It's so clear how intergenerational policies rooted in colonialism have impacted our communities and our internalized sense of self. To start to understand how social and economic systems of power and hierarchies were intentionally established to create means of profit and power for european whites and those legacies exist right up until this day. Policies of redlining, of removing Native American people from their lands and children from their families, the internment of Japanese Americans.. there is so much history that we are not taught and some of what I found surprising was the candor and frankness with which all of this was documented. The dehumanizing of BIPOC was so complete that established and prominent professions and/or professionals felt justified to publish and speak on various 'advancements' at the cost of these human lives. As a non-BIPOC, there is so much work I need to do to unearth truths and bear witness.
As a non-BIPOC individual as well, I echo your sentiments in terms of "Whose history do we tell? and Whose has been ignored/dismissed/erased?" While I feel our predominantly white department at a PWI have been attempting to do the self-work to enhance ourselves personally, it's clear there is so much more to do ... and even saying that I recognize how exhausting it must be for BIPOC to hear that from white people. The videos were so powerful for me as they really surface power historically to construct white as normal vs. non-white as "other" ...and how white supremacy continues to operate today
It is shocking and shameful to see how the propaganda criminalizing and demonizing the colored people or minorities in general, still continues to devour the weakened lives despite the human Rights rise.
It is paramount for every human being to be anti racist and stand against all types of racism whether hidden or explicit!