Yelling at the CDC (again), Betty White, and Racial Justice
Welcome to the first edition of Graysonology! Let’s crack into it.
The CDC
Today’s #GiveUsThisDayOurDailyThread rant about the CDC comes to you courtesy of a CNN article that rightly paints the CDC as out of touch… and also puts a whole lot of bullshittery into the world.
Betty White
Today would’ve been Betty White’s 100th birthday. The star passed away a couple of weeks ago, nearly a week after having a stroke. Her last words were “Allen,” calling out to her late husband Allen Ludden. Ludden died in 1981, meaning Betty lived another 40 years without him. He’s buried in his hometown of Mineral Point, Wisconsin. While Betty’s hometown of Oak Park, Illinois, isn’t too far away, I hope she gets to be laid to rest next to Allen.
Tons of folks are donating time and money today in Betty’s name, taking part in an unofficial #BettyWhiteChallenge to help animals. I’ve donated to the Morris Animal Foundation, where Betty volunteered from 1971-2013. Join me?
“I’ve loved all animals my entire life, and it breaks my heart to see them suffer. I feel fortunate to have been involved in improving animal health … and I was honored that Morris Animal Foundation would dedicate this special fund in my name.”
Betty was no stranger to racial justice work, either.
In 1954, Ms. White was pressured to replace Mr. [Arthur] Duncan, a dancer who went on to receive accolades for his performances on the Lawrence Welk show. Her reply to producers who wanted to replace him? “He stays,” she announced, standing up on behalf of Mr. Duncan and other Black dancers.
However, in retaliation for her insistence that the world “live with it,” The Betty White Show was canceled later that year. Meanwhile, Ms. White and Mr. Duncan remained friendly, and eventually reunited in 2018 for a surprise TV revival of her show.
Duncan later went on to tour with Bob Hope’s USO troupe, the first Black person to do so. Following the war, he was on the Lawrence Welk show from 1964 until 1982! He’s still alive and dancing day, and was inducted into the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame in 2020.
Speaking of racial justice - seeing as it is Martin Luther King Jr. day, I wanted to take a moment to highlight some amazing racial justice resources.
On MLK Jr.
The Part About MLK White People Don’t Like to Talk About by Zenobia Jeffries Warfield for YES! Magazine
Don’t ask what Martin Luther King Jr. would do today and then ignore his real message by Fabiola Cineas for Vox
The Gentrification Of MLK: How America Intentionally Misrepresents Our Radical Civil Rights Leader by Candice Benbow for Essence
Martin Luther King Jr. Did Not Dream About Banning Critical Race Theory by Joshua Adams for Colorlines
Martin Luther King Jr.'s true, radical legacy is being whitewashed by people looking for easy absolution by Kaitlin Byrd for NBC News
Articles
Study Reveals Racial and Demographic Disparities in Clinical Trials by Taneasha White for VeryWell
The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates for The Atlantic (paywall removed)
Who Gets to Be Afraid in America? by Ibram X. Kendi for The Atlantic (paywall removed)
'You are not listening to me': Black women on pain and implicit bias in medicine by Vidya Rao for Today
On Allyship
4 Things Not To Do When Your Friend Calls You Out by Stephanie Ambroise for Everyday Feminism
4 Ways Sick and Disabled White Folks Can Show Up for Anti-Racism by Katie Tastrom for The Body Is Not An Apology
9 Phrases Allies Can Say When Called Out Instead of Getting Defensive by Sam Dylan Finch for Everyday Feminism
Acknowledging Your Own Racism by Krystal Jagoo for VeryWell
Ally Etiquette 101: Never Feel Entitled to Anything by Philippe Leonard Fradet for The Body Is Not An Apology
Ally Etiquette 102: Using Privilege as an Ally by Philippe Leonard Fradet for The Body Is Not An Apology
Calling In: A Quick Guide on When and How by Sian Ferguson for Everyday Feminism
From White Racist to White Anti-Racist: The Life-long Journey by Tema Okun for dRworks (pdf)
Getting Called Out: How to Apologize by Chescaleigh (video)
How Do We Hold Each Other Accountable When We Mess Up? by Bianca I Laureano
How to Fight Racism Through Inner Work by Jill Suttie for Greater Good Magazine
How to Stop the Racist in You by Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton and Jeremy Adam Smith for Greater Good Magazine
If You Want To Be Anti-Racist, This Non-Optical Allyship Guide Is Required Reading by Mirelle Cassandra Harper
Not Easy, Still Worth It: 4 Strategies for White People to Address a Racist Relative’s Racism by Ginger Stickney for The Body Is Not An Apology
On Moving the Ego Out of Allyship: Doing the Work Even When No One Commends You by Myriad Works for The Body Is Not An Apology
Opportunities for White People in the Fight for Racial Justice
Racism Is Not a Mental Illness by Jeremy Adam Smith for Greater Good Magazine
Racism, Whiteness, and Burnout in Antiracism Movements: How White Racial Justice Activists Elevate Burnout in Racial Justice Activists of Color in the United States by Paul C Gorski and Noura Erakat (pdf)
Recognizing When We Get It Wrong and Forgiving Ourselves Afterward by A.X. Ruiz for The Body Is Not An Apology
The Never-ending Path to Being Anti-racist by a White Trans Woman (8 Actions You Can Take to Fight Racism) by Bellamy Brooks for the Transgender Equality Network
The Work Is Not The Workshop: Talking and Doing, Visibility and Accountability in the White Anti-Racist Community by Catherine Jones for Colours of Resistance
We’re All Problematic — Here’s How to Work Through the Issues We Perpetuate by Lin Kaatz Chary for The Body Is Not An Apology
When Helping Turns Into Hovering: 6 Times Being an ‘Ally’ Can Make Things Worse by Palmira Muniz for The Body Is Not An Apology
My Favorite Racial Justice Resources
Project Lets is an amazing organization that fights for disability justice. They had an amazing presentation early on in the pandemic about how to sustainably fight for racial justice when you’re part of the disability community. You can register here for a copy of the webinar “Solidarity Is A Practice: Anti-Racist Work For *MMIND (Mad, Mentally Ill, Neurodivergent, Disabled) Folks: A Growth-oriented, Non-judgmental Space To Move Out Of Our Comfort Zones + Build Critical Skills For Engaging In Anti-Racist Work” as well as access to their resources.
Racial Equity Tools has a library of over 3000 resources
The Equal Justice Initiative has a Racial Injustice Calendar. Available online, via a daily email, and as a real IRL calendar.
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh
White Supremacy: An Overview (pdf) by Tanenbaum: Combating Religious Prejudice
Podcasts
Be Antiracist with Ibram X. Kendi
Stepping Into Truth: Conversations on Social Justice and How We Get Free
Documentaries + Videos
Books
An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz
Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine by Damon Tweedy
Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition by Cedric J. Robinson
Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings That Formed the Movement, edited by Kimberle Crenshaw, Neil Gotanda, Gary Peller, & Kendall Thomas
Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America’s Heartland by Jonathan M. Metzl
Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper
Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-First Century by Dorothy Roberts
How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
I Am Not Your Negro by James Baldwin
Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color by Andrea Ritchie and Angela Y. Davis
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America by James Forman, Jr.
Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad
Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present by Harriet A. Washington
Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology by Deirdre Cooper Owens
Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing by Joy a Degruy
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley
The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America by Khalil Gibran Muhammad
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman
Waiting ‘Til The Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America by Peniel E. Joseph
West Indian Immigrants: A Black Success Story? by Suzanne Model
More books can be found on my Goodreads lists.
Until next time,
Grayson