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A gardener’s tale

Today I’d like to share a few interesting things I have been reading and listening to relevant to understanding the systemic nature of racism, but also, the systemic nature of social inequity and marginalization in diverse cultures and societies.

A.Allegories on race and racism | Camara Jones | TEDxEmory at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNhcY6fTyBM&feature=youtu.be

  1. The Japanese lanterns: Racial constructs color our imaginations of who we are; race is a social classification not a biological descriptor
  2. Dual reality—a restaurant saga: Racism structures “Open/Closed” signs in our society
  3. Levels of racism—a gardener’s tale: The relationship between three levels of racism

This story illustrates the relationship between the three levels of racism. It also highlights the fact that institutionalized racism is the most fundamental of the three levels, which must be addressed for lasting and significant change to occur. Finally, it provides the insight that once institutionalized racism is addressed, the other levels of racism may cure themselves over time. Perhaps the most important question raised by this story is: Who is the gardener? The gardener is the one with the power to decide and to act, and has control over the resources.

You can also read a paper by Dr Camara Jones, in which she describes this framework through her allegory at: Jones, CP. (2000). Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener’s Tale. Am J Public Health 90, 1212-1215. (PDF)

  1. Life on a conveyor belt—moving to actions: Three possible actions that can be taken to be actively anti-racist.

B. An interesting talk by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on the power of story and how a single story can be dangerous. She says: “the single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story”

The danger of a single story | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Με Ελληνικούς υπότιτλους) at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg&feature=youtu.be

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