LJ Idol Season 9 Week 4
I read the book This Bridge Called My Back several years ago. It is an anthology written by women of color. The book tells their stories in essays and poems which are beautiful and show a depth of wisdom that is not always seen.
After reading the book I felt the weight of the oppression these women had experienced. Not that I felt the oppression like they did but I could feel it tugging on their lives and hardening their words. I began to think more and more about white society and our sense of privilege. We assume that things are going to go a certain way and usually they do. People of color can assume that things will go a certain way but if someone involved is a racist then things will certainly not go that way. It’s a valuable lesson and something white able bodied people take for granted.
The closest I can come to understanding racism is by experiencing ablism. I know the two are not the same, but honestly it is as close as I can come.
Reading This Bridge Called My Back wasn’t an epiphany for me but it was a reminder. These women of color are out there and they have a powerful story and a strong voice. I think women of color need to be celebrated more in literature and probably I need to read more of their works because I need to educate myself just as much as I need to educate the next guy.
After reading the book I felt the weight of the oppression these women had experienced. Not that I felt the oppression like they did but I could feel it tugging on their lives and hardening their words. I began to think more and more about white society and our sense of privilege. We assume that things are going to go a certain way and usually they do. People of color can assume that things will go a certain way but if someone involved is a racist then things will certainly not go that way. It’s a valuable lesson and something white able bodied people take for granted.
The closest I can come to understanding racism is by experiencing ablism. I know the two are not the same, but honestly it is as close as I can come.
Reading This Bridge Called My Back wasn’t an epiphany for me but it was a reminder. These women of color are out there and they have a powerful story and a strong voice. I think women of color need to be celebrated more in literature and probably I need to read more of their works because I need to educate myself just as much as I need to educate the next guy.