Understanding History

Notes by Sharon Jarrett:

The 1619 Discussion Group met on January 7th at 10:00 PST.

After greeting the participants, Dick posed the question "What happened last year that moved the conversation begun by the publication of the 1619 Project forward?"

Responses included:

The publication and discussions engendered by "How the Word is Passed" by Clint Smith

The Redistricting process and the varied local responses

The continued discussion around the Denial of History and the Understanding of History

After this discussion, three books or articles were discussed as worth reading, these included "Thinking Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahnerman, "The war of Jenkins Ear", no author given and an article from the Jan 3rd New Yorker "Dan Bongino and the Big Business of Returning Trump to Power" by Evan Osnos.

One of the participants shared a project they are working on sponsored by the Cornell School of Medicine.

The project focuses on the teaching of young doctors and the need to engage or "see" patients. Doctors of different backgrounds from their patients do not understand how to talk about critical health information using the experiences of their patients. An example was discussing diabetes and diet while never having experienced a food dessert. The project is trying to help doctors develop this understanding.

A brief discussion on the ability to think critically followed with a concern expressed that this skill is no longer taught.

The group then discussed the increased awareness of history at a local level and dealing with varied views that emerge from these discussions.

A question was raised about mental health evaluations being required in certain professions as a condition of licensing. The question extended to asking if members of Congress should be required to have some type of evaluation.

There was a brief discussion about experiences members of the group had had discussing 1619 with millennials or Gen Z (plurals).

Sally Currie shared a rap she had written, entitled "Sorry To See You Go".

Homelessness was discussed from the perspective of "who has a seat at the table". The lack of systems to help move the homeless to the next level of community membership were discussed.

Finally, it was suggested that participants look at the website for Braver Angels. This organization is sponsoring workshops of Depolarizing Communities.

The next meeting will be at 12:00 PST January 21, 2022, the third Friday of the month.

Members of our group maybe interested in knowing that Dr. Angela Davis will speak at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on June 5th. All tickets are $10. Information about Dr. Davis' presentation is available.

Following up on one of our previous presentations by Betty Kilby Baldwin and Phoebe Kilby on their book, Cousins, we just learned that they will be featured in a documentary on Netflix. Information regarding the documentary episode and their press release and flyer is available.

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Understanding History