White Station and the Dichotomy of Optional and Traditional Programs

Although White Station High School is predominantly made up of students of color with roughly 50% of the student body made up of African American students, leaving 30% of the student body being white students, these numbers do not reflect the optional program. Instead, most of the classes are predominantly white; on the other hand, traditional classrooms see a majority of black students. White Station, as a telling sample of education in Memphis, is highly segregated and divided based on socioeconomic status, and yet, no one addressed this major problem. Instead, students, teachers, and administrators perpetuate this hierarchical power structure. There is essentially very limited to no contact between the two different groups of students. Even the name of the honors program as “optional” constructs a power dynamic with the optional students being able to choose the program that they attend due to their extended amount of resources in comparison to the traditional students who get placed into their program due to a lack of resources for lower income households. The creation of this power structure leads me to wonder: what are traditional students being taught in terms of both education and behavior. From my own experience at White Station, authority figures, such as teachers and administrators, often feed optional students the rhetoric that they are supposed to be inherently “better” than the traditional students on both an academic level and a social level. There is an unmistakable difference in the demographics and socioeconomic backgrounds within students depending on the program they attend. It is apparent that traditional students more typically come from working class households, while optional students have middle class homes. In addition, social class and race often work in tandem with one another, which can also be seen in these classrooms as black students are the majority in traditional classrooms, but white students are the majority in optional classrooms. 

The current optional program system in place is overwhelmingly based on a meritocracy in which traditional students are under-resourced. Consequently, these disadvantages primarily target black and working-class students who are subjected to these programs in attempt to keep the capitalist structure of our country in place. William Henry Watkins asserts that this problem comes from a historical context that continues to exist today in his book The White Architects of Black Education:

While Blacks had the desire to uplift themselves, join the social mainstream of American life (Tyack, 1974), and break forever with the bondage of the past, they lacked the resources to achieve either education or their larger freedom (p. 22).

The argument that the education of black folks continues to be problematic rings true in the context of White Station, because black students who predominantly make up the traditional program are consistently slighted in terms of the quality of education they receive in comparison to optional students. 

Strickland Vs. Rye Seen vs. Unseen

On February 24^th, at the #IamMemphis event, Angela Rye hijacked the event to deliver a message to the nation, and basically call out the leaders of Memphis for not upholding their promises to the population of Memphis, and it really brings up the issue of the seen/unseen controversy that we have dedicated so much time to.

To provide some background, the event was originally intended to honor the Sanitation strike on 1968, however Rye, having briefly met with Civil Rights activists and advocates (including our own Dr McKinney), took it upon herself to inform the leadership of Memphis that they have failed to resolve many citywide issues that concern race including employment, economics, and education. It seems almost unbelievable that the issues which Rye mentions still exist 50 years after King was killed in Memphis, and yet, 50 years on, Memphis still faces the same issues as it did then. A good example of this is the unchanged poverty rates between the 1960s, and today in the 21^st century.

Responding to this outcry, Mayor Strickland seemed, in a way, ignorant to the comments that she had quite rightly made and instead questioned her authority to make those judgements considering she did not know what it was like to live in Memphis. This links in to the seen/unseen notion, as I feel like maybe Mayor Strickland simply doesn’t see all the inequalities that still exist in this city because he lives here, and perhaps it does take an outsider to see the injustices and inequalities that those seemingly in charge should see.

You would have hoped that these comments would have opened Strickland’s eyes to the wrong ships currently occurring in Memphis and perhaps instead of calling out Rye and trying to prove her wrong, Strickland should be taking her comments on board and, as Rye argues, should be upholding the promise that this city made to Martin Luther King Jr.

Rye’s outcry, although slightly stealing the stage from the commemoration of the sanitation workers, emphasises the ideal of what is seen and what is unseen, as it seems that the only people who are seeing the issues in Memphis are the ones either experiencing it, or the ones fighting against it; and truly, the people who the Memphis population really need to see these issues, are the ones who seemingly ignore its existence altogether and focus on other things.

 https://mlk50.com/only-way-to-honor-mlk-be-true-to-what-you-said-on-paper-98015782ca8d

https://mlk50.com/arye-a1a64e545c7e

US Civil Rights Trail

Coinciding with the 50^th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, the US Civil Rights Trail was unveiled this year. Historians compounded the collection of surviving landmarks from major civil rights events. Former National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis initiated the project, and after working with tourism directors from the South, released the make up of the Civil Rights trail. Self described as “a collection of churches, courthouses, schools, museums and other landmarks, primarily in the Southern states, where activists challenged segregation in the 1950s and 1960s to advance social justice” (Civil Rights Trail).

The committee decided to name 3 Memphis areas as part of the Trail; the first, and perhaps the most obvious choice, being the National Civil Rights Museum. Incorporating the Lorraine Motel, the site of Dr. King’s assassination as part of the landmark, the NCRM showcases a wide variety of aspects of the southern Civil Rights movement. The Mason Temple Church of God in Christ was chosen as the place where Dr. King gave his “Mountaintop’ speech the night before he died. Additionally, the Sanitation Workers strike was given a nod; Clayborn Temple became the headquarters for activists during the strike in 1968.

Having gone through the list of historic sites that this project has chosen to honor, I see a huge emphasis put on MLK. Nearly all of Georgia sites have to do with him, and rightfully so; his childhood home, his church and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site are all located in Atlanta. Two of the three sites in Memphis honor him. Many of the sites from other states mentioned King’s influence. This could be on purpose; the already present publicity surrounding the anniversary of his death will be incredibly helpful for this project. Focusing on one of the most notable leaders of the movement, specifically this year, would be a strategic move. However, this could reinforce the widespread idea of the Civil Rights movement. Everyone knows Dr. King and his non-violent resistance. I do not mean to discount Dr. King and his efforts, but he, himself, was not the Civil Rights movement. While I believe the Trail does a good job of incorporating different aspects of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s and 60’s, there is much left to be desired from this project. The first thing that came to my mind was, ‘Where is Malcom X?’ While perhaps not technically defined as part of the civil rights movement due to his black nationalistic ideas, his philosophy did have an impact on the Civil Rights movement. It attracted many African Americans who felt the Civil Rights movement was not doing them justice. Should this be included if this project attempts to explore the movement from all angles. I know there are aspects missing that I am not immediately thinking of, and am curious to hear what others think. There are over 100 sites on this trail, there should be no problem adding more; What are they missing?

https://www.memphisflyer.com/NewsBlog/archives/2018/02/22/three-memphis-sites-added-to-us-civil-rights-trail

https://civilrightstrail.com

Toxic Waste by Memphis Company Allegedly Killing African Americans

           Soil is not the first place most people would look for evidence of racism in a community, but in environmental racism it is one of the first indicators. Environmental racism is when marginalized groups are exposed to a disproportionate amount of pollutants that white groups are not. In the case of International Paper, a Memphis Fortune 500 Company, and Africatown, a predominantly lower socioeconomic black community, soil was the first place people looked after a series of deaths and an outbreak of cancer.

            International Paper had a factory on the outskirts of Africatown which was shut down and bulldozed in 2000. However, now the community members of Africatown are saying that the Memphis company failed to properly clean the site to EPA standards leading toxic chemicals to seep into the ground and poison Africatown. Dr. Robert Bullard, a Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy, said this is “industrial encroachment by these polluters who see these communities as dumping grounds,” and that, “this community survived the horrors of slavery and Jim Crow segregation but may not survive this modern-day environmental racism” (Jackson). These words are understandable due to this deadly form of racism which is frequently overlooked by the government, activists, and the law. While International Paper is denying these claims, it is expected that the accusation will lead to a trial later in the year.

            Africatown may be in Alabama, but the perpetrators are a billion-dollar company in Memphis. Memphis has a long history of racism, and environmental racism, within its own city limits so it is unsurprising to see the spread it has had in the region. It would be unsurprising to see a large company try to take advantage of a marginalized community, especially one that is black. The US has a long, twisted history of using and discarding black bodies for capitalism. While in the past the abuse of black bodies for profit has been in the labor sector, seen through slavery and domestic, low-wage work for examples, the result is always the same: black bodies used to make money for white people. While environmental racism in this case of International Paper and Africatown may seem inadvertent, there is historical precedent to show how actions like these are not inadvertent. Racism and the American economy are inseparable because the American economy was built on racism. Actions by large companies still follow this framework because it is the unfortunate status quo. Black people are considered lesser, and with it their health, so large companies can treat the black community however they like as long as profit is on the line. As Dr. Robert Bullard eloquently put when speaking to the black community of Africatown, “it says your community doesn’t matter, your children don’t matter, your health doesn’t matter, and your lives don’t matter” (Jackson). Black lives matter and environmental racism should be taken seriously.

Source:

http://atlantablackstar.com/2018/02/25/africatown-small-historically-black-town-fighting-billion-dollar-company-thats-devastating-community-toxic-waste/

Alvin Ailey Dance Company in Memphis for MLK

           Alvin Ailey dance company recently came to Memphis to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. and black artistry. The company is known for featuring dancers from minority backgrounds, specifically those from the black community, and using dance to tell their stories of struggling with racism in America. These physical and cultural aspects of race being incorporated into dance is significant because it is unique. Typical dance troupes are white and serve as an artistic space for high-brow, white expression. This catering to white only artists and audiences limits creativity and marginalizes minority identity. Dancers like Misty Copeland have gained national attention, challenging these white only spaces recently, but dance companies like Alvin Ailey began pressing for inclusion into dance circles since the 1950s during the height of segregation.

Black culture and dance has always been a subject the Alvin Ailey choreographers explore in their performances. “Revelations,” their most famous dance, is a piece choreographed to black songs heard typically in church. These songs feature “spiritualism, Baptist Spiritualism, and Christian spiritualism” to encompass many different aspects of the black religious experience in America (Greene). One spiritual, titled “Fix Me Jesus,” had a dance about struggles choreographed to it. A company member commented that he felt the dance transcended personal religion, making it accessible for all audience members, because it looked at struggle and overcoming hardship that is felt to the soul. Many people, especially those from the black community, can identify with this deeply felt struggle due to their shared history of slavery, white terrorism, and movement for civil rights that is still ongoing in many aspects. The dance highlights not only the overarching struggle of the black community but also serves as a more specific historical space. The dance asks audience members to remember and glorify African Americans who furthered the movement through traditional Civil Rights protests as well as those who engaged in everyday resistance. It honors their legacy that allowed for African Americans to progressively gain freedom in America. The dance concludes by looking at the contemporary resistance movement for African Americans in America.

In regards to honoring Memphis and its specific black history, Alvin Ailey choreographed a dance as a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. This inclusion is significant because of the fifty-year anniversary of his assassination in Memphis, and Ailey wanted to honor his life. The dance was originally choreographed to the spoken speeches of MLK; however, due to copyright issues, they used spoken word poems and songs inspired by the works of MLK. By using modern day interpretations of his work, it connects modern activists, black culture, and contemporary problems to that of MLK’s time. Overall, the work of Alvin Ailey—in the past and present—is relevant as it speaks to black versus white culture and who controls certain spaces in the arts.  

Source:

https://www.memphisflyer.com/TheaterBlog/archives/2018/02/02/alvin-ailey-kicking-off-black-history-month-with-the-legendary-ny-dance-company-by