The Measure of a Black Life? : A Poetic Interpretation of Hope and Discontent

Authors

  • Lisa William-White California State University Sacramento

https://doi.org/10.4471/qre.2013.23

Keywords:


Downloads

Abstract

Here,Spoken Word poetics (William-White, 2011a, 2011b; William-White & White,2011) are utilized in an interpretative and reflective text focused on racializedviolence and homicide in the United States.African American youth, particularly in urban areas, aredisproportionately affected by violent crime, namely homicide when compared toother racial/ethnic groups. Such violence is heart-wrenching; it undermines notionsof personal safety, freedom, and equality within and between communities. It erodes the ideals of democracy in ourcountry, particularly when racialized violence is under reported in the media, orignored by media; and, when such violence is inadequately addressed by, orperpetrated at the hands of, law enforcement .As a performance narrative, this piece asks the question: How do wecreate communities of care, spaces for empathy, and sites of agency that isresponsive to the needs of all citizens?Moreover, this piece probes this question, and agitates for additionalquestions about safety and community as it intersects with race.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Lisa William-White, California State University Sacramento

Lisa William-White is a Professor in the Department of Graduate and Professional Studies in Education at California State University, Sacramento. Recently, I have co-edited a volume on curriculum research: CriticalConsciousness in Curriculum Research: Evidence from the Field (Peter Lang).I have co-authored/authored chapters focused on Critical Race Theory, Gender Studies and Multicultural Education, Autoethnography and Spoken Word scholarship. My work appears in Tedious Journeys: Autoethnography by Women of Color in academe (Peter Lang); Choosing Democracy: a practical guide to multicultural education, 3rdedition (Merrill/Prentice Hall); Teacher Education Quarterly; Teacher Education and Practice; and Cultural Studies óCritical Methodologies, and The International Journal of QualitativeStudies in Education. In addition, I have been engaged in multicultural education and educational equity work since 1991; and I have been employed as a high school English teacher; as college recruiter and academic counselor; andas an educator in the University of California, California State, andCalifornia Community College Systems.

References

American Civil Liberties Union. (2009, June).The Persistence of Racial and Ethnic Profiling in

Google Scholar Crossref

the United States: a follow-up report to the U.N. committee on the elimination of racial discrimination. Retrieved from http://www.aclu.org/files/pdfs/humanrights/cerd_finalreport.pdf

Google Scholar Crossref

Bandow, D. (2012, March). The Death of Trayvon Martin: Confronting the Problem of Enduring

Google Scholar Crossref

Racism. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/doug-bandow/the-death-of-trayvon-mart_b_1384344.html

Google Scholar Crossref

Fredrickson, D.D. & Siljander, R.P. (2002). Racial profiling: Eliminating the confusion

Google Scholar Crossref

between racial and criminal profiling and clarifying what constitutes unfair discrimination and persecution. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas Publisher, Ltd.

Google Scholar Crossref

Free, M.D. (1996). African Americans and the criminal justice system. New York:

Google Scholar Crossref

Garland Publishing, Inc.

Google Scholar Crossref

Parker, Karen F. (2008). Unequal Crime Decline: Theorizing Race, Urban Inequality

Google Scholar Crossref

and Criminal Violence. New York: New York University Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Parker, K. F., Stults, B. & Lane, E. (2010). A spatial and community analysis of police

Google Scholar Crossref

stops involving black, white, and Hispanic drivers. In Rice, S.K. & White, M.D. (Eds.) Race, Ethnicity, and Policing: New and Essential Readings. New York: New York University Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

United States Department of Justice. (2011, November). Homicide Trends in the United States,

Google Scholar Crossref

-2008 (Publication No. NCJ 236018 ). United States Department of Justice. Retrieved from http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf.

Google Scholar Crossref

Weitzer, R. & Tuch, S.A. (2002). Perceptions of racial profiling: Race, class, and

Google Scholar Crossref

personal experience. Journal of Criminology, 40, 435-456.

Google Scholar Crossref

William-White, L. (2012). Becoming a Teacher in an Era of Curricular Standardization and

Google Scholar Crossref

Reductionist Learning Outcomes: A Poetic Interpretation. In P.L. Thomas (Ed.) Becoming and Being a Teacher: Confronting Traditional Norms to Create New Democratic Realities. (forthcoming). New York: Peter Lang.

Google Scholar Crossref

William-White, L., Sagir, A., Flores, N., Jung, G., Ramirez, A., Osalbo, J., & Doan, H. (2012). Arugula, Pine Nuts, and Hegemony: Seven Women’s Choreopoetic Reflection on the Absence of Cultural Relevance in Educational Discourse. International Journal of Qualitative Research, 25(2), 135-149.

Google Scholar Crossref

William-White, L. & White, J. (2011). Color Marks the Site/Sight of Social Difference: Dysconscious Racism in the ''Age of Obama''. Qualitative Inquiry, 17(9), 837–853.

Google Scholar Crossref

William-White, L. (2011a). Dare I speak of oppression on sacred ground [emphasis mine]. Cultural Studies ⬄ Critical Methodologies, 11(3), 236-242.

Google Scholar Crossref

William-White, L. (2011b). Scholarship Revolution. Qualitative Inquiry, 17 (6), 534-542.

Google Scholar Crossref

Winter, M. (2010, July). Ex-transit Cop Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter in Passenger’s Death. USA Today. Retrieved http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/07/verdict-to-be-announced-in-oscar-grant-killing-by-bart-officer/1

Google Scholar Crossref

Downloads

Published

2013-06-28

Almetric

Dimensions

How to Cite

William-White, L. (2013). The Measure of a Black Life? : A Poetic Interpretation of Hope and Discontent. Qualitative Research in Education, 2(2), 187–200. https://doi.org/10.4471/qre.2013.23

Issue

Section

Articles