Month: January 2022

The right-wing chatter questioning the qualifications of black female nominees for the Supreme Court has already begun. And so has their colorblind and rose-colored distortion of American history and society. They know that for white supremacy to endure, Republican leaders need a few spurious narratives to exist in the minds of white Americans. So, they continue to perpetuate the notions that 1) blacks are inherently under-qualified; 2) that a person’s race doesn’t matter; and 3) that this is an equitable society where every person succeeds based on the merits of a level playing field. These absurd claims are attempts to hide their actual racism while they shamelessly imply that black women lack the mental acuity to be on the Supreme Court.

When I was an educator at the university level, I worked with many white students who found themselves confronted for the first time with the notion of white privilege and racial inequity. They came to the University believing in the existence of a level playing field. As a result, they would get angry and complain that certain people were unfairly given preferential treatment or special programs because they were black or brown. They would argue that the Civil Rights Movement made everything and everyone equal. They believed that it was admirable to be colorblind. However, they soon became confused when their black friend got stopped by the police while driving because the seat belt looked like it was on funny. They were confused as to why their black roommates couldn’t afford to buy pizza or go on that cool weekend getaway. They thought it was odd that the black premed major sitting next to them had never even seen the periodic table, never used a microscope, and had never dissected anything. They had grown up with the mythology that their black and brown peers were experiencing life and school in the same way as them. A few wealthy or sponsored blacks had similar upbringings to them, but the vast majority had not.

The reality is that most of the schools in the U.S. are segregated by race and economics. And those schools are by no means equal. I learned this firsthand when I was a child. Our family moved to a predominately white neighborhood when I was in the 4th-grade and so we attempted to attend the local white elementary school. It was the most magnificent school I had ever seen with these beautiful brick buildings. The classroom was cool and fancy and even the crayons were beautifully pointed and new. This school had a wonderful cafeteria that served hot lunches every day. I was amazed at how clean everything was and being the introvert, I cared little that none of the children bothered to befriend me. However, it took only a week for the school to inform my mother that we were not welcome and that we should attend an elementary school in another neighborhood. We left that school.

At the new school, I recognized the differences immediately. First, missing were the beautiful brick buildings and before me stood those familiar beige bungalows. All the cool stuff was absent including the cafeteria. Here, they had a hot dog day every Thursday. The second thing I noticed was that there was only a handful of black students and even fewer white students. This was a predominately Asian elementary school. For the first time I found myself surrounded by primarily Japanese students who were as interested in me as I was in them. And like me, most of them they cared deeply about school. The competition for the best grades was on and I enjoyed every minute of my competition with Bobby Ichihashi for top student, despite the lack of resources. Today, I consider myself lucky to have been at that school where striving for academic excellence was more important than beautiful buildings and creature comforts. A bonus was learning about the foods, living spaces, contributions, and values of Japanese Americans.

It is treacherous that the history most of the white college students I encountered during my career included a brief recounting of America’s dark discriminatory, exploitative, and predatory history. However, they had also been led to believe that everything magically became equal and equitable in America after Martin Luther King, Jr and the Civil Rights Movement pushed the country to provide equal protection under the law. As a result, many white students initially viewed laws like Affirmative Action as reverse discrimination. Strategically hidden from their view was the survival of inferior segregated schools, an unfair criminal justice system as well as ongoing employment, housing and banking discrimination. These unseen obstacles effectively handicapped black and brown people while they were allowed to progress unimpeded. But white students and arguably white Americans in general don’t know this. Believing the myth of a level playing field makes it easy to blame black people for their continued poverty and high rates of incarceration.

While in graduate school, at both the masters and doctoral levels, I would study the educational achievement gap in great detail after attending my first lecture on the subject in 1997. The speaker was Dr. Richard Ramirez. I then read many academic articles and books on the topic, the most influential book being, “Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s schools” by Jonathan Kozol. I read two of his other books, “Amazing Grace: The lives of children and the conscience of a nation” and “The Shame of the Nation: The restoration of apartheid schooling in America”. Later, I had the opportunity to hear him speak at a conference and had an insightful conversation with him afterwards.

Being in higher education, I’ve had the blessing of reading the works, attending the lectures and then conversing with some of my greatest social justice heroes. But more important that gaining insight from these incredible thinkers is my lived experience as a black woman of a certain age in America. I know what it is like to have to be more than qualified for a job. I also know what it is like to have my qualifications and accomplishments publicly diminished, ignored, stolen, or even hidden. It has happened to me far too many times. While it is personally hurtful, it is also contrived to preserve the false narrative of white supremacy.

Black and brown excellence is a threat to white supremacy. While black and brown people are no more and no less talented nor intelligent than white people, in order to present us as inferior, they work hard to hide the heavy weights they place around our ankles that hinder our progress in the race for economic and political influence. They once wanted white school children to believe that everything became equal after Civil Rights, they now want to wipe out the entire history of slavery, Jim Crow, Japanese Internment, Indian genocide, etc.

The ultimate goal of the white supremacist is to be able to point to people of color and say that their poverty and incarceration and low status in society is a problem of their own making. When I put the pieces together: prohibit abortion, erase history, question black qualifications, over-police, but praise their value as entertainment, I reach the conclusion that none of this is random.

It may be cynical for me to believe that Republican leaders want to force pregnant black women to have babies to impede their educational, career and economic progress while at the same time preserving a flow of cheap labor. If Republicans can erase history, our lack of progress becomes our personal failures rather than the result of exploitation, discrimination and violence against us and leaves the door open for new atrocities. If Republicans question our qualifications, they effectively raise the bar continuing the reality that blacks must be more qualified than whites for the same position. If Republicans over-police. they eliminate competition through incarceration and feed a for-profit prison system. If they praise only our value as entertainment, they not only demean us as existing for white pleasure but limit our prospects for success in other careers. And finally, if they suppress our right to vote, they are free to enact any and all laws that inflict further impede our progress.

As I write this essay today, I am observing the banning of books, the suppression of voting rights, the push for banning abortion, and the public demand that black female nominees for the Supreme Court be far qualified than their white counterparts.

I spent a lot of time during my years in higher education encouraging students to believe that the campus and the world itself belonged to them too and that they had an obligation to use their voices to help shape these spaces into places they can thrive in. I was simply passing on the sense of agency I gained from several of my teachers and mentors. From these early influencers, I learned that it mattered whether or not I shared my opinion. I learned that one person can make a difference. I learned that silence was consent. And I learned that if you don’t try, you have already lost.

Over the years I had to repeatedly refute arguments like: “No one is going to listen to me” or “They’re not going to change their minds no matter what I say” or “I’m just going to mind my own business” or “I don’t want to make waves”. But the argument I hate the most to this day is “I don’t have time to be bothered.”

A former professor once told me that my voice and my vote is magnified because others remain silent. A political aide confirmed to me that politicians view each letter, email, or phone call they receive as representing many more opinions than just the person who wrote in or called. She explained how important it was to hear from constituents because it gave the lawmaker a clearer picture of what people wanted. She said that people had no idea how influential their voices actually are. I recall how some lawmakers have said that it is up to their constituents to push them to do the right things. Of course, dark money has entered the scene, giving corporations and the wealthy an added advantage to push their agenda. It means that it will take more of us to push for our concerns to be heard.

Last week, I mailed a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, expressing my heartfelt sentiments on current political issues. My thoughts were too lengthy to fit the allotted online email contact form, so rather than leave anything out, I went old school.

Below is the content of the letter:

January 11, 2022

Dear Senator Mitch McConnell and Senate Leaders,

I write this letter feeling dismayed, frustrated, confused, and in real fear for the future of our country.  How is it that the Republican Party has allowed itself to be taken over by a man who clearly puts his own fragile ego and personal pocketbook above our democracy?  As a student of history, I’ve watched how the Republican Party embraced this new demagogue, Trump, in much the same way the conservatives in Germany embraced Hitler, allowing lies and disinformation and scapegoating to divide that nation.  Is the Republican thirst of power so great that you are willing to burn down the country to secure it?  Or is your belief in white Christian supremacy so deeply engrained that you are willing to throw away democracy and the rule of law entirely?  To my eyes and the eyes of many in the nation, this is how it looks.  The constant lying by Fox News, Newsmax, and other conservatives in the interest of inciting violence in order to gain political power makes me genuinely worried for the future of my children and grandchildren.  A country where guns, misinformation, lies and scapegoating are promoted by leaders who know the truth leads to a violent and dangerous future for us all.  Trump Republicans are out of control, threatening elected officials from congress to school boards and everyday citizens with violence. 

The Republican political machine has eroded trust in elections, has ignored the rule of law, has become mean-spirited, and has shown itself to be cowardly in the face of a bully named Donald J. Trump. 

Your failure to impeach Trump twice when he was clearly in violation of his oath of office effectively demonstrated your Party’s willingness to make the legislative branch of government subordinate to the presidency.  This is not healthy for our nation and I believe you know it.

And now the Republican Party across the country is doing everything it can to make it more difficult for citizens to vote.  In addition, I can’t imagine how any reasonable person thinks we can have a fair election moving forward by placing partisan election officials in place who can overturn the will of the electorate if they don’t like the results.  There will be riots in the streets unlike anything we have seen.

I know you and most Republican officials know that there was no widespread voter fraud and that Trump loss the 2020 election.  And yet, your Party and your news organizations continue to lie about it in concert with Trump.  The record must be set straight for the sake of the country and our democracy.

The way forward is to become a Party with ideas that appeal to the American people, not a Party that strategizes to steal future elections.  No citizen should have to wait 9-11 hours to vote.  No citizen should be prevented from mailing in a ballot or dropping it off in a drop box.  Many citizens work and voting should be easier, not harder.  We know who our citizens are and when they are of voting age.  Why not pre-register every citizen to vote and send them a ballot directly? 

I’m writing to you and your Republican leadership in the hope that you will turn away from Trump and the destructive path your party has taken–a path away from our democracy and the rule of law and toward tyranny.  I implore you to find the courage to do what is right.  Find the courage to work for all Americans and to preserve our Constitution.  Please save our nation from men and women like Trump who desire power and wealth above all decency and humanity. Do what is your patriotic duty.  

Sincerely,

Dr. Juanita Hall

Citizen of the United States of America

I’ve been on Facebook since 2008. For most of that time, I’d describe myself as a “Facebook voyeur” content to keep up with the life events of family members, old friends, colleagues, and former students. I rarely posted much and if I did, I paid almost no attention to likes or comments. My notifications, friend requests, and instant messages got little, if any, attention for months at a time. I was on Facebook to observe, not to contribute. But that has changed since the election of Trump and the disruption of COVID-19.

I haven’t changed as a person. I’ve always been an outspoken advocate on issues of social justice, human decency, and compassion for humanity. That advocacy was expressed in my work with and on behalf of students, in my community as a volunteer, in my giving of financial resources, and in my consistent communication with political leaders. What has changed is my engagement on social media platforms.

The pandemic physically separated me from my students and colleagues. Suddenly, we weren’t having those important discussions or rallies or meetings of the mind around important social justice issues. I was no longer sitting with friends, colleagues, or students providing a listening ear to life dilemmas or encouraging the discouraged. I think the absence of a regular platform on a university campus and at academic conventions initially because of COVID-19 restrictions and then from my own retirement forced me look for an alternative outlet to continue advocating for of a better society and helping individuals navigate life. That platform became Facebook, Twitter, and now Instagram.

One of the things that became apparent was that I’m not very good at using these new tools. I’m thankful to my daughters who tutor me. This past week, my younger daughter spent a couple of hours teaching me how to use Instagram. I learned from my older daughter that I need to respond to people, so I’ve done that. However, you can’t just say anything. I got put on time a one-day suspension on Twitter for replying to Congressman Jim Jordan that his pandemic lies were killing his constituents. In the Twitter world, that bit of truth was a bridge too far.

I also learned that not everyone who sends me an instant message has good intentions. In fact, I received two scam attempts from people pretending to be someone else. The first was someone pretending to be a colleague whom I knew personally. Red flags quickly came up and I stopped responding. The second was a message from a deceased friend. I reported that person to Facebook. No surprise that there are people with bad intentions on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Among the three, I find Twitter to be the most combative, hence the phrase, “Twitter wars” is a thing. Since becoming active, I’ve found myself engaged in a couple of them: one involving a woman’s right to choose and another about vaccines. I’m disappointed by how quickly some people resort to personal attacks when their arguments fall apart.

I learned not to befriend everyone who sends a friend request. Since I am creating content that I want people to see, to increase my views, I recently put out a lot of friend requests to people with whom I have at least 40 common friends. However, I noticed that my political and social justice content has inspired what I believe to be a lot of white male “Trump” folks to make “friend” requests. I’ve ignored those requests, having once been threatened with violence by one of them. I had to unfriend that person.

As an analytical person, I rarely shy away from an argument among my “friends”. So, on occasion, I will get into a back and forth with someone on an issue I believe is important. I had to explain to my children why I bother with people who say ridiculous things. My reasoning is that I feel a duty to that person and to those who read their comment to provide an opposing viewpoint. I wouldn’t allow half-backed ideas to pass in my classrooms and I won’t scroll past them on Facebook or Twitter if the issue is important. I view challenging misinformation or specious comments as my duty to society.

The opportunity to fulfill my calling as an educator, counselor, and a social justice advocate is what continues to get me out of bed in the morning with a pep in my step. Every day, I look forward to finding creative ways to share my ideas about current events that affect our lives now and in the future. And more importantly, I’m constantly looking for ways to inspire others to take an active role in creating the kind of life and society we all want to live in.

But the truth is, I still enjoy looking at the travel pictures, the babies, the wedding pictures, the food pictures and holiday decorations. I’ve even joined a couple of BTS fan groups: BTS! Dope Old People, BTS Army Over 40, and BTSArmyMom International. However, I must confess that I’m just a little frustrated when pictures of my homegrown tangerines receive many more likes and responses than my commentary on preserving our voting rights.

This past week we recognized the first anniversary of a violent attack on our Capitol by a motivated mob of Trump supporters’ hell bent on stopping the certification of a presidential election by hanging Mike Pence and other lawmakers. By their own admission on videotape and in court, the insurrectionists claimed that they were sent to the Capitol by Donald J. Trump because they believed his claims, despite any credible evidence, that the November 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. However, I argue that it was never really about a stolen election.

In fact, there was ample evidence to the contrary that this had been a fair election, completely devoid of the level of fraud needed to overturn any electoral votes. Biden had won the popular vote by over 7 million legally cast ballots. Trump’s failure to produce evidence of fraud in dozens of courts didn’t matter. The testimonies of Republican election officials and the attorney general upholding the integrity of the election didn’t matter. Multiple audits confirming Trump’s loss didn’t matter. Even with Fox News being sued for defamation by voting machine companies and Trump lawyers losing their law licenses over filing baseless lawsuits hasn’t been enough to stop the narrative of a stolen election. These insurrectionists and their sympathizers have chosen to continue with the false narrative of a stolen election because it is too awful to admit that what they are actually reacting to is the threat of losing “their” country to white liberals, people of color, LGBTQ folks, feminists, non-Christians, and in particular, Jews.

At times like this, I turn to history, human nature, and big picture thinking to understand a problem before trying to find a way forward. History and human nature tell me that we have been here before. White men in this country like Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Rudy Giuliani, Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Ron Johnson, and Rick Scott who are motivated by greed and power, have always been willing to limit democracy whether through legislation or violent intimidation. Our history tells us that the conservative white seat of power and wealth does not relinquish its hold on either without a legal fight or actual violence. And since the founding of this nation and even beyond the Civil War, we have been fighting to reach the ideal that all men are created equal as set forth in our Constitution. It’s been a bloody and very rocky road with conservative white males in power fighting against the progress of women and minorities each step of the way. And they have always used fearmongering and inflammatory rhetoric to stir up insecure “Christian” whites to do their violent dirty work.

The presidency of Barrack Obama was a sign to those old school conservative white Americans that they were in danger of losing their control and supremacy over what they considered “their” country. Donald Trump merely said out loud what was etched in the minds of too many insecure white people: that the opportunities, wealth, and control of this nation belongs to them and “those outsiders” were trying to steal “their” country away from them. The insecure and largely uneducated white masses who identified as conservative white Christians listened and then clothed themselves in an American flag, calling themselves patriots, as they deny the humanity, dignity, and Americanness of people of color, LGBTQ folks, feminists, and non-Christians. They seek to preserve a nation that was never great for citizens other than ambitious rich white men. And in truth, it was never really all that great for them either, but at least they weren’t outsiders. They are “real” Americans.

It is no coincidence that the Republican Party has successfully stacked the Supreme Court in their favor, failed twice to impeach Trump despite clear evidence of his guilt, and that some voted not to certify the 2020 election. We should all note with concern how Republicans have thwarted every effort to limit gun regulations while right-wing commentators and lawmakers elevate a person like Kyle Rittenhouse to hero status. They need their army ready and willing to perpetrate violence and according to a recent poll, they have succeeded. It is becoming clear that the attempt to overthrow the election was planned by a growing number of Republicans in the White House, in Congress, and in other places such as Fox News. I believe they intended to use the rally and the insurrection as their first blow. However, it didn’t succeed.

In fact, it had the opposite effect as millions of Americans, like me, watched the event in horror and laid the blame squarely at the feet of President Trump. Attempts by Republican congressmen and rightwing media to blame others or to downplay the event have largely failed except among those insecure white folks. The almost laughable narrative that the election was stolen and that there was no insurrection on January 6th is just the continuation of a cover for the Republican Party to continue to try to thwart democracy by suppressing voting rights in Republican held states.

Our democracy is in actual danger. The civil rights gained by people of color, feminists, LGBTQ people, and non-Christians are being threatened. And they are being threatened by wealthy and powerful conservative white men who are determined to hold onto their ill-gotten gains through legislation upheld by their stacked courts and by creating an army of scared white Christian terrorists whom they have convinced that “their” country and their value as white people is being stolen from them. Ironic, given that their ancestors brutally stole land, labor, and human lives to secure their position in the first place. But of course, they also want to erase that bit of U.S. history.

Given this reality, it should come as no surprise that no Republicans are in favor of the new voting rights legislation. They are aware that they can’t win on their policies and ideas of white Christian supremacy in a multicultural society, so they will keep as many of “them” from voting as possible or legally overturn results they don’t like. If these tactics fail, they will once again incite their misinformed, insecure, gun-toting white conservative Christians to violence. This is where we are.

At this point, it is up to the Department of Justice to prosecute the laws that are already on the books that make election tampering, fraud, dereliction of duty, and inciting an insurrection illegal. Section three of the Fourteen Amendment actually bars elected officials who engage in insurrection or give aid and comfort to insurrectionists from holding office or running for office. It is our responsibility to pressure the Attorney General do his job. It is also up to those who are being defamed by the lies used in service to these white male conservatives to file defamation lawsuits against them like Dominion did.

The 2022 mid-term elections have never been more important. Securing a larger majority in the House and Senate is the only way to ensure our democracy, the rule of law, and continued progress toward civil rights. If we are not careful, we will no longer have representation in our government and the laws governing this nation will once again become discriminatory and oppressive, favoring white Christian male heterosexuals with money and screwing the rest of us again.

It’s a given that being human means that each passing year will have both good times and bad. However, I’d say that 2021 was different. It was a far more turbulent ride riddled with a constant barrage of fearful moments, frustrating moments, angry moments, sad moments and a brief reprieve of happy moments. I’m honestly not too optimistic that 2022 will be much better, but how I respond to the upcoming challenges will determine whether or not I have any regrets.

There were some powerful problems facing our nation and our family in 2021. Among the national problems were the ongoing pandemic, the January 6th insurrection, the effects of climate change. We were able to see light at the end of the tunnel when a vaccine was rolled out. We got double vaccinated and then got boosted. However, Republican politics, misinformation, and conspiracy theories denied our country a collective victory over Covid-19 and opened the door for variants. The January 6th Trump inspired insurrection shocked us and then frustrated us when Republicans refused to convict him in the Senate for his attempt to overthrow a fair a free election. Trump’s lies ushered in a sustained attack on our democracy using Republican run state legislatures to pass anti-democratic election laws. And as if this wasn’t enough, we experienced the dangerous effects of climate change with draught, fires, and tornadoes. The national turmoil happened in tandem with the challenges our family faced in 2021.

For starters, my husband’s lung cancer returned. He underwent another surgery, followed by 38-radiation treatments in conjunction with chemotherapy. Even as I write this, we are still dealing with the physical and emotional toll from that challenging course of treatment. It is emotionally taxing to witness the person you love in constant pain, especially when there is little to nothing you can do to mitigate it. I thought the world was cruel when in the midst of this cancer recurrence, my grandson was born a month early and my second daughter was hit with a severe case of Bell’s Palsy. I spent a lot of time praying and a lot of energy trying to be positive and encouraging despite my internal fears. And sadly, a few family members, dear friends, personal heroes, and national icons passed away in 2021.

But there were causes to rejoice in 2021 as well. My husband is still here and will begin a two-year maintenance treatment to prevent the cancer from returning. My grandson James Edward is happy, healthy and so handsome. My daughter has regained much of the movement in her face. In the midst of all this trauma, I retired on July 1st. That turned out to be a joyful and wise decision. I held my breath as I got caught up on all my pandemic-delayed medical exams, including a colonoscopy, mammogram, PAP Smear Test, eye exam, dental exam, dermatology exam, and kidney exam. Even though I desperately need to lose weight, I didn’t have any negative results. And finally, my daughter-in-law started work as a doctor at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOPS), ironically working in the neo-natal ward. She also passed her medical board exams. And on a national level, we breathed a sigh of relief when former police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted for the murder of George Floyd. And we should all be satisfied that many of the January 6th insurrectionist were brought to justice, although the master minds and instigators remain to be held accountable for their crimes by the too slow Department of Justice.

While I am glad to see the end of 2021, for the first time in my life, I’m not too optimistic about 2022. I feel like 2022 will also be a year of struggle. We will struggle to get my husband back to good health and pain free. And I will struggle to do my part to help preserve and defend our democracy, the planet, public health, and our basic rights. I will be launching the Better Human Project in conjunction with Inclusion Media Group, writing my weekly blog, commenting on social media sites, supporting Democratic candidates for the House and Senate, writing to elected officials and the Department of Justice, and doing my part to help end this pandemic.

However difficult 2021 was, I got through it without regret. I attribute that victory to time spent in reflection, mediation, prayer, planning and my pen. And I am determined to do the same this year so that win or lose, I will also get through 2022 without any regrets.