Down With Brown

Holding on to hope

downwithbrownblog

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 24: Womens March co-president Tamika Mallory (at microphones) and Women's March on Washington creator Bob Bland (2nd-R) address a rally against the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh in front of the court September 24, 2018 in Washington, DC. Hundreds of people from half a dozen progressive organizations, including students from Yale University Law School, protested on Capitol Hill for a #BelieveSurvivors Walkout against Judge Kavanaugh, who has been accused by at least two women of sexual assault. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Advertisements

Image source

Monday, 10 AM. Text from Adriana to Anita: “OMG I’m exhausted already. I hate this world.”

It’s been a tough week, y’all. There are the ongoing worries about policies and practices that negatively impact people and communities we love and on top of it, there’s been the onslaught of discussions about sexual assault and harassment brought on by the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings.

In light of that, we thought it might be good–maybe mostly for us!–to remember what makes us hopeful even in trying times.

  1. Our students. We know it’s perhaps a corny thing to say but we really do mean it when we tell people who ask us about our jobs that our favorite aspect are our students. We appreciate the energy, the questions, the skepticism, and the joy that our students bring to our classrooms. We don’t meant to say that we walk out of every class session feeling great about ourselves or our teaching, but in general, our students make our days and lives better. They give us hope. This is true for Carleton students we’ve taught and for the high school students we’ve taught in various summer programs on campus (Anita, for example, has taught for the awesome CLAE program for the past few years).
  2. Each other
  3. Our amazing community of friends who share our rage and our joys
  4. Our podcast buddies, Todd and Crystal
  5. Stories of resistance. For example, this interview with Dr. Barbara Ransby who organized a group of 1600 Black feminists to write a letter of support for Anita Hill…and she did that in a time without the internet!! The group had to organize themselves quickly without email or Twitter or Facebook. And now, “The Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign“, in support of Futures Without Violence, is leading a campaign for 1,600 MALE  signatories that took out a full-page ad in the New York Times this Monday in support of Prof. Anita Hill and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.” (Good for the men, but it’s way easier now with the internet. Just sayin’.)
  6. Using our bodies in intentional and joyful ways: yoga, dancing, running, and even curling (well, those last two items are Adriana’s thing).  
  7. Watching silly videos on social media, like this one and this one

 

Advertisements

Advertisements