This is a picture of Dona Varin Cheverez-Cheverez, a full blood Taino Indian woman from the mountain town of Morovis in Puerto Rico. She is working with the traditional Taino ceramic bowls. Gallery
I recently presented a workshop at the Power of Words Conference in Vermont. It was an incredible learning experience, both from a business perspective as well as personal growth.
I will be writing a full recap on the conference, but I would like to share an experience from a workshop conducted by Marianela Medrano-Marra, Writing the Crosscultural Experience.
To introduce us to the crosscultural experience, she asked the group to participate in a quick exercise where we rolled our r’s to get in touch with the legacy of romance languages, and to feel the expression throughout our whole bodies. The exercise seemed simple, but I quickly realized it wasn’t as comfortable for the whole group as it was for me. It turned out to be quite a nerve-racking brainteaser for some people in the group, awakening my understanding that the crossculture experience isn’t as accessible as I originally thought.
Everyone did give it their best effort, and we all found it fascinating how difficult rolling the r’s can be. The exercise set the stage for discussing the various meanings of culture, its roots in language, and traditional stories that sustain culture throughout generations.
Marianela talked about indigenous people and their significance in history. Then she mentioned the one indigenous group I rarely hear mentioned in any of the classes, workshops or history books I’ve read, the Taino Indians.
Most Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and Dominicans originate from the Taino Indians but they are seldom highlighted, let alone embraced as a culture of beauty, deeply rooted in tradition and ceremony.
She continued with slide images of different groups of indians and the vast cultures that span our history. After silently taking in each image, we were asked to write a poem describing our impressions through our five senses.
Poetry has never been one of my interests. But here, I could feel my culture in a real and tangible way, swelling and forcing me out of my comfort zone.
This is what I came up with:
The room is full with the richness of my ancestors
Larger than life and grounded in body
My native tongue courses through the soul of this sacred space,
its energy alive and pelting us with its freedom.
My ancestors
con color y amor
open their arms
and invite us to paint stories with words.
Posted by abookwithoutacover
Notes on teaching racism (teleconference)
April 25, 2008Tonight Las Comardes held a teleconference to discuss “when and how children should be taught about racism.”
The conference featured the authors of the book That’s Not Fair!: Emma Tenayuca’s Struggle for Justice /¡No es Justo!:La Lucha de Emma Tenayuca por la Justicia
(Wings Press, 2008. Illustrated by Terry Ybañez) and focused on the issues it raised:
Notes
I came in on the call a little late, therefore my notes are 10 minutes into the conversation. Also, these are not direct quotes, but my best attempt at paraphrasing:
Author Carmen Tafolla/ Sharyll Tenayuca (not sure): When you ask children about the election, do they feel Latinos or women can be president, they are very attuned to what’s going on around them. You get answers like: no, because women are weaker, or it’s illegal for Latinos to be president.
Dr. Rebecca Bigler, UT Professor of Psychology, mentions how white parents are usually very reluctant to talk to their children about racism and racial injustice.
Interviewer Adriana Dominguez asks how we can best introduce the topic of racism and social inequalities to children?
Bigler: We don’t have quite enough research to know. What we do know is you start by introducing topics slowly, without violence, so they aren’t as troubling. Start with cases like Emma’s (good evidence of important change and good outcomes), in a fair and compassionate way, that teaches children about history and also gives them hope.
Bigler: Research shows children do have an awareness for justice at an early age, and you need to be encouraging them to develop attitudes towards social justice. Encourage love of reading, writing and courageousness.
Dominguez: How is the book received among Latino/a families as well as non -Latino/a families?
Tafolla: Very well, with Latino/a children there is a little extra excitement. They ask, “she (Emma Tenayuca) really existed, this is really her picture on the back of the book?”
Bigler: White children who heard the story about racial discrimination often demonstrated a level of guilt; they felt bad about their privileged status. Because of this, I have received hate mail asking, “how dare you make children feel bad about their privilege”
But feeling racial guilt wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. What we found was the initial guilt lead to them feeling connected (to some degree), and toward caring about social justice. Some of the stories might be sad and troubling for children, but what we need to learn is how can we tell these stories in a way where we have good outcomes, and make them feel like there is hope.
Dominquez: What would you like Emma’s legacy to be?
Tafolla: Everyone can make a difference in this world. That’s very reflective of Emma’s voice. Make use of everyone who wants to help. “You can make a difference in your world”
Bigler: Emma’s story shows that heroes are people who see, acknowledge and fight social justice, and those heroes come in all shapes and sizes and genders. It shows that children can be on the look-out for social injustice, and when they see it, they can name it and fight it.
Announcement: The full teleconference will be available on the website in a couple of weeks.
Las Comadres is also starting a book club, which should begin sometime in May. Learning through reading, and practicing what we learn. Hasta luego!
Side Note from Las Comadres: