—John Howard Griffin, from Black Like Me
It’s been a dark and unsettling couple of weeks. I wanted to express my feelings but needed some time to think more about the events generated by the murder of George Floyd and the widespread protests about racism throughout the world.
Talking about Race
Today, the National Museum of African American History provided me with guidance and support. In its web portal, “Talking about Race”, it gives a helpful suggestion: start by reflecting on what race means to you. I thought back to what I read in high school, and a book that shook me into awareness. Black Like Me by John Griffin was a powerful account of a journalist who posed as an African American and wrote about his experience.
While the book may be dated now, it was an anchor in my first remembrance of the existence of racism. It effectively raised the disparity between black and white America. Empathy can be an important bridge to understanding what it is like to walk a mile in another person’s shoes. In some ways, the book was more genuine and heartfelt than assertions from those who have immediately jumped on the bandwagon today.
Nevertheless, I am more encouraged by the worldwide movement. From middle America to London, Paris and Hamburg, major anti-racist protests taken place. It has helped me to validate what I have experienced in traveling throughout the world.
“Talking about Race” on the NMAAHC website is below:
https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race#
It’s important to share thoughts about recent events with friends and family in a safe and trusting environment. Like politics, racism is a deep and complicated topic, and there are no-fly zones with those who clearly do not share the same views. Here are a couple of other timely pieces forwarded from my daughters: a long article by James Baldwin in the New Yorker (Note: you may need a subscription to the New Yorker to access the article):
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1962/11/17/letter-from-a-region-in-my-mind
and a long conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates on why he is hopeful below:
While these sources may only provide limited views, they helped me to understand how Black lives Matter. Kaepernick was one of my heros since he took his knee nearly four years ago against police brutality. Since then, he has been busy training Black students at Know your Rights camps and committed to raising awareness. You can see the press release below of that eventful day:
I was heartened by the world response to raising racial issues to help make the world more accountable and responsive. Let’s hope we can solve both our social problems successfully in conjunction with the COVID epidemic.
Eighty Days around the House
Instead of eighty days around the world, it looks like eighty days around the house this year! Have you noticed that the light quality coming through each window is different during various times of the day? If not, you must not have windows that face each cardinal direction. Take a moment and look out each window.
Everyone seems to be posting retrospectives and looking back in time during the pandemic. It’s motivating me to go through the many past trips that I could share. Even if they aren’t real time, you might find them interesting. I guess I will have to change my tag line from “real time” to “virtual”.
Look for videos and posts from Uzbekistan (2014); Northwest China (2014); Macchu Picchu (2017); Easter Island (2017); Iran (2018), and the Caucasus (2019). And by all means, let me know if you have any requests.
Travels with Myself and Others 
Thank you for sharing. I always enjoy reading “Travels with Myself and Others”. s
On Sun, Jun 14, 2020 at 10:17 AM Travels with Myself and Others wrote:
> VickieVictoria posted: ” –John Howard Griffin, from Black Like Me It’s > been a dark and unsettling couple of weeks. I wanted to express my feelings > but needed some time to think more about the events generated by the murder > of George Floyd and the widespread protests about ra” >
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Thanks for touching base and letting me know! I hope I can connect what‘s relevant to everyone now!
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I read this book in college. Very enlightening (awakening) experience about being black in America.
“May you live in interesting times…”
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Glad to have shared it with you! There is talk about the return of Affirmative Action which started in the time we were in college. We would be much further ahead if the program had been sustained.
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