Part 1 1 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:21,000 Service coordinator today are opening words are called Wake Up by 2 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:29,000 Christian Schmidt. Let us wake up. Not just from the Sunday morning exhaustion from the wish for a few more drowsy minutes in bed. Let us 3 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:39,000 wake up to this world we live in to its beauty and wonder and also to its tragedy and pain. We must wake up to this reality that not all in 4 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:48,000 our world have what we do, however much or little that is. We must wake up to the idea that our wholeness, our lives are only as complete as the 5 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:58,000 lives of those around us. Of those, we are inextricably tied to in a great web of mutuality of which all of us are apart 6 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:08,000 . We must #staywoke in the words of our friends and colleagues involved in Black Lives Matter, working every day for racial justice in our country. Let 7 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:17,000 wake up. Let us stay awake. Let us stay woke. And now in this time and place. Let us worship together. 8 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:25,000 Going to hear my screams so that we can see our mission statement. 9 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:41,000 All right. If you will stay muted and join me in reciting 10 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:51,000 our mission statement, we gather as an inclusive community to inspire spiritual growth, compassionate living and joyful service. 11 00:01:51,000 --> 00:02:00,000 Will now have our chalice sliding of called for our collective liberation by Jeanna Vandiver 12 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:10,000 . We light this chalice symbol of our faith alive in this world. Naming our vision of collective liberation and 13 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:17,000 daring to remember each other. To re-member each other into beloved community. 14 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:27,000 will now have a song. This is a protest song by Janelle Monet and the wonderland. Collective. You may 15 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:37,000 have seen it before. I found it to be very suited for our topic today, though. Jennifer is working on getting that 16 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,000 video, playing 17 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:32,000 . Let's 18 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:43,000 stuff. They got a really nice library 19 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:44,000 every night. Just 20 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:51,000 as much as they want. Say what 21 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,000 ? Why? What does that say? 22 00:03:54,000 --> 00:04:00,000 Say that you say 23 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:27,000 say as they say, nay, nay, nay, nay sayers 24 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:37,000 might say nay, nay, nay, nay nay sayers nay nay sayers 25 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:47,000 . Nay sayers may want to say his name. Is nay sayers. Nay sayers, nay sayers. Nay sayers. 26 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:51,000 nay sayers. You say his name 27 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:08,000 grey grey. 28 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:21,000 grey, grey. Giles sat down on a Giles 29 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:22,000 nay, nay, nay 30 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:28,000 , nay, nay. Sandra Bland 31 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,000 . Want to say a name 32 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:39,000 ? Say nay, nay, nay, nay, nay. 33 00:05:51,000 --> 00:06:00,000 Kimani Gray says nay. He might be grey. Say his name. Kimani Gray say his name. Kimani Gray. 34 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:11,000 Well, to say his name. John Cross. Say his name proudly say his name. John Cross say his name. But what's his name? Michael 35 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:20,000 say nay, nay, nay. Sayers Day. Michael Brown. Would you say nay nay nay sayers nay 36 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:27,000 nay nay nay nay nay nay nay 37 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:37,000 . Tell me yes. Say his name. Yes. Say his name? Yes. Say his name to 38 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:43,000 m.c name. John Bank. Say his name. Bank. Say his name. 39 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:52,000 Say his name. Say his name. Will you say his name? Say his name. I'm a duty. I would say his name. A duty? I would say his name. 40 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:55,000 Do do you say his name? Say his name. 41 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:59,000 Nay, nay. Nay. Nay sayers. 42 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,000 says nay, nay. 43 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:12,000 This video is homage to what's available at Wonderland. Already starting. That's 44 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:22,000 so are you talking about. So this ran across. I symbolizes that the fact that we see the bloodshed going old in this country and it won't be overlooked. So we need to let 45 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:28,000 the world know if you need to know that silence is the enemy. That sound is the weapon 46 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:49,000 . We're now going to have a reading. This reading is by Ebrahim X Kendi, and it's called racist or anti-racist. 47 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:59,000 eber mix. Kennedy is a an author and historian and he teaches at American University. His most recent book is called How to Be an Anti-racist 48 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:09,000 . I have not had a chance to read this yet, but it is on my reading list. And this excerpt is from a speech by him 49 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:19,000 talking about the book at UC Berkeley on September 12th. Twenty nineteen. And I'm going to go back to sharing my screen before I start 50 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:34,000 . Ironically, Americans who self-identify as not racist, whether they're conservatives 51 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:44,000 , moderates, liberals, radicals, progressives. They don't realize that we are connecting ourselves to a history of slave traders who identified as not racist, although 52 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:54,000 they didn't use that term. We're connecting ourselves to enslavers who said yes when we say black people should be enslaved. When we say slavery is a positive good 53 00:09:54,000 --> 00:10:03,000 . When we say slavery is a necessary evil, when we say that black people are the curse descendants of ham. Those are not racist ideas. That's God's law. That's 54 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:13,000 science is law. That's nature. That's logic. We don't realize we're connecting to Jim Crow segregationists who said I'm not racist. It's separate, but equal down here. 55 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:23,000 You can't tell a separate, but equal. We're following the law. We're not racist. We're connecting to eugenicists who were read, who were really the first group of Americans 56 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:33,000 to be classified as racists, who also turned around and said, this is science. This isn't racism. This is science. We have empirical data to demonstrate that black people 57 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:42,000 intellectually inferior by nature. Just look at their test scores. And today we have white nationalists. We have white supremacists who self-identify as not 58 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:52,000 racist. We have white supremacists who, before they go into a Wal-Mart in El Paso, Texas, write a manifesto claiming that Latin next immigrants are invading Texas and 59 00:10:52,000 --> 00:11:02,000 then also claiming I'm not racist. We have this long history of racists classifying themselves as not racist racists who cannot imagine that 60 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:11,000 they have been reinforcing notions that there's something wrong with a particular racial group. Racists who can't imagine that the policies and policymakers they're supporting are creating 61 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:21,000 and reproducing racial inequality. Fundamentally, racism, its heartbeat has always been denial, and the sound of that heartbeat has always 62 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:31,000 been. I'm not racist. To be more specific, the sound of that heartbeat has always been not racist. And so in writing, how to be an anti racist 63 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:40,000 , I've had one singular goal. If I could somehow shape the world, what I would hope would come out of this book is very simply, we would eradicate the term, not racist 64 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:50,000 from the American vocabulary, and then it would force people to recognize that they're either what racist or anti-racist. It would work. It 65 00:11:50,000 --> 00:12:00,000 would force Americans to recognize that all policies are either racist or anti-racist. All ideas are either racist or anti-racist. Then we 66 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:10,000 can truly have an accounting of ourselves, of our ideas, of our policies and of our country, because at some point we are going to have to stop denying that we have 67 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:19,000 metastatic racism. Because if you didn't already know, it is literally killing America. It is literally killing this world. There are three lethal weapons 68 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:27,000 that are threatening American existence. And human existence are, of course, nuclear war, climate change and bigotry. 69 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:37,000 We're now going to enter into our ritual of joys and sorrows. We'll stop the recording. And 70 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:47,000 if you would like to unmute yourself and share something that's going on with you this week, that's a joy or a sorrow with Part 2 1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,000 today. And the sermon topic is jogging while black, a presumption of guilt 2 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:11,000 ? Good morning, everyone. This morning, I want to start with some words 3 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:21,000 from my friend Misha Sanders, who is a youth minister in Atlanta. Put this on her Facebook page about a week and a half ago. They tell us to 4 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:30,000 preach from our scars, not our ones, but dear colleagues, they didn't anticipate this. If we wait too much on Livestream these days, 5 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:40,000 because we are saying things like we're all struggling right now. And it's true, we are all wounded and bleeding in some extent. Nothing is yet scarred 6 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:50,000 breach anyway. Leonard Cohan wasn't anybody's priest pastor, but he did a lot of ministering when he wrote Ring the Bells 7 00:00:50,000 --> 00:01:00,000 that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in. What Leonard and I 8 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:09,000 say this to you is that it's OK to let our people see our grief leaking out of our eyes. Sometimes it's just going to have to be OK. 9 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:19,000 So today when I'm well, a few weeks ago, when I read that, it it spoke to me and 10 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:28,000 I felt a need to speak from my wounds, not personal wounds for words that I felt inhumane. Let me start by telling you a little bit about myself. This 11 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:38,000 morning. I'm forty nine years old and fight this gendered woman we married. I have two adult children. I'm from the South 12 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:47,000 . I'm an elementary music educator, and I identify myself as being progressive or liberal. And so you may wonder why I'm starting out with 13 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:57,000 this. I want you to understand who I am and where I'm coming from or my position, naledi position, eltis a new terminology or new term. I learned recently 14 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:05,000 , and it simply addresses factors about a person that can help you understand where they're coming from and what shapes their world view. 15 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:15,000 So I'm a white woman talking about race. I am privileged. I have no firsthand knowledge of what it's like to be discriminated against for the color of my skin. 16 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:25,000 I have never, ever felt endangered because I am white. I can claim no expertise or firsthand experience in what I'm going to talk to you about today. 17 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:35,000 And honestly, I'm nervous, afraid I might say the wrong thing will offend somebody 18 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:44,000 , but I am attempting to step into my discomfort and educate myself. Will it make any difference at all? I don't know. But I do know that keeping quiet does no good 19 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:54,000 . Like many of yours, of you, I find myself heartbroken yet again because of headlines about victims. Our society's systemic racism 20 00:02:54,000 --> 00:03:04,000 . I feel the need to try and some feeble way to honor the victims that I have read about in the last week. Yet more victims 21 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:13,000 feel helpless and I feel angry. Signing up to speak to this topic is maybe like a form of penance. I realized I a14 myself 22 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:23,000 for the last two months, while fearful of the virus and its consequences, my introverted self honestly relishes staying at home and social distancing that's comfortable for 23 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:33,000 the privilege you see over the past few years. I've made a conscious effort to try and fully see everyone I 24 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:42,000 encounter. That may not seem like much to you, but I'm extremely introverted and I've always avoided making eye contact in public. I made a promise to myself 25 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:52,000 to try and meet eyes with everyone because I never wanted to be another reason someone felt invisible. Quarantine has allowed me to let that 26 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:56,000 go and see back into myself again. Privilege 27 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:06,000 . But the past week or so has brought headlines that jarred me out of my complacency and has reaffirmed how deeply racism is embedded in our society. 28 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:16,000 A lot of headlines. The three main things that grabbed my attention were a disregard of people. Are this right of the people with power about how 29 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:24,000 this virus is affecting our poor and marginalized communities. The armed protest in Michigan 30 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:34,000 and most importantly, the inexcusable deaths of a man, Aubrey Riana, Tyler and Shawn Reed. When I first signed up to do 31 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:44,000 this term in my plan was to make this service a tribute to these three people as well as so many 32 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:53,000 others who are victims of black or white on black violence and brutality. Its most often perpetrated by law enforcement. That's what I 33 00:04:53,000 --> 00:05:03,000 was planning when I chose the title and it would be fitting and appropriate. But in all honesty, a tribute rings hollow though unless we truly dig 34 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:08,000 into the epidemic of bias in our culture of white supremacy. 35 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:18,000 That is what's causing the things I mentioned, that being in the news and to make it almost commonplace to the point that we don't even 36 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:24,000 think about anymore. So that's the direction I decided to go today. 37 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:34,000 a few years ago when I first heard of the U A referring to the culture of white supremacy in our society as well as our churches. My hackles went up 38 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:44,000 , the term brought to mind the KKK and white hoods and burning crosses, but it's honestly much deeper than that. In his sermon 39 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:53,000 Black Lives Matter EU Minister Smith Carrier Lad of the Year, Church of Muncie, Indiana, says. But before we can do something about it. Referring to 40 00:05:53,000 --> 00:06:03,000 white supremacy, we have to be able to name it and even just be aware it exists. Travis Getit writes White supremacy is so deeply 41 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:12,000 ingrained in the American life that institutionalized racism doesn't even need races to persist. Most Americans understand that racism is considered 42 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:22,000 wrong. But many white people fail to see the more subtle forms of racial prejudice that are more readily apparent to blacks and other minorities. Following 43 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:31,000 the same train of thought, Eduardo Oney syllabub, a sociologist at Duke University, said The main problem nowadays is not the folks with the hoods 44 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:41,000 , but the folks in suits. The more we assume that the problem of racism is limited to the Klan, the birthers, the Tea Party or to the Republican Party, the 45 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:51,000 less we understand that racial domination is a collective process and that we are all in this game. He calls this racism without racists, which also happens 46 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:55,000 the title of his book on Racism in America. 47 00:06:55,000 --> 00:07:05,000 Ready for today. Open Season and Open Season. Legalized Genocide of Colored People by the attorney, Benjamin Crump. We've not heard of Crump 48 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:15,000 . He is a very high profile attorney who represents the families of many of these cases of police brutality. And he is representing the 49 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:25,000 families of a mod as well as Brianna. When I looked at the title, the terminology gave me pause. Genocide really 50 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:34,000 , that Trump gives us well-founded reasons for its use. And honestly, the shoe really fits in the concluding chapter of his book, which is 51 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:44,000 titled We Rise, We Rise Re Rise. He states, I'm often ask if I believe that America is fundamentally a racist nation. And separately, I may ask 52 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:53,000 if I believe that America is a great nation. My answer to both questions is yes. Of course, not all Americans are racist, but it is clear that American system 53 00:07:53,000 --> 00:08:03,000 educating, legislating, policing, prosecuting, imprisoning in financing are inherently racist because those systems grew out of the 54 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:13,000 need legitimate that legitimize and preserve slavery based on white supremacy and later replace it with other, more social fun subtle forms 55 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:22,000 subjugation for financial gain. As open season illustrates, with cases of legal discrimination, the deck is profoundly stacked against black 56 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:32,000 and brown people in America. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are hardly guaranteed for black or brown Americans. From the very beginning, our Constitution value 57 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:42,000 black life and only a fraction of the value of a white life. Even that valuation was intended only to give Southern states more congressional seats and power in the Electoral College. 58 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:52,000 ensuring the slave owners could control the new nation. As to liberty and the pursuit of happiness, KROQ says when black and brown people are fat, are 59 00:08:52,000 --> 00:09:02,000 infinitely more likely to be racially profiled, stopped and manhandled by police to be charged with the crime, to be convicted or compelled to plead guilty to serve 60 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:12,000 longer Princeton sentences starting at a younger age and subsequently lose their civil rights and their prospects to find work and succeed. Their liberty is lost in 61 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:16,000 pursuit of happiness is unequivocally denied 62 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:26,000 , though even if we are not racist, the system is inherently racist. Why is that 63 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:35,000 like to consider the concept of unconscious bias? Unconscious bias is a fact of life in our country. Thanks. Traffic study after signs 64 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:45,000 study backs this up. People of all colors. White, black, Latino alike. Everyone has been trained by our culture to be biased against black people. 65 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:55,000 Babies as young as 3 months of age, regardless of their race, were given the choice between playing with a white doll and the black doll. The white doll. Three months 66 00:09:55,000 --> 00:10:04,000 culture is already trained. Other studies have been conducted that show that the exact same resumé submitted to the exact same job position with only the name 67 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:14,000 change will receive significantly higher number of callbacks if the name sounds white as opposed to sounding black. Another experiment showed that when black applicants 68 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:22,000 were interviewed, the interviewer set farther away from black applicants and ended interviews. Twenty five percent. Senator 69 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:32,000 . Where does this bias come from? Prompt states most discrimination is motivated by the prospect of economic gain or the fear of economic 70 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:42,000 loss. There will always be financial reasons that motivate and allow discrimination in America, as there were from the very beginning. 71 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:51,000 when the framers of the Constitution argued over how to balance the moral evil of slavery with the merit of its financial gain. Though its money 72 00:10:51,000 --> 00:11:01,000 from the beginning, our country money has been made from subjugation of African-Americans. I really encourage you if you ever get the chance to go 73 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:11,000 to the Equal Justice Initiatives Legacy Museum down in Alabama. It's a timeline of evolution, of the evolution of enslavement. 74 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:20,000 In my research, I came across this short video, which is written and narrated by Bryan Stevenson, who the founder of Each Eye and explains much 75 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:30,000 better than I can, though. You share that video with you for just a moment. I ask that you please pay attention to his mention of the 13th Amendment 76 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:38,000 . I really can't say enough positive things about Bryan Stevenson in the Equal Justice 77 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:48,000 Initiative. In the fact that he was able to condense that into just a little over 5 minutes is pretty amazing. So the 13th Amendment to 78 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:57,000 the United States Constitution provides that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude except as a punishment for crime. Where of the party 79 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:07,000 shall have been duly convicted? They'll exist within the United States or any place subjected to their jurisdiction. Another quote from the Aegean website 80 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:17,000 , The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in 1865, prohibits prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude. But eggs 81 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:26,000 illicitly exempted those convicted of a crime. So in response, southern states and legislatures quickly passed as black codes, new laws that explicitly 82 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:36,000 applied only to black people and subjected them to criminal prosecution for offenses such as ordering, breaking curfew, vagrancy, having weapons 83 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:46,000 and not carrying proof of employment crafted to ensnare black people and return them to chains. These laws were effective for the first time in U.S. history. Many 84 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:55,000 state penal systems held more black prisoners than white. All of who could be leased or profit or profit. And while we no 85 00:18:55,000 --> 00:19:05,000 longer had convict leasing per say, privatizations of prisons is still an economic factor that encourages incarceration. Simply put, prisoners 86 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,000 equal profit 87 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:18,000 , though it is proven to be an economic benefit for African-Americans to be perceived as dangerous. We're seen as criminals. That's been an underlying 88 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:27,000 idea from the founding of our country. I really encourage you to look into Crump's book. He gives chapter after chapter of examples of how this bias and systemic racist 89 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:37,000 is prevalent in every aspect of our society. One area that he doesn't address is not seen addressed often no one to bring your attention to before we finish up today. 90 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:47,000 is of popular culture and discussion of race in popular culture. Specifically, I want to pay 91 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:57,000 attention to the tradition of the blackface minstrel. As a music educator, I've been trying to be more aware of the history of the songs that I use in my class. So I 92 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:06,000 can make appropriate choices and repertoire. When you sing for me, when you dig around, you find that many of the songs that we consider classics or folk songs 93 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:16,000 were actually born from this tradition and have a history steeped in racism. I don't want to use those songs in my classroom as I've done research to get ready for 94 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:26,000 day service. My mind kept coming back to the things that I read about the blackface minstrel shows and their popularity despite their overt racism 95 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:35,000 . I really believe that this, as well as other aspects of our popular culture, both past and present, has had a profound impact on how we perceive race 96 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:45,000 in like little Kentucky in about twenty AMAs D Daddy rice of blackface performers sore, crippled, black, stable hand 97 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:55,000 doing a particular part. Me a peculiar shuffling hopping dance, stable hands. Name was Jim Crow as he danced 98 00:20:54,000 --> 00:21:04,000 , he sang a catchy little song with the refrain we've about, inturn about and do just so everytime. We have about a jump. Jim Crow Rosny 99 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:14,000 . Good thing when he saw it in a morass of stable dance song, he copied his hobbling dance, wrote some new verses, and tried out the routine on stage. He was an immediate 100 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:24,000 hit throughout the Ohio River Valley, and soon he was jumpin Jim Crow to a standing room only crowd of over thirty five hundred in New York's Bowery Theatre. 101 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:33,000 The minstrel show began with this creation of the character Jim's Jim Crow Stone. But blackface minstrel shows became a national sensation. 102 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:43,000 It is interesting that they were more popular in the North than in the south. Specially in northern urban areas, audiences there were large and boisterous, and they cheered and booed 103 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:52,000 with fervor. The minstrels had a long and lasting impact, with cruel stereotypes that echoed in popular culture for one hundred and fifty years. 104 00:21:52,000 --> 00:22:02,000 These performances, characterized by Black Harbi, characterize blacks as lazy, ignorant, superstitious, hypersexual and 105 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:12,000 prone to thievery and cowardice. The abolitionist Frederick Douglass decried blackface performers as the filthy scum of white society who have stolen 106 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:21,000 from us a complexion denied them by nature in which to make money and to pander to the corrupt taste of their white fellow citizens. 107 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:24,000 Make money 108 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:34,000 . The influence these minstrel shows and racial stereotyping on American society cannot be overstated. He forms of media took the minstrel performances from the stage 109 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:44,000 to radio, from the television airwaves and into movie theaters. Popular American actors including Shirley Temple, Julie Garden, Garland and Mickey Rooney 110 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:53,000 in blackface. Bridging the minstrel performances across generations and making black face not only acceptable but form of family entertainment 111 00:22:53,000 --> 00:23:03,000 as a music teacher. I've always looked at the music side of things when I've looked into the history of these minstrel shows because I've been trying to find a particular 112 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:13,000 songs and if they came from that tradition. But in looking into information for today, I'd follow that trail to a movie called The Birth of a Nation. 113 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:22,000 I'd heard of the movie I knew somehow socially important. But I really didn't know anything about it. Honestly, part of me really 114 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:32,000 wishes I was still ignorant about it. I've not watched it. I don't plan to watch it. But reading about it has really opened my eyes 115 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:41,000 how concepts of race were and still are used to manipulate the public. The Birth of the nation was originally titled The Clansman. It was a creation 116 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:51,000 . D.W. Griffith. Nothing on its scale and ever been attempted before. It was an epic story of the relationship between two American families. One union. The 117 00:23:51,000 --> 00:24:01,000 other Confederates. At the time of the Civil War and Reconstruction that followed the film ran for more than three hours and employed, according to the New York Times report, 118 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:11,000 from the time eighteen thousand people and three thousand horses. In comparison, most movies of this time were at tops half and won by 119 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:20,000 nineteen twenty two and then watched by more than five million people. It was the first blockbuster movie that made history becoming 120 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:30,000 the first film ever to be screened at the White House. It was revolutionary. And then it was the first full scale long narrative using a lot of the new cutting edge techniques of film 121 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:39,000 making. But despite all the accolades from filmmaking techniques used, the film is one of the most racist films ever made. Maybe the most 122 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:49,000 racist film ever made. The following is from NPR's All Things Considered. Back in February 2015, which was one hundred years after the 123 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:59,000 release, the birth of a nation is a three hour is three hours of racist propaganda, starting with the civil war and ending with the Klu Klux Klan. 124 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:08,000 riding in to save the South from black rule during the Reconstruction era. Griffith portrayed the emancipated slaves as heathens, as unworthy of being free 125 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:18,000 , as uncivilized, as primarily concerned with passing laws so that they can marry white women and prey on them, says Declare, the author of Birth of the Nation How a Legendary 126 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:28,000 Filmmaker and Crusading Editor Reignited America's Civil War. At the time, much of the storyline was accepted as historically accurate 127 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:38,000 . Griffith's understanding of the past was based on a twisted account. And today, it's easy to imagine that a movie like yours would flop and be forgotten. The birth of a nation 128 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:47,000 was far from falling into oblivion. It actually led to the birth of Hollywood. Laywer says the film was the avatar of the Star Wars of 1950. 129 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:57,000 It was a runaway hit at the first screening in Los Angeles. The film got a big thumbs up. The critics were raving. People were on their feet 130 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:07,000 cheering at the climax of the film. When the Klan is seen as a healing force, restoring order to the chaos in the south during restrict reconstruction 131 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:16,000 long after 1915, silent film continued to find audiences. Immediately after the film's release, the Ku Klux Klan experienced a surge 132 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:26,000 membership and it continued to use that film as a recruiting tool for decades. Well into the 70s and 80s, while civil rights leaders 133 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:36,000 1915 tried to get the film banned entirely. The birth of a nation is still taught in film schools. For all its repulsive imagery, the film stands 134 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:46,000 massively in cinema. It did things that hadn't been done before in terms of close up zooming the camera and on thisis cross-cutting and dynamic civil 135 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:55,000 battle scenes, not just taking a single static shot. All of which heighten the power and impact and the drama and the emotion, says Laywer 136 00:26:55,000 --> 00:27:05,000 . Todd Boyd, a professor at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, says he rarely brings up the film in his classes. 137 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:15,000 and he will never screen it in his classroom. He says if you plant seeds, what grows from those seeds is going to be based on what you planted 138 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:18,000 . If you're trying to grow marijuana, 139 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:28,000 you probably shouldn't plant tomatoes. Birth of a Nation is a film that represents racism. It is at the foundation of what would become Hollywood 140 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:38,000 , though, is it? It is at the root. So it is at the root. And it shouldn't be surprising that in the last few weeks and years, there have been discussions 141 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:48,000 about how lack of people of color being nominated for the Oscars. In my mind, it's very much a branch that grew out of the tree that was the birth of a nation 142 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:57,000 . I read several articles about on birth the nation. Most of them heaped praises on the movie. Granted, it was not for the content that was 143 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:07,000 pretty much universally criticized. But the film making process itself. I've got the following quote from the History Channel's website before D.W. 144 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:16,000 Griffith's Tonn motion pictures were short, uninspiring and poorly produced, acted and edited. Under his guidance, filmmaking became an art form despite 145 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:26,000 its harm. His birth of the nation inflicted on African-Americans, he will forever be regarded as the father of cinema. By the way, there was no particular 146 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:36,000 author credited with that statement. It was an article that cited just History Channel editors as the authors of blackface in the codifying of blackness 147 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:44,000 caricature persist. It has had a lasting impact on entertainment and popular culture. It still rings true today. 148 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:54,000 though, as I conclude, I ask the question what are we as white people to do? And initially I said I really Western was a checklist 149 00:28:55,000 --> 00:29:04,000 somewhere that said to overcome systems racism, you need to blah, blah, blah, do this. This morning when I was actually looking at 150 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:14,000 Misha's Facebook page, I found one and I'll share the links with you. It's actually called devone. Five things that white people can do for racial justice. And it's pretty 151 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:23,000 interesting. Personally, I don't have the answers, but I did come across some suggestions. We educate ourself about racism. We set aside our preconceived 152 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:33,000 options and we've listened to those suffering from racism and oppression. We learn about what's really going on. We don't blame the victims. Never say they should have made better 153 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:43,000 choices. I've heard it said, and I'm sure you have to. Don't wait for people of color to show us the way they're too busy trying to survive in a screwed up world. 154 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:53,000 Take care of us. But we don't need to get in their way either. Again, we need to do our homework and educate ourselves. This is not our conversation to dominate 155 00:29:53,000 --> 00:30:02,000 . We need to become active white allies. We can and absolutely should use our position ality to start conversations that might not otherwise ever be had. But we can never 156 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:12,000 be the experts. Our life experiences doesn't give us that expertise. Finally, we teach our children and try to help them be anti-racist in the 157 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:22,000 culture of ingrained and unconscious. Racism might not be an easy conversation to have. But it will never compare with the conversation. A black mother has 158 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:28,000 had to teach her son. How about to get killed in that same culture of ingrained racism? 159 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:38,000 None of these suggestions are comfortable. But if we aren't willing to step into that discomfort, then we're wrong. Not really interested in changing anything. Consequences we may face for stepping 160 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:48,000 will never compare to what Mod and Brioni is. Sean. And maybe, maybe others as well as their families and friends have suffered 161 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:52,000 . I'll leave you with that. Thank you. 162 00:30:52,000 --> 00:31:00,000 Thank you. Tracy. Traci's 163 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:05,000 or now going to move into our offertory and 164 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:08,000 share my screen 165 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:18,000 . This congregation is a theologically diverse religious community with membership open to all who are in 166 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:28,000 accordance with our principles, mission and vision. We are an independent member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Our congregation is entirely self 167 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:38,000 governed and financially supported by the voluntary generosity of our members and friends. To this end, let there be an offering to sustain the work of this beloved community. 168 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:48,000 While our social distancing, we have two options right now for contributions. You can go to our Web site to make a contribution 169 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:58,000 through PayPal and the link is there. It's you. You cook ville dot org slash stewardship or if you just go to you, you cook. Well, Dorgan, scroll to the bottom of the page 170 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:07,000 . You should see the donate button. And if you'd prefer to mail cash or check our mailing address is thirty one West First Street, Cookeville, Tennessee, 171 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:13,000 3 8 5 0 1. And those are getting redirected straight to our treasurer now 172 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:23,000 will now have another song. This is called Cry No More by Rhiannon Giddens. 173 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:28,000 and Jennifer. We'll get that video going for us 174 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:26,000 . First, they stole that, but then they stole our son from 175 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:36,000 then they stole that guy and gave us a new one. I know. But then they stole my beauty 176 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:45,000 . I know the comfort in our skin. Well, then they gave us duty to go home. And then they gave us 177 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:50,000 cried wolf, and they came. January should 178 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:57,000 help to build this land. I among the bedrock of the nation. 179 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:00,000 Let's make these brown 180 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:03,000 sandstone 181 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:13,000 was, in fact, this guy right now. And many peaceful steam. We've got. And bro. We try 182 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:17,000 . And then they stole some 183 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:24,000 and then they stole. Not peace with count the sacks of 184 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:28,000 same hatred. We found seeds 185 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:32,000 in Dirty River 186 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:39,000 . Rats do the same with gay pride with their three and a 187 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:43,000 names. Wednesday I got my 188 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:45,000 500-year 189 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:58,000 and we love this. Do we need a pig? 190 00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:02,000 in 191 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:08,000 numbers to get 192 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:11,000 again? Get 193 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:45,000 will now extinguish our Chalice. And if you'd like to say the words with me, I'll get them up on the screen. 194 00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:07,000 We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth. The warmth of community or the fire of commitment. These we carry in our hearts 195 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:10,000 until we are together again. 196 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:20,000 Our closing words are called Go in Peace Seeking Justice by Jim McGaugh. When I say go in peace, 197 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:29,000 I don't mean go in mindless oblivion. When I say go in peace, I don't mean go without challenging yourself or others. When I say go 198 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:39,000 in peace, I don't mean go in utter ease and comfort. When I say go in peace, I mean go in peace. Seeking justice 199 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:45,000 . I mean go in peace committed to equal rights and opportunities for all 200 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:55,000 what I say, go in peace. I mean, go in the peace that is created when together we build communities of true solidarity 201 00:36:55,000 --> 00:37:02,000 , deep compassion and fierce, unrelenting love go in peace. 202 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:12,000 And we have a couple of announcements today and feel free to chime in if you've got any others or if I've got any incorrect information 203 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:22,000 up here. But we will have reflections following service today. We have I believe Charles Circle is this Tuesday at 6 204 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:32,000 on Google Hangouts. I know this may alter its meditation. It's really blurry since it's OK, I'll fix it. It's 205 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:41,000 it's meditation. And I haven't put the same up on Facebook yet. But the theme this Tuesday is going to be pick up the phones, which is going 206 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:43,000 to be an interesting 207 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:53,000 twist for meditation. Join us at six o'clock on Tuesday. It's probably I think we're going to have a Xoom account by then, so it'll probably be on Xoom. So check 208 00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:58,000 the Facebook event and the Facebook group for like 209 00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:08,000 , thank you. And then when it's Elvan Ball has come up with a way to do curbside pickup for fair trade table 210 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:18,000 items. She's gonna be available on Saturdays from 12:00 to 1 by appointment only. So if you are interested in purchasing any fair trade items, 211 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:28,000 if you're if you're missing that after two months of online services, please email her. She her email addresses on the screen 212 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:37,000 . And I've also added it to the calendar and I think it's going to be going out. The information about fair trade pickup is gonna be going out probably through email and Facebook 213 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:43,000 as well. So that information will be should be readily available 214 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:47,000 . Are there any other announcements 215 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:57,000 ? Yeah, I sent out an email this week about flower communion and it should also be in the newsletter. But we're doing an online flower 216 00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:06,000 communion on June 7th. So if you have flowers that you've taken pictures of and want to include a description of that 217 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:14,000 , we're going to kind of compile a slideshow. So be thinking about that and sending those to Tracy 218 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:20,000 . We 219 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:23,000 mailing them to Tracy 220 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:26,000 . Yeah. 221 00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:33,000 Okay. I just put my email address in the chat 222 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:43,000 . Anything else 223 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:54,000 ? All right. Patrick, do you want to send us off 224 00:39:54,000 --> 00:40:00,000 ? And there are refreshments in the kitchen for if you enjoy refreshments