The Other Tennessee. “I never knew anybody who really got active because of guilt. Everybody white that I know that’s got involved in this struggle got into it because they glimpsed a different world to live in… Human beings have always been able to envision something better… All through history there have been people who have envisioned something better in the most dire situations. That’s what you want to be a part of.” Anne Braden, quoted in the Facebook page, “The Other Tennessee,” (https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Other-Tennessee/464461963762234).
The Other Tennessee is part of a regional online campaign of Southerners stepping up against hate and racism in response to both Black liberation movement on the move and the presence of hate groups in our towns and cities. We’re building on and expanding the white anti-racist tradition in the South. See the coalition’s full statement at http://surjnashville.org/get-involved/the-other-tennessee/”
Serena Williams. I asked how winning felt for her. I was imagining winning as a free space, one where the unconscious racist shenanigans of umpires, or the narratives about her body, her ‘‘unnatural’’ power, her perceived crassness no longer mattered. Unless racism destroyed the moment of winning so completely, as it did at Indian Wells, I thought it had to be the rare space free of all the stresses of black life. But Serena made it clear that she doesn’t desire to dissociate from her history and her culture. She understands that even when she’s focused only on winning, she is still representing. ‘‘I play for me,’’ Serena told me, ‘‘but I also play and represent something much greater than me. I embrace that. I love that. I want that. So ultimately, when I am out there on the court, I am playing for me.’’
Because just as important to me as her victories is her willingness to be an emotionally complete person while also being black. She wins, yes, but she also loses it. She jokes around, gets angry, is frustrated or joyous, and on and on. She is fearlessly on the side of Serena, in a culture that that has responded to living while black with death. — From The New York Times Magazine, August 25, 2015, “The Meaning of Serena Williams: On tennis and black excellence,” by Claudia Rankine.
— The Baltimore-Area Working Group on Racism usually meets 7 – 9 pm on the 2nd Sunday of the month in the Stony Run dining room. We consider issues around racial justice, share personal experiences, and plan and host special events. All are welcome to attend.