Dear Friends,
This moment demands much of us. The deaths of
George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade
and so many other Black and brown people at the hands of police expose the brutality of systemic racism. Gaps in our healthcare system and the handling of the coronavirus have meant that more people of color are suffering through the crisis. The movements of people all over the country rising up to protest have been greeted with militarized tactics, with the rights of people under the First Amendment at risk. This moment is an incitement. It calls upon us to do more, to connect in new ways, and to draw upon historical reckoning and cultural imagination to build a new and more equitable future for all.
The humanities serve as tools to stand up for democracy at this moment.
Cultural participation, peaceful protest, voting, and working for policy changes are all necessary and interdependent. This 12th weekly roundup of #HumanitiesInTheAgeOfSocialDistancing includes a statement of values, “
Social Change Through the Humanities
,” and resources that we have turned to in recent weeks that have both inspired and challenged the Council’s staff. We acknowledge that we do not have all the answers and recognize that this is an ongoing, and often uncomfortable process. We commit ourselves to continuing this work of listening, learning, and being partners in action. We hope you will join us.
We will continue to share resources on social media—Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @rihumanities—and here, each Friday, where we’ll highlight our top picks from the week.
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We’re all in this together,
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Elizabeth Francis
Executive Director
and the Humanities Council Team
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A Statement on Social Change Through the Humanities:
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June 3, 2020
— Engaging history and culture is not just about reflection and understanding but about action. The change that we want to make depends upon acknowledging oppression, negotiating the contradictions between cherished ideals and the reality of inequality and injustice, and confronting culpability. Creating a better future also means recognizing the leadership and hard-won achievements of those who came before us.
Restoring histories that have been suppressed and engaging in difficult dialogues help us become proximate to each other—even as we recognize differences—and change the narrative that enforces inequality.
Stemming the erosion of civil society and building it anew is a responsibility we all bear.
These are what the humanities do.
As our nation, state, and local communities confront the deep legacies of slavery and social injustice, the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities staff and board are committed to do our part to enhance civic engagement and provide tools for creating systems of equity that honor and support our diverse cultures. It has been our mission for nearly 50 years to seed, support, and strengthen the public humanities by and for ALL Rhode Islanders. We are dedicated to continuing this work, to being allies through our partnerships, and to amplifying underrepresented voices in our communities.
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“A revolution in today’s terms would mean that these nationwide rebellions lead to black people being able to access and exercise the fullness of their freedom and humanity.”
While the Humanities Council stands firmly with peaceful protesters and does not condone wanton destruction,
this piece
from Kellie Carter Jackson puts riots in perspective, calling on examples from history which remind us that true change should be uncomfortable. Carter Jackson is an assistant professor of Africana studies at Wellesley College, and the author of
Force and Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence
.
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Local historical context:
The Snowtown Riot plaque which sits at the north end of Roger Williams National Memorial marks the 1824 Hardscrabble Riot and the 1831 Snowtown Riot in Providence. Both included white mobs destroying Black-owned homes and businesses and the deaths of residents.
Learn more about Early Black History using this walking tour
from our colleagues at
The Center for Reconciliation
,
Stages of Freedom
, the
Rhode Island Historical Society
, and the
Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau
. If you would like a paper copy of this walking tour map, contact Rachael at
rachael@rihumanities.org
with your mailing address and we’ll make sure you get a copy.
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In
this piece
from NPR’s Code Switch series, Leah Donnella interviews author and professor Alex S. Vitale about his 2017 book
The End of Policing
. Their thought-provoking conversation tackles the changing role of police in American society by “the systematic questioning of the specific roles that police currently undertake, and attempting to develop evidence-based alternatives so that we can dial back our reliance on them.”
Read the full piece here
and if you’re interested in reading Vitale’s book, the
Ebook version is currently available as a free download
from the publisher.
Perspective:
Research on policing is nothing new. In fact this week
The Cato Institute
, a public policy think tank, released
“A Quarter Century of Cato Research on Police Accountability”
which provides links to surveys, books, and articles supported by the Institute over the past 25 years to serve as resources for those seeking “...Constitutional ways of protecting civilians from exposure to needless death and injury at the hands of law enforcement.”
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In 2017, the
Rhode Island Center for the Book
, in partnership with the Humanities Council, brought author, activist, and lawyer Bryan Stevenson to the Ocean State to talk about his book,
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
. Since then, his nonprofit, the
Equal Justice Initiative
has opened
The Legacy Museum
and
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice
in Montgomery, Alabama, and an award-winning major motion picture adaptation of
Just Mercy
came out last year.
This week, the EJI announced that the
Just Mercy
film is now available to rent for free on U.S. streaming platforms (including
YouTube
and
Amazon
) for the month of June. Search your streaming platforms for
Just Mercy
.
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Because of prohibitions against large-scale social gatherings in light of COVID-19, Council grantee newportFILM’s outdoor summer film series will be replaced by newportFILM Virtual. Documentaries will be viewable online for free or to rent a week before a hosted Facebook Live event. This week’s documentary selection is
I Am Not Your Negro
,
presented in partnership with the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society.
Using archival footage driven by James Baldwin’s words, eloquence, and biting wit, Director Raoul Peck reveals the writer’s fury, hurt, and vulnerability in the context of the murders of his friends, Medger, Malcolm, and Martin, and the wider struggle for civil rights. Watch the film knowing that while much has changed in America, much has remained the same.
The film is available for viewing until Friday.
Register today on the newportFILM website
.
Once you RSVP you have 7 days to watch the film after you start the viewing process on the external link which will be emailed to you. A $5 suggested donation to newportFILM ensures they are able to continue this digital programming.
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Listen, Learn, & Unlearn:
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The 1619 Project from The New York Times is an ongoing initiative that began in August 2019 to mark the 400th anniversary of the beginning of slavery in America. “The goal of The 1619 Project is to reframe American history by considering what it would mean to regard 1619 as our nation’s birth year. Doing so requires us to place the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are as a country.”
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Cultural institutions in this country, especially museums, have the unique privilege of shaping national and local understanding of past and present in order to challenge us to consider the type of future we can create based on traditions, cultural expression, and deep local knowledge. This new resource from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture pulls together over 100 multimedia tools to help educators, parents, and all of us develop language to have productive conversations about race in America.
Explore the videos, scholarly articles, and exercises here
.
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This list will be added to as the Humanities Council is made aware of resources available to the sector as we weather this storm together. Check back often.
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