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Blog archive

November 2024

Event of Remembrance
11/22/2024

Phishing Scams: What You Need to Know
11/22/2024

Pupusas Family Style: Another Adventurous Dining Winner
11/22/2024

Celebrating the Holidays
11/21/2024

Genealogy Group: Discovering Our Pasts
11/21/2024

Nathan Wolford – From Tragedy to Ministry
11/21/2024

Pasadena Village Board of Directors: A Brief Overview
11/21/2024

President's Message
11/21/2024

The Day of the Dead (Dia de muertos)/ Mexican Culture/Community
11/21/2024

Vintage Celebration: Aging Like a Fine Wine
11/21/2024

Review of Racism in Our Local Past
11/20/2024

Creative Juices Flow in The Village
11/19/2024

Checking In by Ed Rinderle
11/15/2024

Eagle Poem by Joy Harjo
11/15/2024

I Shall Forget You Presently, My Dear (Sonnet IV) by Edna St. Vincent Millay
11/15/2024

Pictures From Brueghel by William Carlos Williams
11/15/2024

October 2024

ARBORIST WALK: NOT FOR TREE HUGGERS ONLY!
10/29/2024

Bill Wishner: Visual Hunter
10/29/2024

Can a Village Group Fix Our Healthcare System?
10/29/2024

Community Board Directors Strengthen Village Board
10/29/2024

Connecting with Village Connections: The A, B, C, & D’s of Medicare @ 65+
10/29/2024

Grief is a Journey: Two Paths Taken
10/29/2024

Message from the President
10/29/2024

Promoting Informed & Involved Voters
10/29/2024

What Will Be Your Legacy?
10/29/2024

1619, Approaching the Election...
10/27/2024

Beyond and Within the Village - A Star is Born
10/17/2024

Happiness by Priscilla Leonard
10/11/2024

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden
10/11/2024

Unpainted Door by Louise Gluck
10/11/2024

In the Evening by Billy Collins
10/10/2024

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
10/10/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

September 2024

August 2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

First Anniversary
08/19/2024

Alexandra Leaving by Leonard Cohen
08/16/2024

Muse des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden
08/16/2024

The God Abandons Antony by Constantinos P. Cavafy
08/16/2024

Ch – Ch – Ch –Changes
08/15/2024

Cultural Activities Team offers an ‘embarrassment of riches’
08/15/2024

Engaging in Pasadena Village
08/15/2024

Future Housing Options
08/15/2024

Message from the President
08/15/2024

There Are Authors Among Us
08/15/2024

Villagers Welcome New Members at the Tournament Park Picnic
08/15/2024

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
08/14/2024

A narrow Fellow in the Grass by Emily Dickinson
08/13/2024

Haikus
08/13/2024

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
08/13/2024

Poem 20 by Pablo Neruda
08/13/2024

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
08/13/2024

Trees by Joyce Kilmer
08/13/2024

July 2024

June 2024

May 2024

Emergency Preparedness: Are You Ready?
05/28/2024

Farewell from the 2023/24 Social Work Interns
05/28/2024

Gina on the Horizon
05/28/2024

Mark Your Calendars for the Healthy Aging Research California Virtual Summit
05/28/2024

Meet Our New Development Associate
05/28/2024

Putting the Strategic Plan into Practice
05/28/2024

Washington Park: Pasadena’s Rediscovered Gem
05/28/2024

Introducing Civil Rights Discussions
05/22/2024

Rumor of Humor #2416
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2418
05/14/2024

Springtime Visitors
05/07/2024

Freezing for a Good Cause – Credit, That Is
05/02/2024

No Discussion Meeting on May 3rd
05/02/2024

An Apparently Normal Person Author Presentation and Book-signing
05/01/2024

Flintridge Center: Pasadena Village’s Neighbor That Changes Lives
05/01/2024

Pasadena Celebrates Older Americans Month 2024
05/01/2024

The 2024 Pasadena Village Volunteer Appreciation Lunch
05/01/2024

Woman of the Year: Katy Townsend
05/01/2024

April 2024

March 2024

February 2024

January 2024

Discussion of Wokeism and CRT

By Sharon Jarrett
Posted: 11/06/2023
Tags: wokeism, crt, discussion

Notes by Sharon Jarrett

 

Due to some scheduling confusion, there was no presentation made during this meeting as anticipated. Instead, the group held an open discussion among the participants about the topics of woke-ism and critical race theory. One result of this situation is that there is a recording of the discussion which is a rare event we do not typically record discussions where there is no presentation. So this may be a standalone recording and is available for viewing on our YouTube channel as “Wokeism and Critical Race Theory”.

The discussion was very energized and involving due to the fact that all the participants have some awareness of the topics under discussion because of the constant news coverage that they receive.

The discussion began with a review of Critical Race Theory and a sharing of different understandings about the topic.  The group was comfortable in acknowledging Critical Race Theory as an academic prism by which to understand the past.  It was acknowledged that this was not a universally held concept with some individuals denying the use of the theory in academic analysis at the university level.  Some individuals in the community believe the theory was taught as a set of truths to children, while in fact the theory is employed in research and analysis at the university level in history, social studies and law. The theory was developed by Derrick Bell at Harvard.  He has written about the use of the theory in recognized academic journals.

The group then moved to the term "woke".  A participant who is African American and lives and works in the South, shared the use of the term in her family as meaning to be alert and cautious in the environment. The need for this stemming from racial discrimination and prejudice.  Beginning in 2010, the term took on a broader meaning in society. It began to be a negative term with essentially no standardized meaning.

The term was used to cast a negative light without information.  The term was then used by certain media personalities to anger and inflame.  Another participant remarked that the term had changed greatly remembering "woke" as a term for a person trying to understand the impact of discrimination on people of color and being mindful of the effects of those experiences. He recalled it being a positive term.

It was concluded that both terms are misapplied for specific purposes.  While both terms can help deepen understanding of history and social structures, they can be misused to frighten and create a sense of "other". Understanding the meaning of the terms was critical to any discussion.  The group next responded to a question about how this can be achieved.  The following suggestions emerged: know the correct definitions, be aware of how the terms are used in various settings and encourage the use of facts.  It was briefly noted that AI was making it difficult to fact check and contributed to the spread of misinformation.

The importance of facts, fact checking was reiterated by a number of personal stories regarding stereotypes and racial profiling.

The group then discussed the "Lost Cause" and the tenets of the Lost Cause as an example of the suppression of facts.  A brief discussion followed about subject matter content standards and their use in state textbook adoptions.  It was noted that the adoptions of textbooks are state specific and may not conform to the individual state content standards.  It was noted that publishers deferred to those standards of states who purchased the most textbooks.

The group returned to discussing the challenges of fact checking with a participant noting at one time there were 400,000 individuals employed as journalists.  There are now 44,000.  Most of the loss being at the community or local level.  This has significantly limited the information and investigation that occurs and limits the sources of information available.

The next meeting will be November 17th at 12:00 PM PST. It was noted that the December meetings may be affected by the holidays, but, information would be posted on any cancellations.

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