In his article in Hyperallergic Ryan Wong provides “assignments for the white artist to understand their own racial position,” assignments which can be applied to many different vocations and aspects of the white world. Try them.
A Syllabus for Making Work About Race as a White Artist in America
by lindaoppenheim | Apr 6, 2017 | Article | 1 comment
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A great article and exercise to explore “self.” I hear people say “I am an ally” or “I am one of the good ones” or “attempt to prove to me their racial awareness.” I stand there in a state of confusion because I wonder “do they know who they are speaking to” are they looking at this 56-year-old African American woman standing in front of them. I do not need any convincing of your heart, BUT it sounds like you do. I smile and nod because I realized a long time ago about the difficulties it is to have an individual face their truth before they are ready. The social conditioning teaches us to be “good,” “people-pleasers,” and say smile and say nice things. Rarely do we get to the heart of any matter because the work is too hard? Mark Nepo said it best, “The truth is, we don’t know how to be sensitive and authentic in public. We don’t know how to expand our tribe of intimates. We don’t know how to begin conversations about what’s true as a way to make friends. A greater challenge of our age is to develop the skills to offer respectful invitations to deeper conversations and more authentic relationships.” I can admit that Not In Our Town (NiOT) Princeton in partnership with Princeton Library established monthly continuing conversations on race creating a safe environment to touch the heart. The work is individual; however, there is a community to share in your journey…