature I'm a put on in the state house and I think just a lot on my mind where your story started You know as activists and advocates and that there's a lot of ground that we leave behind in communities On the way to getting to the state house I think your story started with the gentleman who just said I just had to be here I feel like we give away so much of our agency when we're only focused on the Common ground things get very polarized at the state house Yeah, I was in a coffee shop and a guy walked in who I would never think I would agree with politically and he's holding Three-leaked baby and talking about how we need universal public child care because he suddenly has a three-leaked whole baby So our common ground is also Thank you very much. Thank you all Thank you very much But before I start I want to thank some other people I want to start off by thanking the original Inhabitants of this land and that we are standing and sitting in today And allow and for them allowed us to be invaders intruders into this land Some of us came voluntarily others came by force But I still want to honor that they are allowed us to be in this place in this place at this time Okay Okay Maybe I don't have this I also want to acknowledge What this invasion has meant it has meant an impact not only on the people but the natural environment So I also want to really really Appreciate how the natural environment has with stood some of the things that we have subjected to as a result of this invasion Um, so I always like to start off that way Another group of folks. I want to thank and honor today are my ancestors Without women like these women. I wouldn't be before you today I really Everything I do I think about the sacrifice that they made In order for me to stand here before you and I do not take that for granted one Minute not one day these were some women who marched to Washington post civil war to talk about the conditions of being a person of African descent living in America and I know and as I've told my Little nieces and nephews. I know that the blood that ran through them that blood runs through me So in doing that, I really feel that there's a sense of greatness even though I'm totally nervous Standing in before you. I just like to have those women behind me because I know that they're behind Of honor in them and letting you know that I'm a proud descendant of people who were enslaved Africans on this continent But I'm very proud of that particular part of who I am. I have no shame about it I will not I refuse to take on the shame and the blame of the conditions under which I was subjected to And my people were subjected to and oftentimes young African-American kids do feel that shame and I think that one of the ways that I've been conceptualizing it for them is that When someone is abused do we hold them accountable for their views? So The only way that I could help my little niece understand it when she was crying because of having to present on Frederick Douglass and The fear that because if she would say he was a slave that that meant that she was a slave So the only thing I can explain to her is if a kid is hit on a playground Whose fault is it that the kid was hit? She said, you know, my only eight-year-old could say where's the other kid? Yeah, who did the hit? So I said so who should have to apologize For that situation shouldn't be the kid who was hit or the kid who did the hit it and again Should be the kid who did the hit it So I said should that kid be embarrassed for being hit and she said well, why would he be embarrassed the other kid? Okay, and so I said well, that's the way I think about our experience That's the way I think about it and it's really easy when you are being abused to take responsibility for that abuse But those of you who work with them in domestic violence, you know, I know that better than I do that you that those individuals internalize their views and then allow the abuser To want to get reinforced why they should be abused and that's how we have something called eugenics Okay, and so all of us have bought into the narrative and what I'm asking you to do is to break away from that narrative That is not the type of narrative. We need to have among educated people. So that means take them Okay, so the other thing I think is important is a lot of this It's done not only with those who went before us, but those who are in front of us For the children. This is from a film Called children of the camps and it talks about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War two in the United States And I just love this quote because it's holding for the sake of the children. We have to tell the stories We have to keep telling those stories over and over again Because if not we're prone to repeat those Mistakes that we made and this is not about blame. This is not about being anybody up This is about how do we stand in our truth? How do we recreate a narrative about who people say we are because we have a particular skin color? Any of us and I always tell people we've all been slittered We've all been snooker involved been lied to and not only that but we've all bought into the lives And so I say it's time out For those lies. It's time for us to expose those lies for what they are because a lot of people didn't even know That there were such things as internment camps in the United States. I Didn't find out to be Totally honest with you. I'm embarrassed to say I didn't find out until I was in graduate school And I was living in the state of Washington And my major professor this name is Jeffrey Mio Okay, and so he started leaving this story This was the coat my grandfather wore When they took my family into the internment camp and he showed me all these compartments Where his grandfather had hid stuff in order for them to be able to trade for Things that they needed And it wasn't until then I started thinking wow I've been this educated Somebody didn't feel at all the place for me Okay, and as I grew older and older in my time at grad school because I was there six years I was on the extension plan As I stayed a little longer I became closer and closer To the Japanese-American community as a matter of fact a lot of the women who supported me with these little old Japanese women Who adopted me and they had not been for them. There were days. I was ready to quit There were days. I was like I'm enough of this. I'm gonna go back home I've called my father crying and he would just say baby. Just stay That they're teaching me about here But this whole idea that had not been for that group of women who didn't even look like me They supported me they believed in me they trusted that I had what it took to do what I need to do So I'm not standing here by myself, and it's not just those women like that It's a lot of great women including someone by the name of these Elaine Zacharias and Bring the back right who is like 89 years old and she's still somebody at Consult with about what should I do? How should I do it? I don't know what to do miss his back She's like let me tell you And she tells me what to do. So that's what we need to do for each other We need to be at each other's back and called. We should be willing and able to hang in there with each other Think about the people you've had the worst fights with okay. I have three other sisters And I'm the youngest Till this day they try to tell me I will live my life until this day They will say things like if I'm a garment or if they'll call me and say do you have money? What's this whole idea that some of the biggest fights I've had I've had it with them over of a concept or over something and Yet, I know it's done when we disagree. We do it in a lovely way We do it and I know at their core. They love me dearly and That it's not about them trying to prove me wrong and me trying to prove them wrong But it's out of this need to take care of me because they I think you know, I know they really care When they ask me do you have money or when I drive home in the evening? My sister come on the phone with her because she likes to talk to me talk me home And she says because I work at Keen, but I live in Vermont And so she talks me home because and she'll say to me well when you get in the house lock the door I know it's done out of care and out of love and how can we convey that to one another even when we're calling each other out? Even when I say to you, oh, this is a heart because we're really close Let me tell you how what you just said had an impact on me and for you to listen what I'll say You know I didn't mean that Because that's I know that's my first response When I've done something and I'm feeling a little guilty about it, especially with students The first thing I want to say you know, that's not what I meant. Are you doing cool or whatever? And in that moment, I wasn't cool And so part of how do I understand if I really love and really care really want to be close to you That we have to have some degree of honesty between us So I just love this quote because part of what we're doing is we're trying to do it for the children The main question of course that what you consider Is Who would you be if the social construction Of who you were told you are did not take root within you Would you be who you are Given everything about us has been socially constructive Every single thing The society creates a narrative around what it means to be woman What does it mean to be man What does it mean and who you should love? How you should act as you age Okay, so it's all socially constructed It's all kind of made up and then it takes root in us and we allow it to define us Even though we know It's not us Okay, and I'm always asking myself Why is it more important? What other people think about me than what I think about myself It's one of the most curious things and it doesn't get better with age I thought by now I would outbrew it like I would go lose t-shirts from my school I always thought I would outbrew it But there are times when I'm going on my journey And someone says I think I know it's not true And yet I allow it to penetrate me so deeply it gets me off of my game And so I often ask this stuff. I'm like just asking this of you I ask this of myself every single day And the answer can be different each time In the same way as when you we're looking the people say, what do you want to be when you grow up? And you would say something different every time Every single time. I don't know. I think I don't know. I just said I didn't want to do anything One time and my mother almost died because uh, I did it in front of a lot of people and I said I don't want to do anything She's like You can't go on wrong. So this is hard. How do we ask this of ourselves? How do we create a particular narrative that we define ourselves? So in a few minutes I'm gonna have Ardrey Lord help me out Because I think that she and her warrior port stats Set the bar for all of us in such a way That no matter what you do to help the cause You are doing something to help the cause Okay So let's go a little further the things that I've learned along the way especially as it relates To doing this work supporting other people and supporting Other situations that creates tension and stress Okay That self-care is essential. I was reminded uh Like two weeks ago That that whole notion that survival Is a form of resistance It's a form of resistance So if you could live as long as you need to live In order to do the work that you need to do in order to have the impact on as many people as possible That in itself is an act of resistance Especially in a world That lead you would lead you to be believe that you're not essential And you say just prove it because I'm gonna just keep on living I'm gonna be 102 years old I know somebody that's a hundred years old And bless our heartsies about this tall And I tell you if you ever want a sister to back you up Call francis crow You know francis. Yeah that sister is She's something to wreck. She's a force to wreck I don't know she might be 200 by now So francis was protested and sometimes she'd be the only one on the corner, you know, I mean So she is someone who has decided I really think francis has decided I'm gonna live as long as I can And then I have to impact on as many young people as I possibly can And then when I get considered as a young person That means a lot to me So she'll say come help me and so, you know, and she'll even say things like I know it's taken a long time to get to the car because she always wants to go somewhere And I said francis you can take as long as you want to Because she wants to Do as much as she can With what she can in this particular time So this whole idea you have to take care of yourself because it's in order to be consistent and persistent To be sustainable over time you have to take care of yourself And like I said, I learned the hard way and so I also want you to learn the same way I did This whole idea So this whole idea of being able to survive and not only survive, but the thrive Is a form of resistance The next thing I said is keep your eyes on the prize And this wind of mind packing pocket will and always talks about weapons of mass destruction You know what I'm talking about? You're going on your gay and somebody distracts you and you go behind the shiny object Or a squatter on And there you are Not participating in the way that you need to participate with the work that you started on Okay, no, I'm not saying the person intentionally did it or the group potentially did it But I'm just saying that there are times when these things happen And if you're not having that kind of resistance, maybe you're not doing as much as you think you're doing Because that happens you'll be on your gay and you'll be working. So know that there's a possibility that everybody Will be encouraged by the work that you do and that's okay If you have your eyes on the prize and you keep going towards your goal Then that's a different kind of situation that you find yourself in When people are saying you're going the wrong way or why you like that all these things that people can say to keep you off Of your gay So if some people within your families are saying to you why you want to work on this racism stuff? It doesn't even exist anymore All you do is you say Okay, maybe just keep going Okay So because that is what's important that we have to keep on we have to be in this mode that nothing Will turn us back in the same way that those women I don't think that they were able to hop a plane or get into some fancy car. I've got a lot of them walked to dc Okay, and if they can walk to dc, I could sure get my fat butt in my car and drive some way Okay And I do know I know because she's kind of looking like Are you saying that out loud? So what you want to do is make sure make sure that those weapons of mass distraction As you try to do the work and we try to form coalitions That you don't allow to be taken off your gay Looking at the squirrel the shiny object Because those things will come up and you will feel disturbed The third thing I learned is uh that it's really important for us to use every gift talent skill in this room Collectively There are some people who are probably Won't be the people out front talking and that's good to have people who are willing to serve as people who will serve as the force pushes Okay, but some people are better at pushing than they are of being upfront So every skill every talent every gift You can't turn it away It's very helpful to have multiple. That's the beauty of diversity That not everyone comes to the table with the same thing because if that's the case you miss it something You miss it something if you don't let multiple voices be heard And as a matter of fact always say and that's what I always like to think nature Nature gets it. They get nature gets the person Nature doesn't even have to think about Nature gets how critical it is to have diversity When you see the power of the season coming up And all of those people coming from all over the world to close up the rubble They're there for some diversity They're not going somewhere where you just come see just the same help and you crave it But yeah as humans we resist it So this whole idea of how we Do this with each other By knowing that I can't knit a stitch. Is that what you call it stitch? Okay, I can't knit a stitch But when you were in there and you know, when they were making those pussy hats You needed some sisters who could knit And there were some sisters knitting right after the thing. Here's where I put them on I think the moment I had the women out there who were in front talking That there were women who were handling the logistics and that the women who gathered to knit A very important symbolic piece played a critical role at those marches Again, if we would have said oh, we don't need no knitting And we would say just like that in Louisiana. We don't need no knitting If we would have just said that the knitters and their gift would have been used And then when you saw that beautiful array of those pickaxe the knitters pulled us all together The other thing is that we're always working hard for us and you're never done I hate to disappoint you, but you are never done. You're always evolving and becoming And I think that part of the reason that we're so shocked when someone gives us feedback is because we think we're done I never say I'm an authority or anything. I'm just not an authority. I'm not even an authority on my own life Because I'm surprised at some of the things I do sometimes. I can't believe I just did that. I've said that Okay, so some need to assume that I can't be critiqued Or that I can't receive feedback even from a little kid Sometimes I listen to it. My niece told me only gigs take pictures with their ipads And I looked at it and I said why why I said why I said just is and I said I said help me understand. Why would they put a camera on my face? She was just shaking it. I was like why she argued to it. It's child So then she said something to me and I said I learned something new today, and I didn't look around and nobody was using their And using their phones are real cameras and I thought well baby, she's right And I asked my students I said I'm rest and they were like But we're always becoming and how do we together help each other become How do we compliment each other in such a way that we're all becoming? And there's no really in it's an ongoing process I want to talk transforming silence Into language and language But oftentimes we know things but we don't take it the next step Or we're not willing to be vocal about what we don't know Have you ever been in a situation where you didn't know what was going on? And you just kept quiet And then you realize I have no idea what's just going on And I always tell people why is it so hard to say, you know, I have no idea what's going on And it's easy when you're working with young people because I'm constantly they say words I have no idea with it You know, I like I see the words forming and I see your lips moving So I know you say something but I have no idea what you say So it's really taught me how important it is if I don't know something not to remain silent And then most of all what I do know something I really can't remain because what I'm supposed to do with This newfound understanding or knowledge Is to turn it into some type of language to be able to communicate with other people And then I have to take the next step Now that I know now I have to transform it into some type of action Okay, and again it doesn't have to be a major action It has to be some type of action to connect with the new knowledge So if someone gives me feedback that I was just ages For me to not change my behavior based on the feedback that I had just been ages Okay And for not to have an impact on my behavior Even if I don't think that they're quote justified for telling me Because you know how sometimes I'm going to pretend to hit you but I won't really hit you So because I like to let people know because you might start screaming at something I suppose I hit you. What do you need to say? And I'm gonna say that didn't hurt But we do that often Someone will say let me just tell you what You said how he had an effect on me. You said and you go That didn't really hurt you. That's just something that's worse Well, at least we're not polo wearing, khaki wearing, tiki torch carrying, toast We're not them We're not them And so how do we allow ourselves to take in this feedback and to walk our talk And I think that that's why sometimes we don't want to know something Because as uh show I think what show we still said we'd like to claim our Ignorance as innocence Well, I didn't know But once someone has taken The silence Transformed it into language It speaks to us to take an action And for me to determine That that's not an action that's necessary That's what we have to listen to the person who's being punched Even if I didn't mean to hurt you But there are times that I know that I've said things nothing Engaged me and I I from the depths of my heart. I didn't mean it and at the same time I have to figure out how to repair that form that I've just called Even though I didn't mean it So to tell somebody that they're hyper sensitive They're overreacting. That's my favorite overreacting Then always what what is the popular level of reaction in this particular moment? Please tell me start a little how to react Because I'm only reacting based on my experience and my interaction in that moment. So it's not an overreaction. It's the reaction It may not be the reaction that you would give Because that's what we're usually basing it on How we would respond in that situation rather than allowing There's a different normal Based on the difference things that people experience. That's why I'm not a psychologist to the degree I was anymore Because it was starting to be a hard part for me To really engage in especially individual therapy Without understanding the impact of the larger cultural context And I kept saying to people This culture can make you crazy and I don't hate that lately So then I said well now I need to do something now that I know this information that will have an impact on the car Rather than the outcome of it And then the further pathologize people for reacting in a way Like post-traumatic stress I get confused about And I know that there is such a thing as post-traumatic stress people have stress You know my family just waded the water to their chest Now I know they're going to have some stress But how is it for me to say that they're responding in a way that's above and beyond how they should respond What about you, but if I were to test high water With all kind of crap in and including snakes I'm just telling you right now. If you start telling me I'm abnormal I'm going to say let me go dump you in some water So I think that part of what we have to do is not just use our experiences To define other people's reality We have to figure that out The next thing is we need to have an examination of not only self, but also the system Okay, so it's real easy to make this about One-on-one relationships, but it's a system as I said earlier that this system has snuggled all of us It's a believing certain area to be true that comes between the two of us having a real relationship Our socioeconomic class That there are certain places where people of different class they won't even talk to each other And it's because we have this system Especially in the united states because of capitalism that we have to keep those two groups and talking to each other Now that's not if you're new because you're feeling one for six You don't want the other nine and I have reason to get to get because even you you can do math, right? If 90 and if we just do simple math we have 100 people and if 99 people team up and piss off at one person So what you want to do is you have to co-op Some of those people into believing they just like you And that's what that happens in this country time and time again All we have to do is look at what happened when poor white people start teaming up with slaves and former slaves They were like oh heck no Or as they say heck to the node We cannot allow this to happen So a real clear system was put in place to make poor white folks feel like they were better than Those former slaves and those black folks Regardless of what your degree is the guidance of how much you have with a black person as a white person far more superior And that system was created in reaction to people of consciousness Messing over both of us They're messing over both of us They're messing with both of us let's team together So again if we go back to the point number two Not everybody will be happy that you're coming together because not even going to confront a system Okay, and then you're going to corrupt the youth Ask the truth what happens when he told the youth the question authority That's right. He had to drink him lock I don't know about you for that Okay, so this whole idea what do we do When that those paper forces come together when we start to do a real critical analysis silence Language do the analysis now you move to action So you have to realize that not everyone will be happy about that This is another one. I think And I'm almost done This whole idea is this work is not about me Or not about any one of us Individual it's about all of us and I really like that quote I don't know if it's on a beast look a little hush puppy was the little main character in it She was uh five years old when they made the movie and you remember she was nominated for the Oscar I think she was the youngest child the other person to be ever And I like that line. She said I see that I'm a little piece of a big big universe and that makes things right So if we can really harness all the energy of these little pieces And we pull them together just think about how powerful we will be Once we look at ourselves we understand that the system is having an impact on us being together And then we say We're not going to be suffered anymore We're not going to allow that to separate us anymore We're not going to allow that to serve as one of those shiny objects That we will turn our heads to And the lack over how one works the lack of another one is discover yourself Know yourself define yourself be yourself and encourage other women to do the same And I really really like again I didn't realize how much I was quoting argyll art until I was reading over that over the early life. Oh, I feel her presence um, and and you know, so when you call upon what you need The universe will answer And so today the dance is by argyll. Um, but this whole idea Of this I have to define myself if not I'd be eaten up And consumed By other people's beliefs of who I am So I have to define myself and when I tell you who I am That's who I am So when people I always uh, sometimes people will say to me, um Because I sent out uh earlier this week The idea that I want to remind people on campus, especially faculty Of when you are addressing students, don't assume, you know their gender Okay, don't assume it And most of all don't ask them Are you a woman or a man like this? I said because uh, I didn't say it in the email, but I said I will let you down But I didn't say it in the email, but I think I said something equivalent to that But in a nice way It's not gonna be nice, um, and so I was asking people, uh to remember That in the big cup this thing is possessed Oh, I think it went down I didn't know my words to talk faculty member, uh wrote me and said, uh, do I have to, uh Use the name that they want to be called and I said, uh, yes And, uh, so I proceeded to give him an analogy I said, you remember this movie called Roots and the book called Roots And the person kept saying my name is Kuta Kinte And they said, no, your name is Toby And he kept saying my name is Kuta Kinte No, your name is Toby So he was beaten, it's a submission to being the person That they wanted him to be And when I was done they were like, wow, and I said, yeah So when you don't honor What people lead with their name, if you can't honor that I'm worried about if you can honor anything about that person So it's very critical for you to use the name As we have agreed upon, maybe you weren't at the meeting And even if you were not, it's there You honor that person's name Because that's a part, an ethical part of who they are And for you not to do that Would be equivalent to hitting them over the head With something that doesn't represent them And the last thing is the personal, is the political And of course I had to call up Sister Angie The whole idea, she says, I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change I am changing the things I cannot accept So I hope that's where we are in this room That we're coming from that particular stand That we are now going to take an action together Collectively to address those things we can no longer accept And we're doing it for the children and we're doing it for our ancestors And most of all, we're doing it for ourselves Thank you It's a pleasure to be here as this sister's keeper I work with a program called Reading to End Racism Some of you may be familiar It's been in our public schools here in Vermont since 2002 So you know, we have been having a conversation with Ray in the classroom I think that's a good launch point Because our young people, we keep talking about the future Our children also teach us And it provides quite an opportunity for children to actually come home And have these discussions in their families And actually be in a leadership position Because they're not always welcome with the conversation You know, I've been to a couple of workshops this morning And I kind of feel like I'm going to reiterate some of the things that were mentioned Particularly from Dr. Lawrence And that is how political is our approach here I'm at that road I can't walk any other way Because if I take my personal from my political or vice versa I'm not, all of us, walk our politics They always tell us, keep it out of the classroom Because then you're not a full-person in the classroom anymore Not to say that we force opinions on students But we have to talk about this issue called race I've been in a lot of trouble for talking about racism I'm serious, I've been going for two years Because I had to take care of myself This thing called racism almost killed me Seriously And now I'm on the other side of recovery Just imagine working with educators Bringing a program called Reading to End Racism into the classroom You prepare these teachers You actually train them You know, it's like to walk in a classroom and a teacher tells you We're going to talk about race My response usually is Did you miss the training? Really? Because that's why we're here Why do you think we're called Reading to End Racism? Secondly I got a big problem with colorblindness Is destroyed a lot of relationships A lot of friendships I actually had a principal a few years asked me Denise, how am I going to get my students Of course race that hang out with each other? How do we do that? When I looked at this educator And I said, well, you've got to start with yourself Because one, you're a model, a role model And if you cannot model having authentic relationships With other adults across difference Especially race You certainly cannot model it to your students My prescription Go home and find some black folks and become friends with them I'm serious Become real friends So this thing called colorblindness is really disturbing me It keeps me up at night Because that's why we're in trouble And it's been in the way For us to really have these discussions That whole construct called colorblindness I just want to add and we'll keep it short and I'll open it to questions But I want you to think about this I'm sure there's not one person in this room That wasn't told that you don't see race That's how people race their children Particularly white people Not to say that people of color don't do it But I've run into a lot of white folks that say we don't see race I don't see your color And then I just have to either have a conversation Where they'll actually take in the information and do some adjusting Or I have to cut the relationship off Because they're basically saying what? I don't see you That's a big insult I think it's worse than forgetting the person's name So I just want to bring this whole Stop with the colorblindness business already Seriously When in your sphere of influence and that drops on the table Correct people Please correct them And I think that's it That's my spiel today To get the colorblindness We know it doesn't work Okay When you tell a young person they're not seeing what they're seeing Do you know we as adults actually gaslight our children by saying that? Think about it We gaslighting them So then they can't believe anything Or they always second doubt or question themselves So stop saying we don't see color Because let me tell you When I walk up on people I see your color I'm serious Am I not asking you what your identity is? I open it for you But I see white people It sounds like I also see dead people I see white people I'm just going to tell you that Any questions? Okay so you have this particularly for a white person or white person You have to sit there and pretend that I'm not so bold Make us the same Does it? It does For that moment it does And that's why colorblindness you need to face that kind of You have to see it from one end It's another constant Yeah By saying when I don't see you I don't see color By saying I don't acknowledge your being or trauma And how I am terrorizing us and pulling out some people As a group of people Because race was created to divide and conquer Okay there was a reason why race was created There was to see color and to divide based on that And to create a hierarchy based on that So you're saying that it's just denying my people's pressure So we have to see each other in all of our fullness I'm going to classrooms and I talk with the young people All the way up And the first thing when I open up with reading and racism I say to them When you see my skin color what does it tell you? It tells you only three things about me In reality It tells you where my ancestors come from Potentially It's a marker of their geography And it also means how close I live to the sun And those ancestors That soil it tells you It doesn't tell you anything about my intellect It doesn't tell you anything about my personality It doesn't tell you whether I like chocolate or vanilla ice cream It just tells you those three things So in my work in racism and anti-racism and having these discussions Is we're launching that discussion with children from the lens of biology And then we start bringing in the social aspects And breaking down racism But let's face it I'm in a room of a variety of people But I'm seeing your differences And I'm also seeing your skin color I married a white guy He told me he didn't see my skin color Didn't last too long Just saying Just saying Because I certainly saw him But he's gonna tell me he didn't see this Who we fooling So let's stop gaslighting our children And each other It's the worst thing we could do