Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Sandy Alexandre (An MIT Community Vigil)”.
Sandy ALEXANDRE, My name is Sandy Alexandre.. I am a faculty member in the literature section here at MIT.. Thank you for being here.. I will begin my remarks.. There is a quote by Toni Morrison that I realize I trot out almost every time.
I’M asked to talk at MIT about a racist incident that has happened in the world or more locally here on campus.. This is the quote. “ The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction.. It keeps you from doing your work.. It keeps you explaining, over and over again your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language and you spend 20 years proving that you do.
Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly, so you have scientists working on the fact that it is. Somebody says you have. No art, so you dredge that up. Somebody says you have no kingdoms, so you dredge that up. None of this is necessary..
There will always be one more thing.” End quote.. I can see now why I liked this quote so much and why it worked so well for what I wanted to convey, particularly to students, which was basically please don’t let racism get in the way of what you’re here to do.. Please don’t let it drain the energy and use up the bandwidth.
You need to study, to take exams and to graduate.. Please don’t let it get to your head., Please don’t let it stunt the growth you are here to experience.. I can see how, as a teacher, I could endorse Morrison’s advice to stay focused., But to tell yourself that racism is a distraction is in effect a coping mechanism. If you’re black and can say that anti-black racism is a mere distraction, an annoying nuisance. I would venture to say that it’s not because it’s true. It’s because for now that’s what will get you through another day..
While I certainly wouldn’t want to grudge anyone, including myself, this coping mechanism, this handy mantra that racism is distraction the past and the present have proven time and time again that racism is not merely a thorn in a person’s side.. It’S also a suffocating knee on a person’s neck., To graduate from the notion that racism is a distraction is to enter into more advanced knowledge that racism is in fact, also a serial killer.. This is not sensationalism.. This is not hyperbole..
This is what MIT on any ordinary day would call hard data., Because we all know full well, or we at least, can very easily find out that racism has killed. Fred. Hampton Henry Dumas: Amadou, Diallo, Oscar Grant, Tamir Rice, Freddie, Gray, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner Philando, Castile, Atatiana, Jefferson, Breonna, Taylor, George Floyd, David McAtee and many more., And this is only a list of those killed from the racism of police brutality. Because in between distracting and serial-killing.
Wouldn’T you know racism still also finds time for robbing too.. It robs you of your peace of mind of your dignity, your health, your sleep, your sanity, economic opportunities, housing opportunities, educational opportunities and your ability to have recourse to any real justice in the world.. Is it any wonder that things have come to a head? Is it any wonder that black people are not so much angry as they have been angered? I don’t know who needs to hear this, but please understand that you effectively turn a serial killer into a personal henchman when you see it destroying communities of color and you sit idly by letting it continue on its killing spree.. Please understand that sicking in that serial killer on your neighbor for sport, or simply because you can will come back to bite you..
Indeed, as the past few days have made crystal clear. Racism is everybody’s problem. So let’s not blame the victims of racism. For saying enough is enough., Let’s blame racism for being so distracting that it de-prioritized a whole global pandemic.
— the gall.. Let’S blame racism for being so flagrantly murderous that it has absolutely no qualms about being caught on camera.. For far too long, many of us have been bearing witness to racism’s crimes. And for even longer than that, many of us have been feeling the brunt of its rampage all over the backs and necks of our communities..
I don’t know who needs to hear this question, but were you there when racism serial-killed black people, Sometimes it causes me to tremble tremble tremble.. Were you there when racism serial-killed black people, And if you were, then what did you do So? Yes, let us mourn the murder of black people, but let us also not allow racism to pigeonhole us as perpetual mourners to its perpetual atrocities., And the only way to do that is to stop it in its tracks by supporting people and organizations that affirm the full Range –, indeed, the full breadth, — of black lives and by undernutrition and starving white supremacy and its minions. That’s the way we fight. That’s the way we win.
And, in the meantime, to students and community members who are members of these persistently besieged communities. Please turn to the people who love you and who help you remember to breathe, to take a breather because they actually see you and wish you well. Their love of you. Matters..
Their love means the world. Their cheering you on and their loving up on. You means that the future we want might actually be not only possible but also sustainable.. Please know that.
I see you, I love you and that I am cheering you on too.. Thank you. .