The Struggle of Radical Performance

Recently, I saw a play I had been looking forward to for a couple months now. The play centered on race, particularly being a young black male, utilizing iconography that is haunting us all as of late: hoodies, skittles, sweet tea. A live feed video from overhead the actors is projected on the scrim behind them, tapping into the idea of surveillance, incarceration. All the pieces were there, even the actual words were there, but something felt amiss.

I was accompanied to the play by one of the artists I am working with currently. We’ve only known each other for two weeks now and in a purely professional role. Hardly something I would say is a friendship, and definitely not a comfortable enough relationship to be having intense conversations regarding race and privilege. I am a white cis-passing femme, and he is a young black man. Sitting next to each other in the theater felt like the gift of discomfort, as I thought about he was experiencing what was transpiring on stage (and subsequently in the world) so different than myself. The conversation that took place on our drive home was far meatier than anything we saw on the stage.

There was an unfortunate air that the predominately white cast (notably odd for a play about race) was ashamed and uncomfortable with their participation in the production. When discussing the title, which is nondescript, with a more pointedly race-centric subtitle, the white cast explained they only share the title and omit the subtitle when telling friends about the show, “because they want them to come.” Personally, I feel this shame just reinforces the discomfort in talking about race further. This air of perpetuating the issues the play was intending to overcome was pervasive throughout. Unfortunately, I think a significant portion of art (and even social justice work at large) can fall into this trap.

My companion described the performance as a beautiful teacup that was empty, in a moment when we are parched and desperate for something to quench our unmistakable thirst for radical content, conversation, and action. The subtitle of the show insinuated that the play was in existence black folks, but it was actually yet another translation device for white people. From this, my companion told me how frustrating it is to spend a lifetime attending plays, seeing shows, experiencing life, that is all translated, produced, and packaged for a white, privileged audience. He wondered why he had come, why he sat in that audience, as this again was something not designed for him. It felt like another false attempt at creating something that breaks from this pattern, but rather just continues to perpetuate the existing hegemonic structure.

I am particularly interested in these ideas, as I am interested in how art can influence us and change the world. I recently read a comment from Vijay Prashad that I have been churning over in my head, “Art cannot by itself change the world. It can provide insight and perhaps an epiphany–but it does not change the relations of power in the world.” Art, and particularly theater/performance—as it is humans physically in front of you telling a story that taps into your brain, sympathetic nervous system, your empathy, to catalyze this potential for an epiphany–is powerful when leveraged appropriately. But it can become contrived quickly if the creator(s) fall into the ever-present fear of disapproval, a desire to have approval from the mainstream, to make money, to show success as we understand it today.

Although considerably disappointing, I am appreciative of the play because it did start a conversation and it did move forward thoughts I have about art and its ability to be radical. Unfortunately, I don’t think it does so in a way that the creators intended or had hoped. It came now out of its success at catalyzing this conversation, but its failure.

 

-anza jarschke

Not Your Mascot

My hometown has a very racist history. Saying history is misleading, it makes it sounds like something of the past. Although nearly 50% of the population (65% of students) are people of color (mostly Latinx folks working in the vineyards and hospitality industry), Napa, California, embraces a white identity. We were a Sundown Town, and locals will be quick to tell you NAPA could stand for “No African People Allowed.” Although, in truth, Napa comes from a native word, although it is debatable what that word is.

Along the Napa Riverfront of downtown, there is a mosaic mural depicting the local history and paying homage to local flora, fauna, and culture. Folks are working on railroads, in the vineyards, trout jumping out of the river, but most notably are the white cloaked figures of KKK members burning a cross in the upper right corner. And don’t forget that Napa High’s mascot is the Indian.

Personally, I went to New Technology High School where our mascot was the ever-cute and friendly penguin. However, my high school was small so to stay in band I went down the street to Napa High. On the back of our marching band uniforms were detailed embroideries of a Native American chief in stereotypical wonder. Our drum major would don what can only be called a costumed feather headdress and lead the hundreds of us marching with face paint to a football game where we had a cheer song known as the “Tomahawk Chop.” I’m disappointed to say at the time I participated right alongside everyone else, without the slightest clue this was problematic. In the years since I’ve learned about how culturally appropriative and offensive/damaging/harmful/racist/etcetera/etcetera this all is. However, Napa as a whole hadn’t yet learned better.

There have been efforts to change the mascot of Napa High to no longer be the Indians, and to adjust the depiction of Redwood Middle School’s mascot of “The Warrior” to not embrace stereotypical pieces of native culture. However, efforts were heated debates and ultimately unsuccessful. The same arguments we’ve heard over and over again were spouted off for years. Things about school pride, and respect for native folks, and inadequate resources to make the change.

Last Saturday, I attended a panel on local Ohlone and Miwok History Past and Future in Walnut Creek (about an hour from Napa). It was a fantastic event with four speakers from different tribes and regions of the area talking about their thriving local communities and what we could do to support them. At the end of the meeting, a pitch was made to join them the following Thursday at the Napa School Board meeting where there would be a vote on the mascot changes.

I was unable to attend but checked the local Napa newspaper first thing this morning to find myself in utter surprise: the school board had voted unanimously to abolish the mascot of Indian from Napa High and change the depiction of the Redwood Middle School Warriors. Both schools were given three years to phase out all aspects of the existing logos. I was personally disappointed to read one of the leading arguments came from the marching band, arguing the cost of replacing the wool uniforms was too inconveniencing. As if there would ever be a budget to support replacing hundreds of uniforms that cost nearly $1000 each….or that something as frivolous as a uniform and its subsequent cost should stop us from making the correct choice of beginning to right our wrongs.

[Image: two marching band uniforms with an Indian logo on the chest are hanging on chairs. Between them are two shakos with plumes. Audience members sit behind. One uniform has a handwritten sign that says “3 years to replace/5 years old/20 year life space” the other has a handwritten price tag that says “$1000.00”. Source: Napa Register]

Although I was not part of the organizing or even the movement that made this possible, I am proud of the work that was done. Truthfully, I didn’t expect to see this change in Napa at this point. I expected it to take longer, I expected more vitriol to be promulgated around before something could change. However, this does give me hope for other organizing to take place in Napa that it so desperately needs. It’s a tiny step, but it is a step nonetheless, and we must celebrate our wins–even when they are small.

[Featured image: Napa High Indian logo with an opaque overlay of text that says “Not Your Mascot”. Source: Joshua Bronk, Change.org]

 

-anza jarschke

Mississippi: Are you SURE you are registered to Vote?

You need to check to be sure you are registered to vote and here is why.

A few months ago, I received a postcard in the mail from the Circuit Clerk’s office informing me that I needed to update my address. I set the card aside thinking I would get to it later. Later came and went, and I forgot to follow through on their request. I shared this information with a friend who knows a lot about voting in the state. She shared with me that I should check my status because there is chance I was put on the inactive list and could be purged from the voter rolls. This meant that come this November, I could go to vote and be told I was not registered. I thought to myself, “Surely, I wouldn’t be removed from the voter rolls, I have voted in every election at my current address for the last ten years, and I had been put on notice for jury duty at least twice during that time.” As it turns out, my voter status was changed to inactive, and I now need to register to vote all over again.

 

I took her advice and checked my status on the Secretary of State website. I entered my county, name, date of birth, and last 4 digits of my social security number into the fields. “No match found for credentials provided” flashed across the screen. After being registered to vote at the same address in Jackson County and voting in every election for the last 10 years, my voter registration card could not be found. It was now time to call the Circuit Clerk’s office.

 

I thought to myself, “Surely, I wouldn’t be removed from the voter rolls, I have voted in every election at my current address for the last ten years, and I had been put on notice for jury duty at least twice during that time.” As it turns out, my voter status was changed to inactive, and I now need to register to vote all over again.

 

I googled Jackson County Circuit Clerk’s Office and called the number. I asked the person that answered the phone about checking my voter status. Within minutes, the person confirmed that I was placed inactive last year because I was once registered to vote in Harrison County in 2004. I was told I would need to register to vote again and that they could mail me a form that I would have to complete and return.

 

Confused about how this could happen, I turned to my same friend. I knew that I could be purged from the voter rolls if I had not voted in the last two federal elections, but this was not the case for me. She shared with me that Mississippi and 28 other states participate in an interstate cross-check program to assist our county election officials in enforcing state and federal law prohibiting voting by non-residents. Apparently, Mississippi does the same cross-check within our state as well to ensure non-residents are not voting illegally in a different county. Jackson County must have recently cross-checked their voter rolls. Since Harrison County had not purged me from their list yet, my voter application was flagged by Jackson County. And since I did not respond to the Circuit Clerk’s notice, my voter registration status was changed from active to inactive.

 

Don’t wait until election day to find out that you are not registered to vote. Check your voter status today.

 

The key take away. Check your voter registration status. You should do so whether you have received a notice or not. And you should especially do it if it has been awhile since you voted. After speaking with a few folks about what happened, I learned that others also had their voter status changed. Unfortunately for them they discovered it on election day when it was too late.

 

You can check your status online on Y’all Vote page of the Secretary of State’s office or call your local Municipal or Circuit Clerk’s office. It takes only a few minutes and will help you avoid any trouble on election day.

One-to-One with Davida Scott: Case Manager and Community Leader

Today I did a one-to-one with Davida Scott, a 27-year-old Case Manager with Youth Enrichment Services (Y.E.S.) in the city of Hayward, CA. She has been working as a case manager for almost a decade, and she has quite a story to tell. Through our discussion I asked about what communities she identifies with, and what issues she feels need to be addressed. As the daughter of an undocumented immigrant and raised in a low-income family, Davida has a heart for kids who have been placed on juvenile probation, are low-income, or in foster care and are at risk. Davida’s brother was a first-generation college graduate, and as someone who, at 18, had to work three jobs, seven days a week in order to make ends meet, Davida understands the reality that these high school students face. In order to survive, they are not able to pursue further education after high school. Just graduating high school or getting their GED can be a huge hurdle. Without access to stable, living wage jobs, these children will be forever stuck in the cycle of poverty and inevitably incarceration (for those already on probation). Through the county, Davida works towards the goals of either successfully placing each kid in a vocational training program, or a job that can lead to a stable income in the future. As Davida talked me through her role, and how she professionally approaches these issues, she spoke with great passion and the emotion was audible in her voice.

Davida has been working on policy to create pathways for these students to get jobs and internships/mentors through the businesses and organizations within the city. She is currently working with the Hayward CHP office, Fire Department, city manager’s office, and many other organizations to build bridges and opportunities for youth with organizations who are already motivated to help, but don’t yet have contact with this at-risk population. She feels that if these students are targeted young enough, they can break the cycle and show them what is possible; if they don’t know what is out there, how can they know what their dreams are?

Y.E.S. has partnered with the local state university to provide jobs, internships, and resources for students. Davida recently presented at Hayward City Council requesting funds be provided to extend youth internships to the Hayward Maintenance and Service Department. Y.E.S. was granted $20,000 and now there are even more opportunities for these students.

Davida’s goal is to create a partnership model that is sustainable and repeatable. By building pathways for students to find placements within their own cities at business and organizations that can give them work experience, security, and a plan for the future, cities can break the cycle these children were born into. Davida hopes to share this model with other cities, and eventually implement it state-wide.

Talking with Davida was extremely inspirational and I gained a lot of insight into this arena of work. I see Davida as an established community leader, and I am privileged to have been able to learn from her about her methods of creating change within the community through county programs.

Hillary Smith

Works Cited

Youth Enrichment Services. (n.d.). Retrieved March 04, 2018, from https://www.yeseastbay.org/

Whiteness at Work

Today I attended a workshop entitled, “Whiteness at Work,” for white people who want to improve communications and relationships across difference at work. It was an interesting combination of addressing both restorative justice topics and confronting white guilt/shame/et cetera amongst peers.

This was only my second time attending a white-affinity group, and I’m interested in how they navigate and hold space differently than other groups while trying to process such sticky, and often painful, situations. Currently, the thing I am most interested in about these spaces is the radical honesty many of the participants, and especially the facilitators, bring. I find it very refreshing to hear folks say, “here is a time that I really messed up” and self-implicating themselves, rather than hearing the more common avoidance or defensiveness that often occurs in the moment.

Discussing deeply amongst our peers the implicit biases and internalized racism that being white has socialized us to hold and experience is something I hope can lead to changed behaviors and societal shifts. We know it isn’t the role of people of color to have these conversations; it’s up to us to hold each other accountable and work on processing the way we interact with others in the world.

No five hour workshop is going to fix the issues of our world, or even truly scratch the surface of our own problematic ways of operating in and navigating the world. It feels as if once we walked out of the room, we were right back into the thick of it. Nothing having changed from when we first entered. However, I know that without these conversations, without these moments of processing and reflecting, the work that must take place will be much harder to engage in authentically, if it all.

 

-anza jarschke