LOVE with your EYES

In this episode, I continue to share my initial earliest recollections of Jim Crowism in segregated Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I recall the moments and events that inculcated me in the racist belief and practice that because my race was different, I would be treated differently.

Looking Back

Tonight at Outspoken Toastmasters we heard Dr. Anthony Harris deliver a powerful & poignant speech about RACE in our country, both historically & currently. You can listen to a recording of that speech on his podcast.

a Happy Hour

Our toastmaster meetings are followed by an optional happy hour, where we support, grow & learn from each other. Before COVID stripped us of our in person meeting location, we would reconvene at Grub Burger. In the COVID environment, we simply remain on the Zoom call afterwards. We departed from the typical lighthearted banter this evening.

Our members certainly embodied the outspoken nature, which our name suggests. We had the unique opportunity to have an open & honest discussion with Dr. Harris and get more insight into his perspective about race in America. There wasn’t near as much happy in the discussion tonight, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

open & honest discussions

Race isn’t an easy thing to talk about. While at times it got heated, each member danced around the elephant in the room with passion and the utmost respect. I appreciated how each participant was unabashedly honest about his/her perspective and felt comfortable sharing personal anecdotes.

listen to truly understand

I would love to see more of these difficult & lively discussions happen (in person or virtually via videoconferencing)—with the intent of truly understanding one another. The more comfortable we are having open & honest discussions with one another, the faster our country can heal and we can find solutions instead of just the problems.

I’d like to share two things that stood out to me tonight: 

(1) listen carefully to what you’ve heard

analyze it, distill it down, and repeat it/confirm what we’ve heard before responding with your own perspective; and

(2) ‘color blindness’ is a myth

we need to acknowledge the differences we see with our eyes and make a conscious effort to avoid making value judgements based upon them. 

It’s important for us all to see with our eyes and do our best to understand the plights of those less privileged among us—LOVE with your MIND.