Blog archive
May 2024
Freezing for a Good Cause – Credit, That Is
05/02/2024
No Discussion Meeting on May 3rd
05/02/2024
Welcoming Samantha Petersen Gallasch & the Role of Development at Pasadena Village
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
Rumor of Humor #2410
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2411
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2412
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2413
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2414
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2415
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2416
04/28/2024
Stimulated by "Caste"
04/22/2024
Tulsa reparations, Religion and Politics
04/09/2024
March 2024
Trumps War with Black Women
03/31/2024
Addressing The Needs of Older Adults Through Pasadena Village
03/25/2024
Coming Soon: More Resources for Older Americans, Online and in Person
03/25/2024
Community Building Locally and Nationally
03/25/2024
Preparing for the Future with Ready or Not
03/25/2024
Volunteering is at The Heart of the Village
03/25/2024
Women's Liberation: Then and Now
03/25/2024
Writing Memoirs Together
03/25/2024
Current Views on Current Events
03/20/2024
Unchained
03/18/2024
Rumr of Humor issue # 2409
03/10/2024
Blacks Portrayed by European Artists
03/03/2024
Rumor of Humor #2408
03/03/2024
February 2024
Caring for Ourselves and Each Other
02/27/2024
Doug Colliflower Honored
02/27/2024
Great Decisions Connects Us to the Worldwide Community
02/27/2024
Letter from the President
02/27/2024
Pasadena Village's Impact
02/27/2024
The Power of Touch
02/27/2024
Villages as a New Approach to Aging
02/27/2024
Addressing Gang Violence in Pasadena-Altadena
02/21/2024
Rumor of Humor Issue 2407
02/19/2024
Thank You For Caring.
02/12/2024
Rumor of Humor 2405
02/11/2024
Curve Balls
02/10/2024
Sylvan Lane
02/10/2024
Rumor of Humor 2404
02/09/2024
Larry Duplechan, Blacks in Film
02/03/2024
January 2024
Pasadena Village Joins Community Partners in Vaccination Campaign
01/29/2024
Rumor of Humor #2403
01/28/2024
Pasadena Village Joins Two Healthy Aging Resource Projects
01/25/2024
Decluttering: Do It Now
01/24/2024
Village Volunteers Contribute to the Huntington Magic
01/24/2024
Villagers Creating Community
01/24/2024
Villagers Reflect on Black History Month
01/24/2024
Walk With Ease, 2024
01/24/2024
Wide Ranging Discussion on Current Issues
01/22/2024
Wide Ranging Discussion on Current Issues
01/22/2024
Rumor of Humor # 2402
01/21/2024
Rumor of Humor # 2401
01/15/2024
Re- Entry Programs, a Personal Experience
01/08/2024
Discussion of Wokeism and CRT
By Sharon JarrettPosted: 11/06/2023
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.