Alice,
Thank you for sharing that. I just finished watching the linked video segment, and it is indeed worth watching. One “it’s a small world” fact that I can add:
Darren Walker, the President of the Ford Foundation, is a graduate of UT-Austin, and I recall him being a very impressive and charismatic individual on campus in the 1980s. He was wise then, and he remains wise today.
Best,
Bob
From: Winedale-l <winedale-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org>
On Behalf Of Alice Gordon
Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2020 2:11 PM
To: Shakespeare List Serv <shakespeare-at-winedale-email-list@googlegroups.com>
Cc: winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: [Winedale-l] An answer to one question that came up at the end of the happy hour on Friday
**EXTERNAL Email**
Hi, Everyone,
I’m addressing the group of us at the Zoom happy hour inspired by James Shapiro’s new book,
Shakespeare in a Divided America: What His Plays Tell Us About Our Past and Future,
but I couldn’t single our small group out, so I hope no one minds getting this email.
What can I/we do? was a question several people at the happy hour asked themselves aloud. The question reminded me of a moment in a PBS News Hour Special "Race Matters: America in Crisis,” aired in early June, that knocked me out.
Moderator Judy Woodruff, toward the end of her interview with Black filmmaker Ava DuVernay, asked what DuVernay would say to white people about what they could do. DuVernay's answer gave me, and I hope all viewers of the program, just what
I hadn’t quite figured out I had been profoundly longing to hear:
"I have a lot of white people calling and texting me, great friends of mine, people that I love dearly, asking me, what do I do? And my answer is, Educate yourself.
There have been white allies throughout the history of America who have gotten together and come up with muscular strategies for change. And many of them have worked. I feel like this “What do I do? What do I do?” …. really is asking
for Black labor— in this moment—to help you think through what to do. Trust me: there’s something to do, right where you are.”
The whole segment, which includes an introduction to the program and another impressive interviewee, Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, is about 14 minutes long and
is, to my mind, a must- watch. Here’s the link:
Thank you for letting me drop by your Sunday afternoon!
Alice