Recommended Listening on Race in America

Race is a topic is generally I reserve for car rides with my sisters. Because, especially when you're white, it feels weird to talk about. We grew up in an time of color-blindness where saying someone was black was just a thing you didn't do. You might get away with describing someone as African-American, but even that was whispered like we shouldn't have noticed.

It has become impossible to continue avoiding conversations about race. Not just because because of recent protests, but because we have witnessed black men in particular being imprisoned and killed at a rate and in ways that cannot be explained or reasoned away. Because the injustice and prejudice of the past did not disappear along with the openly racist language. 

For some of us, we have been surprised by the levels of anger and fear that our neighbors and friends are experiencing every day because of the color of their skin or the side of town where they live. We are so afraid of upsetting someone, we pretend race doesn't exist. Or if it exists, it doesn't matter. And what starts as well-intentioned "color-blindness" turns into becoming complicit in the injustice experienced by those around us. 

As a white woman I feel especially unqualified to preach on this topic, but I'd like to share with you some of the works of journalists and storytellers that have been enormously helpful in my own journey of trying to understand the perspective of those who have been marginalized, threatened, and devalued for far too long. This is just the very beginning, but if you are wondering why so many people are so angry, these are good places to start. 

Code Switch: "The Dangers of Life as an American Nobody"

Code Switch from NPR is one of my favorite new podcasts. Hosted by Gene Demby, the show explores the aspects of race and culture that may be missed by those on the outside. They dive into really tough issues like police shootings and mass incarceration, as well as topics such as representation of minority actors in Hollywood and mispronouncing (or "Americanizing") peoples' names. The show is worth subscribing to, but the episode I am highlighting is an interview with Marc Lamont Hill about how we, as a nation, have come to the breaking point that we are currently witnessing. He touches on the rate that black men are imprisoned for non-violent (usually drug-related) offenses and the perception that those individuals are disposable. That the only solution is to take them out of the mainstream community and hide them, rather than attempt to help them and return them to their communities through restorative justice. 

This American Life: "The Problem We All Live With" 

This American Life is a radio show that most are familiar with. Host Ira Glass has a genius for exposing the story in seemingly disconnected information. One of the most recent episodes, "The Problem We All Live With" was a compelling look at what it would mean to truly and intentionally desegregate schools in the United States. The story follows a mother and daughter who hope to escape from a failing school through a neighboring suburban school only to meet harsh backlash from the parents of students in the wealthier school district. An eye-opening look into what we really mean when we talk about equality. 

Revisionist History: "Carlos Doesn't Remember" 

Malcolm Gladwell recently developed a podcast series that dispelled some prevailing myths that effect the way we see our world and each other. Revisionist History was as brilliant as you would expect from Gladwell, but the one story that especially stuck with me was the episode "Carlos Doesn't Remember." In it, Gladwell tackles the American myth that if you are smart and you work hard, you can overcome any obstacle. It's a proverb that seems good on the outside, but when you open it up you find that belief in that motto means that those who are not successful, those on the bottom and the margins of our society, somehow deserve to be there. 

Lastly, the Radiolab spin-off, More Perfect, which explored the US Supreme Court, did an episode titled "Object Anyways" about the practice of peremptory strikes that many prosecutors use to strike black jurors from a jury- and it's completely legal. The show explores the topic through the lens of both a prosecutor famous for using this technique to convict black defendants, and one of the defendants who was unfairly convicted. It's infuriating, but also fascinating. 

Bonus Reading: 

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander, has been getting a lot of attention lately and for good reason. The book sets out to demonstrate that black men are being stopped, arrested, convicted, and jailed at rates that are far above and beyond that of their white neighbors. Minimum sentencing as well as discriminatory practices against ex-convicts guarantees that many, even non-violent, offenders will spend the greater parts of their lives behind bars, and even when they are released many struggle to find their footing with employment opportunities, welfare programs, and housing denied them because of their criminal record. Alexander proposes that the "criminal" label has become a new way to openly and legally discriminate against people of color and people in poverty. The book is a little tough to get through, and can be a little repetitive at times, but it takes a truly unique look into the underside of the criminal system and makes the reader understand the true human cost of being tough on crime. The premise questions not just what our society has done, but how we as individuals have been effected by the rhetoric in the media to believe that this is excusable, even a good thing. This is a paradigm challenger, and for that reason I think it's worth digging into. 

If you have any more recommendations, please add them in the comments!