It is entitled:
Beyond the Soundbytes, Beyond the Election: Race - On the Verge of a More Perfect Union
http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/dml/engine.php?action=viewAsset&mediaIndex=850
Date:
2008-04-09 Description:
Inspired by senator Barack Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union" addressed in Philadelphia, PA at Constitution Center, on March 18, 2008, Baruch faculty members and students discuss the race and various issues on April 9, 2008 at the Baruch College Vertical Campus, Room 2-125.
Professor Kyra Gaunt, jointed appointed in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Baruch College, moderates the discussion.
The event is co-sponsored by Department of Black/Hispanic Studies, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and Center on Equality, Pluralism and Policy, School of Public Affairs.
[Part 1: 71 Min.]
Opening Remarks - Professor Kyra Gaunt, and Sonia Javis, Distinguished Lecturer, School of Public Affairs;
Faculty Speakers:
Clarence Taylor, Professor of History
Glenn Petersen, Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs
Johanna Fernandez, Professor of Black/Hispanic Studies
Arthur Lewin, Professor of Black/Hispanic Studies
Michel Marriott, Professor of Journalism
[Part II: 82 Min.]
James McCarthy, Provost and vice President for Academic Affairs; Open Dialog and Discussion
Monday, May 5, 2008
Pangea Day - Baruch College
Pangea Day @ Baruch College
May 10, 2008 2:00 – 6:00pm EDT
Newman Vertical Campus Rm 3-160
Join us for Pangea Day at Baruch College hosted by Professor Kyra D. Gaunt, jointly appointed in Fine and Performing Arts, Sociology/Anthropology and Black and Hispanic Studies, as part of the Friends of Pangea Day programming. As one of the most diverse institutions in the U.S. it is perfect that Baruch host the global event known as Pangea Day (http://www.pangeaday.org) bringing the world together through film. In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common—what Professor Gaunt calls the "remarkable oneness of humanity".
In 2006, filmmaker Jehane Noujaim won the TED Prize (http://www.ted.com/index.php/pages/view/id/6), an annual award granted at the TED Conference (www.ted.com). She was granted $100,000, and more important, a wish for the world. Her wish was to create a day in which the world came together through film. Pangea Day grew out of that wish. Watch Jehane Noujaim’s 2006 acceptance speech now http://www.pangeaday.org/?vid=2.
Starting at 18:00 GMT (2:00pm EDT) on May 10, 2008, locations in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked for a live program of powerful films, live music, and visionary speakers. The entire program will be broadcast – in seven languages – to millions of people worldwide through the Internet, television, and mobile phones. Some people will drive miles to watch, and others will just turn on their television sets. Some will wake up before the sun has risen, and others will stay up through the night.
The 24 short films to be featured have been selected from an international competition that generated more than 2,500 submissions from over one hundred countries. The films were chosen based on their ability to inspire, transform, and allow us see the world through another person's eyes. Details on the Pangea Day films can be viewed at
http://www.pangeaday.org/pangeadayFilms.php
The program will also include a number of exceptional speakers and musical performers. Queen Noor of Jordan, CNN's Christiane Amanpour, musician/activist Bob Geldof, and Iranian rock phenom Hypernova are among those taking part.
Pangea Day will be a moment in history. Join us and watch on May 10th.
Local day/time: May 10, 2008 2:00 – 6:00pm EDT
Location: Newman Vertical Campus Rm 3-160
This event is free and open to the Baruch College community and their families.
For more information: Kyra Gaunt (646) 312-4446 kyra_gaunt@baruch.cuny.edu
May 10, 2008 2:00 – 6:00pm EDT
Newman Vertical Campus Rm 3-160
Join us for Pangea Day at Baruch College hosted by Professor Kyra D. Gaunt, jointly appointed in Fine and Performing Arts, Sociology/Anthropology and Black and Hispanic Studies, as part of the Friends of Pangea Day programming. As one of the most diverse institutions in the U.S. it is perfect that Baruch host the global event known as Pangea Day (http://www.pangeaday.org) bringing the world together through film. In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common—what Professor Gaunt calls the "remarkable oneness of humanity".
In 2006, filmmaker Jehane Noujaim won the TED Prize (http://www.ted.com/index.php/pages/view/id/6), an annual award granted at the TED Conference (www.ted.com). She was granted $100,000, and more important, a wish for the world. Her wish was to create a day in which the world came together through film. Pangea Day grew out of that wish. Watch Jehane Noujaim’s 2006 acceptance speech now http://www.pangeaday.org/?vid=2.
Starting at 18:00 GMT (2:00pm EDT) on May 10, 2008, locations in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked for a live program of powerful films, live music, and visionary speakers. The entire program will be broadcast – in seven languages – to millions of people worldwide through the Internet, television, and mobile phones. Some people will drive miles to watch, and others will just turn on their television sets. Some will wake up before the sun has risen, and others will stay up through the night.
The 24 short films to be featured have been selected from an international competition that generated more than 2,500 submissions from over one hundred countries. The films were chosen based on their ability to inspire, transform, and allow us see the world through another person's eyes. Details on the Pangea Day films can be viewed at
http://www.pangeaday.org/pangeadayFilms.php
The program will also include a number of exceptional speakers and musical performers. Queen Noor of Jordan, CNN's Christiane Amanpour, musician/activist Bob Geldof, and Iranian rock phenom Hypernova are among those taking part.
Pangea Day will be a moment in history. Join us and watch on May 10th.
Local day/time: May 10, 2008 2:00 – 6:00pm EDT
Location: Newman Vertical Campus Rm 3-160
This event is free and open to the Baruch College community and their families.
For more information: Kyra Gaunt (646) 312-4446 kyra_gaunt@baruch.cuny.edu
Monday, April 21, 2008
Racism on a Global Level (or at a minimum level FEAR of Strangers)
On a call with global leaders from Oakland, Calif. to New York City and from Australia, the Netherlands, the U.S and Ecuador, one of the participants mentioned the site globalissues.org.
On the website is an entire section devoted to racism in different countries and contexts. One is globalization. Lest you think this site is for Obama lovers or some kind of promotion of him, I wanted to bring in some larger issues. Now, don't get me wrong, I
did vote for Obama and I am a supporter to be frank. But this blog is about coming face to face with issues of difference and in the U.S. race is one of our primary concerns about difference along with wealth, power and prestige (cf. Max Weber's sociological paradigm). Some may argue this or that aspect of culture is more important, but I've simply chosen to use RACE as a means to tackling it all. All forms of difference are interpreted the same way in essence (us vs. them).
For more on UN World Conference Against Racism visit http://www.un.org/WCAR/
I found a fascinating quote under globalization and racism on the globalissues.org site at :
On the website is an entire section devoted to racism in different countries and contexts. One is globalization. Lest you think this site is for Obama lovers or some kind of promotion of him, I wanted to bring in some larger issues. Now, don't get me wrong, I
did vote for Obama and I am a supporter to be frank. But this blog is about coming face to face with issues of difference and in the U.S. race is one of our primary concerns about difference along with wealth, power and prestige (cf. Max Weber's sociological paradigm). Some may argue this or that aspect of culture is more important, but I've simply chosen to use RACE as a means to tackling it all. All forms of difference are interpreted the same way in essence (us vs. them).For more on UN World Conference Against Racism visit http://www.un.org/WCAR/
I found a fascinating quote under globalization and racism on the globalissues.org site at :
Tackling the problem of cultural inequality, however, does not by itself redress the problem of economic inequality. Racism is conditioned by economic imperatives, but negotiated through culture: religion, literature, art, science and the media.How might we make the conversation about race more of a global conversation at Baruch? Sometimes we enter these conversations and all we do assume the people we disagree are small because we don't like what they may have or may not have said (people are funny they never said what you want them to say, do they?) Instead of thinking they are small, what if we consider the conversation itself is too small. For instance, dwelling on what we call ourselves vs. dealing with the impact of racial social constructs on global debt conversations, immigration, global health inequities, global poverty, etc.
... Once, they demonised the blacks to justify slavery. Then they demonised the “coloureds” to justify colonialism. Today, they demonise asylum seekers to justify the ways of globalism. And, in the age of the media, of spin, demonisation sets out the parameters of popular culture within which such exclusion finds its own rationale — usually under the guise of xenophobia, the fear of strangers.
— A. Sivanandan, Poverty is the new black, The Guardian, August 17, 2001
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
CONTEXT IS DECISIVE: Obama's Actual Words on Bitterness, Guns and Religion
Yesterday on one of the lists I participate on, I got the full transcript of Obama's comments about people being bitter on holding on to their guns and religion. On the major news outlets all week all I've heard is that Obama's elitist.
Once I read the transcript below, I realized how race and politics as usual in the form of political soundbytes that distort the truth are at work. See for yourself and let me know what you think of his actual context and conversation.
In my Intro to Cultural Anthropology Class we are on the topic of Race and Ethnicity in the textbook we use Kottak's Mirror for Humanity (2008). In Chapter 11, Kottak emphasizes "multiculturalism" as one of the strategies humans have used to combat the assimilationist tendencies of the past where ethnic minorities had to give up their ethnic affiliation to fit into the American melting pot. (I am started to really appreciate the term "ethnic minorities" differently reading this this time around--it means there are ethnic majorities). Here is the synopsis from the chapter followed by Obama's actual words in a larger context. Goes to show CONTEXT IS DECISIVE.
In my opinion, speaking as both citizen and teacher, Obama is expanding multiculturalism to truly include the majority and minority along racial, class, socioeconomic, and gender lines in a platform for America (A More Perfect Union) that whether he wins or loses will alter the landscape of our nation and transform the old adage that W.E.B. Dubois once wrote, “The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line” (1903).
IN HIS OWN WORDS:
Here's a transcript as well as a link to the audio to the APril 6 speech at a fundraiser
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mayhill-fowler/obama-no-surprise-that-ha_b_96188.html
> OBAMA: So, it depends on where you are, but I think it's fair to say
> that the places where we are going to have to do the most work are the
> places where people feel most cynical about government. The people are
> mis-appre...I think they're misunderstanding why the demographics in
> our, in this contest have broken out as they are. Because everybody
> just ascribes it to 'white working-class don't wanna work -- don't
> wanna vote for the black guy.' That's...there were intimations of that
> in an article in the Sunday New York Times today - kind of implies
> that it's sort of a race thing.
>
> Here's how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial
> states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so
> long, and they feel so betrayed by government, and when they hear a
> pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a
> part of them just doesn't buy it. And when it's delivered by -- it's
> true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack
> Obama (laughter), then that adds another layer of skepticism (laughter).
>
> But -- so the questions you're most likely to get about me, 'Well,
> what is this guy going to do for me? What's the concrete thing?' What
> they wanna hear is -- so, we'll give you talking points about what
> we're proposing -- close tax loopholes, roll back, you know, the tax
> cuts for the top 1 percent. Obama's gonna give tax breaks to
> middle-class folks and we're gonna provide health care for every
> American. So we'll go down a series of talking points.
>
> But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded
> that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their
> daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania,
> and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone
> now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through
> the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each
> successive administration has said that somehow these communities are
> gonna regenerate and they have not. So it's not surprising then that
> they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people
> who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade
> sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.
>
> Um, now these are in some communities, you know. I think what you'll
> find is, is that people of every background -- there are gonna be a
> mix of people, you can go in the toughest neighborhoods, you know
> working-class lunch-pail folks, you'll find Obama enthusiasts. And you
> can go into places where you think I'd be very strong and people will
> just be skeptical. The important thing is that you show up and you're
> doing what you're doing.
Once I read the transcript below, I realized how race and politics as usual in the form of political soundbytes that distort the truth are at work. See for yourself and let me know what you think of his actual context and conversation.
In my Intro to Cultural Anthropology Class we are on the topic of Race and Ethnicity in the textbook we use Kottak's Mirror for Humanity (2008). In Chapter 11, Kottak emphasizes "multiculturalism" as one of the strategies humans have used to combat the assimilationist tendencies of the past where ethnic minorities had to give up their ethnic affiliation to fit into the American melting pot. (I am started to really appreciate the term "ethnic minorities" differently reading this this time around--it means there are ethnic majorities). Here is the synopsis from the chapter followed by Obama's actual words in a larger context. Goes to show CONTEXT IS DECISIVE.
In my opinion, speaking as both citizen and teacher, Obama is expanding multiculturalism to truly include the majority and minority along racial, class, socioeconomic, and gender lines in a platform for America (A More Perfect Union) that whether he wins or loses will alter the landscape of our nation and transform the old adage that W.E.B. Dubois once wrote, “The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line” (1903).
Multiculturalism and Ethnic IdentityFROM TOP OF GOOGLE SEARCH: "Obama and bitter"
- Multiculturalism is the view of cultural diversity in a country as something good and desirable.
- This view is opposed to assimilationism, which expects minorities to abandon their cultural traditions and values, replacing them with those of the majority population.
- Basic aspects of multiculturalism at the government level are the official espousal of some degree of cultural relativism along with the promotion of distinct ethnic practices. [cultural relativism = The position that the values and standards of cultures differ and deserve respect. Anthropology is characterized by methodological rather than moral relativism: In order to understand another culture fully, anthropologists try to understand its members' beliefs and motivations. Methodological relativism does not preclude making moral judgments or taking action. Kottak, 51].
- A number of factors have led the United States to move away from the assimilationist model and toward multiculturalism.
- Large-scale migration—driven by globalization as well as population growth and lack of economic opportunity in "less developed" countries—is introducing unparalleled ethnic variety to host nations, particularly the "developed" countries of North America and Europe.
- Ethnic identities are used increasingly to form self-help organizations focused on enhancing groups' economic and political competitiveness and combating discrimination.
Online Gambling Paper | Clinton Says Obama's bitter remark repeats democratic errors -
Obama: 'Bitter' Comments May Have Been a Mistake - Obama's "Bitter" Comment Halts His Momentum - |
IN HIS OWN WORDS:
Here's a transcript as well as a link to the audio to the APril 6 speech at a fundraiser
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mayhill-fowler/obama-no-surprise-that-ha_b_96188.html
> OBAMA: So, it depends on where you are, but I think it's fair to say
> that the places where we are going to have to do the most work are the
> places where people feel most cynical about government. The people are
> mis-appre...I think they're misunderstanding why the demographics in
> our, in this contest have broken out as they are. Because everybody
> just ascribes it to 'white working-class don't wanna work -- don't
> wanna vote for the black guy.' That's...there were intimations of that
> in an article in the Sunday New York Times today - kind of implies
> that it's sort of a race thing.
>
> Here's how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial
> states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so
> long, and they feel so betrayed by government, and when they hear a
> pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a
> part of them just doesn't buy it. And when it's delivered by -- it's
> true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack
> Obama (laughter), then that adds another layer of skepticism (laughter).
>
> But -- so the questions you're most likely to get about me, 'Well,
> what is this guy going to do for me? What's the concrete thing?' What
> they wanna hear is -- so, we'll give you talking points about what
> we're proposing -- close tax loopholes, roll back, you know, the tax
> cuts for the top 1 percent. Obama's gonna give tax breaks to
> middle-class folks and we're gonna provide health care for every
> American. So we'll go down a series of talking points.
>
> But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded
> that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their
> daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania,
> and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone
> now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through
> the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each
> successive administration has said that somehow these communities are
> gonna regenerate and they have not. So it's not surprising then that
> they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people
> who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade
> sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.
>
> Um, now these are in some communities, you know. I think what you'll
> find is, is that people of every background -- there are gonna be a
> mix of people, you can go in the toughest neighborhoods, you know
> working-class lunch-pail folks, you'll find Obama enthusiasts. And you
> can go into places where you think I'd be very strong and people will
> just be skeptical. The important thing is that you show up and you're
> doing what you're doing.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Friends of Pangea Day May 10, 2008
In the midst of planning hosting an event here at Baruch College from 2-6pm May 10th. Looking for a venue.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Stay in the Conversation!
Last night we had well over 120 faculty, staff and students attend the Teach-In on Race including President Waldron and various administrators throughout Baruch. It was a provocative conversation on the way in which one individual, Senator Barack Obama, has transformed the conversation of race. Professor Johanna Fernandez said, to paraphrase, his March 18, 2008 address on race will be studied as literature long after this moment. The issue of identity politics was a source of concern for many students who shared themselves in the dialogue half of the event. Faculty and some students urged for an even broader framework around the politics of race not only in the US but also around issues of racial purity, economic racism, and demographic considerations impacted by the U.S.'s past armed conflicts with other nations, for example. There was much more to be said and it was agreed we'd continue these conversations in the fall at Baruch.
As the principal organizer I want to thank each and every person who attended, all the faculty who contributed to framing the discussion, and to those of you who couldn't make it but expressed your interest in attending, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
We took names for a mailing list and we will be adding names to a mailing list for future events on diversity at Baruch as well as global issues of race, underrepresentation, and difference. If you're interested the best thing to do is visit our blog and we will soon create a pathway for you to get on a mailing list for future Teach-Ins. Thanks again to everyone who attended and contributed to make this event a powerful, inspiring, and thought-provoking event.
Remember - agree to be offended (you will be offended in such a diverse converation of values and opinions), but stay in the conversation anyhow!
Tolstoy once wrote "Every one wants to change the world. No one wants to change himself." Stay in the conversation. Change gon' come. Best, Professor Kyra Gaunt kyra_gaunt@baruch.cuny.edu
As the principal organizer I want to thank each and every person who attended, all the faculty who contributed to framing the discussion, and to those of you who couldn't make it but expressed your interest in attending, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
We took names for a mailing list and we will be adding names to a mailing list for future events on diversity at Baruch as well as global issues of race, underrepresentation, and difference. If you're interested the best thing to do is visit our blog and we will soon create a pathway for you to get on a mailing list for future Teach-Ins. Thanks again to everyone who attended and contributed to make this event a powerful, inspiring, and thought-provoking event.
Remember - agree to be offended (you will be offended in such a diverse converation of values and opinions), but stay in the conversation anyhow!
Tolstoy once wrote "Every one wants to change the world. No one wants to change himself." Stay in the conversation. Change gon' come. Best, Professor Kyra Gaunt kyra_gaunt@baruch.cuny.edu
Monday, April 7, 2008
History of Race in U.S. - short movie & timeline
Invite students, staff, faculty and administrators to view this video timeline on Race in America found on the UNDERSTANDING RACE project website funded by the American Anthropological Association and the Ford Foundation.
http://www.understandingrace.org/history/index.html
This is a must see website!!
http://www.understandingrace.org/history/index.html
This is a must see website!!
Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: 'A More Perfect Union'
Philadelphia, PA | March 18, 2008
For transcript of the address: http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hisownwords/
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