The thing that impacted me the most was how many various populations were unfairly treated in the history of the United States. Although some topics such as Japanese-American incarceration camps, were touched upon throughout my education, my courses failed to educate me on the far-reaching, current effects of such events. Additionally, there were many historical events, such as abuse in the medical field and Native American boarding schools, that I didn't know about until watching these videos.
It's unconscionable how various groups have been treated and marginalized and how this scourge continues. The videos you've shown, particularly in Modules 1 and 2, powerfully demonstrate the hypocrisy of this country. I thought I'd known about terrible and often inhumane racism against Blacks and about the mistreatment (understatement) of Native Americans, but now see I had barely scratched the surface. Thanksgiving will never be the same for me. I hadn't know about the horrific treatment of other marginalized groups, for example, the Mexicans, and learning that El Paso's use of Zyklon b in their "delousing" facility was the inspiration for the Nazi's use of that poison in the extermination of 6 million Jews. The videos in Module 3 were quite inspiring and have caused me to reflect more on how I deal with the topic of race. I actually have recently received two emails from two different people I know in other parts of the country (I'm in NYC) that indicated a disdain for Black Lives Matter and their position that racism against Blacks is no longer an issue. I think I'm now more equipped to respond. I'm in the conflict resolution field and so many of the recommendations put forth in Module 3 as to how to deal with people of differing views about race reflect skills and techniques one can learn and employ in conflict situations involving issues other than race, as well. When listening to Tom's Ted Talk on understanding his white privilege, I was reminded of something called Positioning Theory (the science of social interactions and meaning; see Moghaddam et al., 2008) approach to resolving conflict; this approach involves precisely what Tom was discussing, i.e., sharing individual narratives, which shifts the focus to the beliefs, customs, etc., that may have fed the conflict. I will be particularly conscious going forward about my white exceptionalism; seeing now that seeing myself as "good" is simply not good enough. Powerful videos and impactful speakers. MARVELOUS training and masterfully presented. Thank you...
I was unaware of the adoption programs for Native children with assimilation as the goal. The pain these adoptees talked so candidly about, and the need to numb that pain, is heartbreaking.
"We have chosen the deprivation of liberty as a response to the crime, and chosen it for a group of people who's liberty in this country has never been firmly established"
Wow, what a great way to put this (mass incarceration video).
I am horrified and not surprised by the content in the videos in module 1. I can't say I enjoyed watching them but I was compelled and thought that they were well done and very informative!
I must admit I wasn't as familiar with the history of compelled Native adoption as I was with the prior generation of boarding schools. ICWA is an important part of the work I do, and I hadn't realized how precarious it may be.
Of the Module 1 videos, the one that surprised me the most was the "gasoline baths", I hadn't heard about that. I'm spending some time trying to imagine what it must have felt like to be those immigrants and travelers. I'm also comparing it to our current situation, and wondering how the fear of contagious disease is going to continue to create excuses for us to distance ourselves from "other" populations.
I agree these videos educate about historic events that are impossible to swallow. But after spending even a fraction of time with race in this country I can't say anything with regards to the actions of whites (I am white) shocks me anymore. What I'm most interested in is what do we (as whites) do with the shock we feel? What does it mean for us today?
I think Ashley Heidebrecht did a good job in her last video of trying to draw some connections with how history affects the present day. I just can't look at any of this and not conclude that a total reinvention (not reformation) of our main societal structures (education, housing, law enforcement, etc); providing reparations in money, education, and land; and other extreme measures are necessary to start to undo all the damage that has been done. And all of that seems like a very tall task from a variety of reasons.
And then here I sit and I've read one book and sent one email to my mayor about police reform that was responded to after 8 weeks (a response which essentially passed the buck) and that's all I've been able to do with my anger and desire to see change. And I would consider myself among the top 10% of white folks motivated to see change. I'm frustrated with myself, and scared that we are going to let this issue continue to persist for generations without giving it the proper effort to address it.
I found the videos powerful and painful at the same time as I gained more information and insight into the legacy of suppressing and controlling others- native americans, african americans, and immigrants for the sake of maintaining power and privilege.
After watching these videos, I feel extremely sad. It is painful to hear accounts of people being so grossly mistreated to the point that some were not even considered human. I hope this course opens again so that I can share it with many others. My friend and colleague shared it with me. It is so powerful.
Eye opening videos in Module 1. They gave me a history lesson I've never experienced, especially stories of "civilizing" Native American children via boarding schools and Non-Indian family adoptions, the use of gasoline baths on the US-Mexico border to "disinfect" Mexican workers, and the abuse of a young African American woman in the name of medical advancement by a "celebrated" male gynecologist. Wish these stories of the past were more well-known in schools in the K-12 and college level. Too often, this information is learned incidentally or by chance in taking a course taken as an elective but not required, while others are never introduced to this information because it's not perceived as necessary to their career or profession. Social and cultural awareness should be a greater part of all levels of our education system in the future. Very informative.