CHICO — A cry for social justice is resounding across the world. Chico saw four protests last week culminating in a City Plaza full of people of all colors with signs in their hands and tears in their eyes — all in response to the death of George Floyd.
The untimely death wrought emotional turmoil for black members of the community.
“I am devastated, shook, honestly terrified that our country’s continuing narrative on race is still one written in the blood of black bodies,” Dawn Frank, the chair of the Chico State Black Faculty & Staff Association said in an email to this newspaper.
“I feel a failure to lead because my heart is broken, my mind is spinning, I feel like I’m screaming into the wind and the collective pain voiced among the members of this group has brought me to my knees in surrender and prayer for peace of mind for my black friends and community,” she continued.
Frank and other members of the association are tending to the needs of black Chico State students during this time. They sent out a letter of support to students who identify as black and are organizing meetings with them via Zoom to help them process the world happenings.
“I mentor and advise many black students in our community who do not feel safe calling the police in the event of an emergency. This is a tragedy and a failure. I am angry and not at all surprised with the mass amounts of people who criticize various forms of protest from a place of ignorance, apathy, and denial of the real issues of systemic racism. I call upon these folks to ask better questions, do their homework on our history and do better,” she said.
Frank thinks about injustice toward black people throughout the day and goes to sleep without feeling like she’s found any solutions. She reassures her white family, friends and colleagues that she is OK to make them feel better, when she’s really hurting inside. She wants to offer solace to her black family, friends and colleagues, but feels she hasn’t succeeded in doing so.
“I am tired of the endless internal mental and emotional warfare raging inside of me and black folks I love in response to circumstances around where I feel I have little control,” she said.
Frank is also finding hope and encouragement during this time, especially from those mobilizing in the streets and on social media.
“I champion their passion and courage in the face of possible harm,” she said.
Janet Goodson, interim acting president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Butte County Local Chapter 1029 and Oroville city councilor, is also distraught.
“I feel numb, violated once again and angry, yet determined to be an instrumental entity in the process to eradicate, to pull down and root out systematic racism in our democracy that denies African Americans their constitutional rights to be treated with equality,” Goodson said in an email to this newspaper.
“I am very cognizant of the smiling faces that do show traces of the racism that lurks within. The world is watching and we as a people will not be able to exhale until justice flows like a mighty river,” she continued.
The Pageant Theater and The Bookstore are both providing resources for the public to better understand systematic racism.
“Black lives matter. The anguish and fury unleashed all across the country are rooted in centuries of dehumanization and death. This pattern must stop. We support the protesters who have taken to the streets to demand justice, and we share their hopes. We are committed to fighting systemic racism,” theater management wrote in a statement.
The Pageant movie theater is using its virtual cinema to highlight three documentaries about systemic inequity, including Tony Morrison’s “The Pieces I Am.” All can be viewed at pageantchico.com. The Pageant will donate its portion of the sales to support legal defense and bail funds nationwide throughout the summer.
The Bookstore at 118 Main St. has many relevant books in its back stock.
“We’ve been promoting those to people who want to do research on systematic racism in our country,” Muir Hughes, owner of the store said. “A ton of people are requesting material to get a better understanding of the discourse taking place.”
The books range from biographies to historical accounts of slavery in this country. They include “Slave Nation,” Twelve Million Black Voices” and a highly requested one, “Antiracist Baby,” a children’s book that hopes to help parents uproot racism in their households and ultimately society.
“There’s a lot of books on the subject, but we aren’t always prompted to be educated in our societal problems, especially if we aren’t seeing them on a day to day basis. It’s an opportunity for us to dig deeper in understanding,” Hughes said.
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June 12, 2020 at 06:06PM
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Local black leaders distraught by racism - Chico Enterprise-Record
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