Susie Bille recommends Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think about Race and Identity.
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
This book contains results of a project asking people to use only six words to describe their experience of race and identity in America. Swinging into celebrations for our nation’s birthday, let us reflect on both our successes and failures when it comes to America’s democracy. We are a nation of immigrants, and even our local community is constantly evolving.
Can you hear everyone’s voice?
My mother was a fierce advocate for the United States, celebrating July 4th with intensity and purpose. Mom’s parents were immigrants, coming to the United States as teenagers from Poland and Switzerland. In the 1940s, they tried to remove their Germanic accent so they would be accepted. Mom’s best friend was a neighbor boy who became the first Black editor of The Oregonian, the largest state newspaper. She worked hard to instill in us a welcoming and positive attitude towards those of other cultures, languages, abilities, and colors. We welcomed an Ethiopian graduate student to Thanksgiving, my sister married a Black man, and I spent one afternoon each week as a teenager at the State Hospital, taking children with varied abilities ‘out for air’. This was my normal.
‘Normal Americans’ candid descriptions of race and identity are both fascinating and frightening. I found the “Coins in the Couch” chapter particularly riveting as it details experiences of people at the Minidoka Relocation Center. My niece looks Asian, so these stories hit close to home.
Celebrating our democracy must include personal efforts to look for common ground. This book gives you a chance to see others as they see themselves, through their own experiences, and realize why their opinion is so different from yours. Be brave! Take a few moments to reflect on how you choose to interact with people who think, act, and look different.
