Janelle Gray's Blog, page 4

Growing up with Colorism

In this special episode, Chris talks with Janelle and her younger sisters, Brittanie Gray and Traci Lee, about colorism in their family, the Black community, and society.Find us at:iTunes - Click Here Google Play - Click HereSpotify - Click HereArticles:Colorism Is The Conversation We Should All Be HavingColorism Healing I Colorism QuotesVideos:Eight Black Women Discuss the Politics of Skin ToneColorism: A [Youtuber's] Reaction

Being Voiced

Echoes Fam! We're growing!In May of 2019, Echoes Media co-produced Janelle's play #voiced. The play shared the stories of six high school seniors growing up in world caught between social justice and social media. The cast later joined us for an episode of Echoes on air! and shared that they often felt they didn't have a place to participate in conversations that could provide possible solutions to world concerns without their experiences being discounted.Because Echoes Media is about giving a platform to communities of people who often go unseen, that didn't sit too well with us. So, we're doing our best to fix it.Introducing Echoes' newest family member, @be_voiced. For the year, these four students will be sharing their point of view on world and societal issues on Instagram. You'll get to hear their feelings, learn what they face daily, and see how they're finding hope in places that may seem hopeless.Maybe, just maybe, we can learn something from them. We'll be keeping you updated here on the website; but for now, read about each of them below and follow them here on Instagram! Welcome to family, first class of @be_voiced! We're listening.~The EM TeamHey! My name is Jordan. I was a part of of the #voiced cast. I think that it’s so amazing that Janelle advocates so much for teens to speak their minds. I’m so excited that she’s giving us a platform to speak about what we think is important. I think it’s so important this day in age to be able to speak our minds about social issues. And before we can begin to yell, we need to be able to feel we can speak first. ❤️What’s up, Y’all! My name is Lauren Harrison, aka Shessy from the original #voiced cast. I’m super hyped and grateful for Janelle, our killer playwright, for this opportunity! Our goal with this account is to inspire change, and promote teenagers with the motivation to educate themselves, as well as the confidence to speak up! I look forward to hearing and learning from you guys! Lets get this conversation started !!! :)Hello hello everyone! My name is Emily Truelove (aka Hannah in #Voiced). I graduated from South Grand Prairie HS this past May and am now a Freshman at UT Arlington in the Musical Theatre program. I am so so so grateful to Janelle for all the incredible opportunities she has given us to express our perspectives on the world today!! I look forward to opening discussions with my fellow cast mates and all of you! Be sure to check out our #Voiced cast takeover of the Echoes Media podcast, link in bio!! ~TrueloveAye guys! I'm Armando Garza, I portrayed Emiliano in the orginal #voiced script. Janelle, our playwright, has given us this account to start open conversations and spread some attention and knowledge about the issues presented in the current world we live in and share each other's viewpoints. I'm excited to get these going!

Interracial and Intercultural Relationships

In this episode, Janelle and Chris talk to Jeff Burleson, Olivia de Guzman, Chris Ramirez, and Justin Willis about the views of interracial relationships and the fun of cultural exchange. They talk about personal experiences and the historical views of dating outside their race.Find us at:iTunes - Click Here Google Play - Click HereSpotify - Click HereArticles:Prejudice Toward RelationshipsStrengthening Interracial Relationships10 Things Interracial Couples Wished You'd Stop Asking ThemVideos:Couples Share the Happiness and Heartbreak of Interracial MarriageInterracial Couples: Our Stories

Get out of the car

Editor's note: This article was reposted with permission of the author from http://craigtalksteaching.blogspot.com. Click to find other great thoughts from this award-winning educator.On October 10, 2015, an incident occurred at the University of Missouri homecoming parade that made national news but somehow escaped my attention. A group of black students protesting systemic and overt racism dating back to 1839, when the university was built as a whites-only institution using slave labor, blocked a convertible in which the university’s president, Tim Wolfe, was riding. Wolfe remained in the car as the small group of protestors interrupted the parade to present a chronological series of examples of ongoing racial injustices at Mizzou, “not an indictment on white folks but. . .an indictment on white structures and white supremacy.” The mostly white crowd yelled at the protestors and chanted loudly as if to drown out what the protestors were saying. A number of white men and women attempted to move the protestors from the parade route and to form a human chain to block the protest and allow the president’s car to pass. All the while, President Wolfe remained in his red convertible, where he could clearly see and hear the protest. The protest ended 11 minutes after it began when several police officers intervened and asked the protestors to step aside. To simplify a complicated story, one of the activists involved in the protest, Jonathan Butler, began a hunger strike to protest the president’s lack of responsiveness to racist incidents, during the parade as well as when other complaints were reported. The hunger strike attracted media attention and put Mizzou in the spotlight. Nearly a month after the parade incident, Wolfe finally issued an apology for his silence during the parade. “My behavior seemed like I didn’t care,” the apology stated. “That was not my intention. I was caught off guard at that moment. Nevertheless, had I gotten out of the car to acknowledge the students and talk with them, perhaps we wouldn’t be where we are today.” Several days later, after a threatened strike by Mizzou football players calling for his resignation, Wolfe stepped down. Reading the news articles about this incident and watching video footage of the protest conjured up many emotions in me, but the part that keeps haunting me is the line in Wolfe’s apology: “[H]ad I gotten out of the car to acknowledge the students and talk with them, perhaps we wouldn’t be where we are today.” I wonder if enough educators today are “getting out of the car,” meeting diverse students where they are and letting them know they are heard, seen, and valued. I’m can’t say that every school is that racially charged or that most students of color have reached a similar brink of frustration. I do know that 80% of public school teachers in America are white, and that less than half of the 50 million students enrolled in public schools are white.For the rest of this essay, I’ll be talking mostly to the 80% of us who are white educators, but the rest of you are welcome to join me to make sure I’m not saying anything foolish. According to Beverly Daniel Tatum in Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?, a 2013 American Values Survey found that “75 percent of Whites have entirely White social networks, without any minority presence.” The same is not true about the homogeneity of other races’ social networks. Apparently, a lot of white people only hang out with other white people. It’s difficult to understand the way others perceive the world if we don’t get to know them. In order for me to understand the treatment others experience, I need to listen to those people and hear their stories. I need to shut up and quit my whitesplaining (ironic, since that’s what I’m doing right here. . . sorry) so that I can give others a voice. If I know who someone is, I am more likely to connect with them and others who share an identity with them. If a growing number of the students I see every day come from racial backgrounds different than mine, I face some potential challenges in connecting with those students. I imagine some of these students feel like the students at the University of Missouri felt: unseen, unheard, and wronged. I need to get out of the car, listen to them, and let them know that they are valued. So what’s a white person to do if they’re among the 75% who only socialize with other white people? I suggest figuring out how to bring some diversity into your social circle. It’s terribly awkward (and, really, just wrong) to collect friends of different races like you are hunting Pokémon, so please don’t go out into the world with a diversity checklist to complete. Consider volunteering in the community somewhere other than your place of worship (as those tend to remain largely segregated in America today), attending arts events (I love a good talkback after a theatre performance, though I usually listen a lot more than I talk), or finding a group, such as DFW’s Community Conversations, where people meet for the purpose of talking and listening to understand one another’s perspectives.Making connections like these requires some effort, and there’s no guarantee of success. A less risky way to “meet” some new people is through reading their stories. Take a look at your bookshelf. Was every book written by a white author? Maybe it’s time to step outside the usual to encounter some new literary voices. Some of my favorite reading experiences are ones in which I have allowed a person with a cultural identity unlike mine to tell me their story. As a college student on summer vacation reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X, I was uncomfortable, shocked, and moved as I experienced racism through Malcolm’s eyes and felt the source of his indignation. As an adult, digesting Ta-Nahesi Coates’s letter to his son, Between the World and Me, continued to stretch my thinking about race relations, cultural identity, and the struggles black Americans face that I seldom consider as a white male. Recently, I’ve read a number of young adult novels with non-white characters and authors, each of which has helped me grow in my understanding of multicultural perspectives. In Erika L. Sánchez’s I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, I felt the pains of growing up as a precocious Latina teen in inner-city Chicago. Getting to know Adib Khorram’s hilarious narrator in Darius the Great is Not Okay, who struggles with his half-Persian identity (and general teenage angst) as he travels to visit his mother’s family in Iran, provided some insight into cultural norms unlike my own. Reading Dear Martin (Nic Stone), On the Come Up (Angie Thomas), All-American Boys (Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely), and The Field Guide to the North American Teenager (Ben Philippe) gave me multiple perspectives on what it might be like to be a black teenager today. Understanding another cultural identity, that of transgender youth, is easier for me after reading Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart. The 57 Bus: The True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater helped me see two sides of an incident from the perspectives of two teens: a gender-fluid boy and his African-American classmate.Can I claim to be an expert on any of these cultures because I read a few books or met a few people? Of course not. Every individual’s cultural identity and life experiences are their own. Just as I can’t speak with authority about the experience of every middle-aged, white male in America, I certainly have no right to claim a full understanding of the experiences of a group I don’t belong to based on my own interactions, however extensive. But opening my mind and heart as I let others tell their stories develops my understanding and empathy. And, when I learn from listening that something in the system we (and by “we,” I mean people who look a lot like me) have built in our country is corrupt, unfair, or unjust, I can lift my voice along with their voice to do something about changing it. Fellow educators, I invite you to join me this summer in getting out of the car, meeting some new people (whether in real life or on the pages of books), and joining the conversation. Let others be heard, so that we can make more meaningful—more human—connections with our students, their parents, our colleagues, and all the other wonderful humans in this beautifully diverse country we live in.

Symbols and Slurs

In this episode, Janelle and Chris talk to Liz Nichols and Dylan Owen about the impact of symbols and words and how they are hijacked for both good and bad. They talk about the results of a survey sent out to the Echoes Fam as well as discuss the biggest American symbol, the American flag, and what it means to them.Find us at:iTunes - Click Here Google Play - Click HereSpotify - Click HereArticles:What three hated symbols used to mean before they were hijackedHow hate groups are hijacking medieval symbols while ignoring the fact behind themSlurs and Biased LanguageResources:Cultural competence: Why words matterA great do's and don'ts guide to apologizingArticles mentioned in the episode:This flag brought our nation back together

True Freedom Day

President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation was embattled in its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared “all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State … shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States … will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.” This proclamation changed the federal legal status of more than 3.5 million enslaved blacks. When I was growing up, I sincerely believed that when the Emancipation Proclamation was the day ALL slaves were free. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned that on June 19, 1865, Union general Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and issued General Order Number 3, which read, "The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” That was two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. Two and a half years of continued fighting and hundreds of thousands of blacks still enslaved. Growing up, my classroom textbooks proclaimed Lincoln’s Emancipation as the date signaling the end of slavery and little, or nothing that I can remember, on the impact of General Granger’s arrival on June 19th, the moment when emancipation finally reached those in the deepest parts of the former Confederacy.It wasn’t until 1980, over 100 years later, that Juneteenth became an official state holiday, through the efforts of Al Edwards, an African American State legislator. The successful passage of this bill marked Juneteenth as the first emancipation celebration granted official state recognition. This year, I was able to attend a Juneteenth celebration in Dallas. I’ve been interested in attending a Juneteenth celebration for years, but was worried that as a white person, I would be intruding on something — that it wasn’t my place. I didn’t want to encroach on someplace I didn’t belong, but when I got there, I was nothing but embraced. I heard an individual speak about why they are not surprised that Juneteenth isn’t recognized as a national holiday. While we have July 4th as “Independence Day,” that day does not truly reflect freedom for all. He explained that in a lot of ways, Juneteenth epitomizes that liberty, justice and freedom for all have always been delayed for black people. In the years after the civil war black people were subjected to lynching, the victims of Jim Crow laws and segregation. Still today blacks are disproportionally incarcerated, are subjected to discriminatory housing policies, and continue to be harassed with racial profiling and police brutality. These incidents make it clear that while progress has been made in black America’s 150 years out of slavery, extensive barriers are still utilized that continue to thwart progress. Another individual spoke about how blacks continue to play an active role in the fight for freedom and that idea of promoting freedom for blacks is and remains a constant struggle that requires vigilance and because of that it’s imperative to not forget the history of black emancipation. I heard one teenage girl say that she has never learned about Juneteenth in school, that she only knows about it from her own family tales and celebration. Another teenager told me that she only celebrates Juneteenth and doesn’t celebrate the 4th of July because it doesn’t represent the liberation and freedom of all races in America. She said that celebrating Juneteenth is a way to get back to her cultural center and celebrate our human rights milestone. She said ,“I have known nothing but freedom, but we’re not truly free if even one of us is erroneously chained.” The last speaker spoke about how she is dubious about how free blacks are even today — not only because of police brutality against black people, but because less obvious things like black girls being discouraged from rocking their natural hair. One of my closest friends summed it up like this to me: “For me, as a young queer black man living in a red state that has not done much to really push black history and its significance within this country — granted I feel like most of the country doesn't accept black history is American history unless you are black — it is extremely important because it is a part of my history. Juneteenth should be celebrated as much as it is acknowledged, but the problem for me is that I don't feel as if most Americans really know or understand what Juneteenth means or even what it is. It is a part of American history that marks a turning point for a people that were and are still segregated, stereotyped, belittled, and degraded for the color of their skin and not judged on the content of their character. To me Juneteenth doesn't mean much, because we still live in a world, in a country that places people and boxes, incarcerates them in cages, and locks people away from the resources that they need to survive. If we lived in a society that understood freedom marks progression instead of regression, then I believe we could and would celebrate Juneteenth as a national holiday. Unfortunately that isn't the world we live in, but I am hopeful that one day people will recognize the importance a black history and accept that it is the truest part of American history, and hopefully with that knowledge we will be able to celebrate not only Juneteenth, but all other aspects of things we as Americans choose to ignore.

Student Takeover!

The cast of #voiced takes their place center stage! Janelle and Chris talk to Johnny Camacho, Armando Garza, Lauren Harrison, Jordan Higgins, and Emily Truelove about some of the experiences high school students are having with social justice movements and what it was like playing roles that dealt with social justice in a high school setting. Find us at:iTunes - Click Here Google Play - Click HereSpotify - Click HereResourcesStudent Activism Resource CenterArticlesStudent Activism - Harvard Ed. MagazineHigh school students of color are protesting racism and inequality - The VoxKids don't know about the Holocaust because schools are preoccupied with social justice - Washington ExaminerStudent Activism in School - Getting your voice heard

Ilhan Omar's Path

On November 8th, 2018, the state of Minnesota welcomed Ilhan Omar as one of the first Muslim women to become congresswoman. This was not commonplace nor was it anticipated. If you are familiar with the current state of affairs in United States government, then you, too, would want to know about this Somali woman who is representing the people of Minnesota. In order to understand what seems as an emergence into government, it is only right to take a step back and become acquainted with her history. It is through revisiting history that we are reminded of the resilience of individuals and ultimately the power of their story. Ilhan Omar was born in Somalia. At that time, her nation had already been plagued with coups to overthrow the government, distribution conflicts of resources among clans, and lack of representative leadership for its people. Similar to the infamous period of apartheid in South Africa, clans would fight over resources that were distributed to African groups and this ultimately led to violence throughout the nation. Consequently, the violence and unstable government forced Ilhan and her family to flee when she was a child and sought asylum in the United States. As refugees, she and her family had to undergo a rigorous and often times discriminatory process of becoming citizens of the United States to ultimately build a home in a foreign land. I say discriminatory because there have been reservations and apprehension towards engaging with and welcoming those who are not only darker than you, but also speak a different native tongue for the past decade in the States. The hatred of the other is only irritated even more when that native tongue is considered to be the language of a stereotypical “terrorist”. Although these labels of a Muslim woman such as Ilhan Omar are flat out wrong and misleading, we must remind ourselves that hatred does not thrive off of logic and understanding. She did not create this false narrative of her people, but she did have to acknowledge how this would affect her well-being stateside. Her livelihood depended on it. Thankfully, she recognized that she was not alone in realizing this truth. It is believed that what drew her to Minnesota was because of the significant Somali community. As a reader, we are all familiar with the xenophobic questions and comments that foreigners may receive. “You don’t belong here!” “Go back to your country.” “This is America. We speak English here!” “What is that you’re wearing?” These are some of the countless scathing remarks that she and her people may hear. It is the idea that America is reserved for only a specific group of people when in fact this land was occupied before. What amazes me about her life stateside is the intentionality in which she came to Minnesota. Initially, a newcomer is full of hope especially when entering a new situation, but what happens when others in your community begin to lose that sentiment? There’s also something to be said about someone who becomes the first of their kind to be a part of a predominantly white, male-dominated institution. One would have to ask about what the changes that would take place as a result of working with someone who does not share your gender, race, or faith. In Michael Eric Dyson’s Tears We Cannot Stop, he recounts the early days of attending Emory University as a black student. At that time, it had been predominantly white. It was his presence and academic intelligence that caused his white counterparts to realize, for the first time in some cases, that there was no need to label or give credence to others based on ethnicity because everyone’s ethnicity was the same until Dyson entered the building. This noticing is also prevalent when it comes to welcoming Congresswoman Ilhan Omar into office. Some may notice the difference in the fact that they may mispronounce her name. Some may notice the difference by her history or ethnicity. Some may even notice the difference by their interaction with her. What remains the same is the nation in which she represents. She, among, many other exceptional women, have become the result of what happens when the American people join together, exercise their right to vote, and allow all voices to be heard. Her campaign and victory reignited the said hope in her community. And here we are. All eyes on her. While learning about her background, it would not be farfetched to declare that she was built for such a time as this. Civil war completely shook her foundation. Immigration in the United States also came with its own hardships. And now she is operating as one of the first Islamic women in Congress to bring hope and opportunity to not only the Somali community, but every resident of Minnesota. I believe that the people have found her to be a relevant leader. Relevant in a sense that she understands the plight of the American people because she is a living witness to holding on to hope while facing adversity. Her new role as Congresswoman reminds me of the works of Naomi Alderman’s The Power simply because there has been an undeniable shift in the power structure of congress. Ilhan Omar and other successful women have fearlessly stepped up and boldly declared that they would serve as the people’s leader without boasting or bragging. Becoming a congresswoman might be a daunting idea to others. Fortunately, Ilhan Omar has a track record of dealing with new situations, learning a new language, living in a new country, and ultimately gaining the trust of the Minnesotan people to fight for a new hope.

Shatter the Silence

In this episode, Janelle and Chris talk about their first red carpet experience and the film Shatter the Silence by former on air! guest host, Cheryl Allison. The film discussescontinuing the conversation about the #metoo and #timesup movement and using grassroots movements to spread awareness.Find us at:iTunes - Click Here Google Play - Click HereSpotify - Click HereFilm website:www.shatterthesilencefilm.comWebsites mentioned on air:http://hurtvoices.blogspot.comSexual Awareness for TeensEpisode Source Articles:Texas has over 2000 untested rape kitsLawmakers, Advocates still pushing fix Texas' rape kit backlogArticlesLocal students talk about "Me Too" movement on filmHelpful Websites:National Sexual Assualt HotlineNational Sexual Violence Resource Center

LGBTQ (+) Christianity

In this episode, Janelle and Chris are joined by Trish Bernard, Lauren Neaves, and Christian Watkins as they talk about the LGBTQ+ Community and its relationship with Christianity. They share their experiences, how they maintain their faith, and how to have conversations about the topic.Find us at:iTunes - Click Here Google Play - Click HereSpotify - Click HereArticleshttps://www.hrc.org/resources/faith-positionshttp://www.revelandriot.com/resources/religion/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/lgbt-muslims-christians-jews-stonewall- beliefs-god-faith-role-models-lifestyle-gay-lesbians-trans-a7666846.htmlArticles on Christian Church Websites2019 General Conference passes Traditional PlanFirst Presidency Shares Messages from General Conference Leadership SessionHelpful Websiteswww.churchclarity.comBooksThe Handbook: A Quick Conversation Guide to what the Bible Does Not Say About Homosexuality