You have seen How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi, recommended across social media and on every list of books about racism. In the weeks after George Floyd, it felt like reading Kendi’s book was the action point to start with.
Woke: as a political term of African-American origin refers to a perceived awareness of issues concerning social justice and racial justice. It is derived from the African-American Vernacular English expression “stay woke“, whose grammatical aspect refers to a continuing awareness of these issues. (source: Wikipedia).
Even if you know what “woke” means, you may still wonder if YOU are woke. And with current events, you may be feeling guilty and confused and wanting to be woke, and not sure how to make it happen.
Deep breath.
The beauty of this idea is the part where it is a “continuing awareness.”
My 11-year-old daughter brought me Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker, by Patricia Hruby Powell, illustrated by Christian Robinson. She read it, then told me she wanted us to read it as a group for school.
This kid in particular has a pretty good track record of bringing me books that will supplement our school curriculum.
This past Sunday we celebrated Pentecost at church.
As a church worker, the Chaplain was familiar with the calendar and knew which week it was, so he would always wear the traditional red.
I would show up to Mass, flustered and with our pack of kids, and see a sea of red around me and feel angry because if I’d known, I’d have worn red, too. I love that sort of thing.
Why didn’t the Chaplain ever tell me, I wanted to know. Or even, just send me a link to the church calendar so I could find the information myself?
Newly Catholic, I know there are weeks we wear different colors to symbolize different things, but I don’t always know when, or even how to find the information.
This year, that running argument, our equivalent of who left the toothpaste cap off, was a complete non-issue.
Women’s suffrage has been on my mind lately with the hundredth anniversary of the 19th Amendment, as well as the recent ratification of the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment), in the 38th state in January.
I wanted to introduce these ideas to my children and let them know that the struggle for equality that some would say goes back to the Garden of Eden is still actively going on in spite of the fact that some women got the vote 100 years ago.
