by Judy Helfand When a new member of Racial Justice Allies asked why there wasn’t more posting on our blog given all that is going on, I replied that we’d been too busy to write. But the question lingered and I reflected more deeply on what I’ve been doing over …
by Judy Helfand Recently various friends have asked me if I’m scared about the upcoming presidential election, which prompted some self-reflection as to why I’m not. There’s nothing surprising to me about the outpouring of hate and racial invective. Trump does not seem like the devil incarnate, simply another manifestation …
by Judy Helfand An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz sat on my bookshelf for months. I’d picked it up because I admired the author, having read her memoir Red Dirt: Growing Up Oakie, which seriously grappled with whiteness. When I finally took the history off …
by Judy Helfand At the day-long singing and drumming retreat on Saturday, I failed to fully step up and confront cultural appropriation and lack of respect for the people whose drums were enriching our lives. In a circle of around 50, all of us but one appeared to be …
by Judy Helfand On the first night of the 2015 Geography of Hope conference, I met Lauret Savoy while standing in the food line. She was an engaging conversationalist and I was almost sorry as we reached the serving tables. When I learned she was a presenter, I awaited her …
by Judy Helfand Musicians seem to me better able to work across ethnic and racial boundaries than most folks, exploring, adapting, and changing music springing from various cultures. Respect Yourself: the Story of Stax Records surprised me by exploring, not only the music recorded at Stax, but the racial history …
by Judy Helfand The “Oregon Standoff” seems to me a blatant illustration of the white supremacist foundations of the U.S. I wake up every morning incredulous that it’s still going on. That law enforcement allows the occupiers supporters to come and go, bringing supplies, setting up “perimeter reinforcements,” talking with …
by Judy Helfand At a recent gathering someone asked if there was more activism in the 60s than today. I felt strongly that there is as much today, but it’s not as visible on mainstream media. Then he asked a question about what was happening in the 60s, …
I teach at a community college and this morning had in my email a long letter from another faculty member who found the shooting at Umpqua College to be a “clarifying moment.” This caught my attention but as I read through I became more and more angry and puzzled. My …
by Judy Helfand Ever since hearing about the Napa Valley Wine Train incident where a group of black women were thrown off the tourist wine train for loud laughing I can’t get it out of my mind. Of course it illustrates the racism so much in the news lately. But …