Shalom (Hello in Hebrew)
Earlier this morning, I received the message below from a student who was in the last class I taught at ISA.
Hey Mr. Monteith,
I've been seeing a lot more racism in the past couple months, and it really angers me. To the point where I feel like I HAVE to do something. So I was wondering if you know of any movements I could get involved in or to start a local San Antonio branch of. If you did, that would be awesome! :)
Thanks,
My first reaction was to tackle his question on my own by doing a little on-line research and trying to recall which organizations in San Antonio dealt actively with racism. The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center came to mind and I found a few articles from YES! magazine, like the one linked below.
Everyday Conversations to Heal Racism by Roberto Vargas — YES! Magazine
That didn't really feel like enough in the way of a response, so I decided to give this blog a test drive and see if I could tap into the potential of social networking as a way of helping this student.
Please post any ideas or strategies you have found regarding productively dealing with racism. Or email them to me and I'll email them to him.
Shukran (Thank you in Arabic)
Monteith - there is much work being done in San Antonio and I asked my friends who worked there to dig up some info. So far, I can tell your student this: http://www.maldef.org/about/offices/southwest/ - MALDEF (legal aid and youth empowerment) for latino communities - SW office in SA. Also, I am familiar with a (churchy) urban ministry resource: http://www.doornetwork.org/ - awesome work. maybe one of those two organizations can provide helpful resources about race, empowerment and leadership. Looks like your student has a bright future in serving others and recognizing injustices! preach!
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