“Learn About” Questions
(informational)
- Who was Fannie Lou Hamer?
- Who was Ruby Bridges?
- What is the experience of picking oranges, cotton, pecans, etc. like for people who work in that industry?
“Learn From” Questions
(transformational)
- What has my experience been with living an “inconvenient truth or an uncomfortable lie?”
- As I was growing up, what kind of message did I receive regarding my identity? Did I feel important? Valued? Cared for? Why or why not?
- Who do I most identify with, living or non-living, in my life? Why?
Transcript:
What is the difference between an inconvenient truth or an uncomfortable lie? You know? Because this is what we’re living and when we refuse to look at ourselves, when we refuse to stand in our truth, when we refuse to share that space with others. So in growing up, I learned that everywhere I go I am part of the universe even though constantly told that I am nothing, that I am insignificant. When I say that my 8th grade was the last of my education and going to high school, I was in either 8th or 9th grade, I was at Broad River High School, girl school foster home. I was picking oranges in Umatilla, Florida, at age 14. I picked cotton, I picked pecans. At age 19 I got my GED. I was the first in my family to go to college. A bachelor’s in criminal justice and then now I have my master’s in public policy, leadership and social issues. I want to study the work of, the body of work of spiritual leaders. That’s what I want to get my doctorate in, I gotta figure out a way to do that. But my thing is that I have a responsibility to my community. I have a responsibility to serve my community as the community served me in growing up. Many people had their hands on me and teaching me. And yes, growing up I learned about the Little Rock Nine but I also learned about Fannie Lou Hamer. And I remember in Ruleville, Mississippi, I went and sat outside the plantation where she allegedly grew up and I sat there on that fence hoping to see her. Of course she was long gone. She wasn’t there anymore but that was my beginning, learning about people and learning about the Little Rock Nine, learning about the McDonald Three, learning about Ruby Bridges and knowing that these were young people that fought back. These were young people that stood up to the system. These were young people that stood up to oppression. You know, where did that come from? Where did that courage come from? And why can’t we all have this strength? So we take, we are constantly taking. I say that in doing that, we have to learn to give back. We have to recognize that we don’t own this. We are facilitators in life and sharing life with each other.
