A great piece on diversity and examining our own issues. I am so grateful for my Liberal Arts education, but until I became poor while white, the true comprehension of how difficult life is and how difficult it is to get out of poverty were not realized. This also came with a gift of realizing strengths I did not know I had, and how much more resourceful I could be with what I am given….and putting wealth in perspective. Having things does not make one more valuable…in reality, it is a prison. The more things– the bigger house, nicer car, nicer clothes, etc., –are traps. People end up selling their souls to prove their worth to fellow humans.
Carol A. Hand
“Critical theory holds that … capitalist social organization is the overarching social problem from which most other social problems derive.” (Luske, 1998, 0. 118)
Living in the liminal space between cultures often provides a confounding but fascinating vantage point. It’s difficult to explain this to others who have had the comfortable privilege of growing up surrounded by only one perspective. Advocacy and teaching are challenging in such a context. How can one provide opportunities to raise awareness about alternative perspectives and meanings? Three rather divergent examples from my time in academia came to mind as I thought about this question.
Photo: Lac Du Flambeau Ojibwe reservation – 1923 –
My mother at 2 dressed by the wealthy Euro-American woman who wanted to adopt her
Photo: Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe reservation – 1928 –
My mother at 7 (her birth mother refused to allow her to be adopted)
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