Standing Up For What is Right

I want to feel positive. I want to wake up feeling better. I want to believe maybe Trump will not be as bad as we imagine. But then Trump selects his cabinet: "A man associated with white supremacy and misogyny as the White House strategist; a man rejected for a judgeship because of alleged racism will be attorney general and an Islamophobe who has taken money from Moscow as a national security advisor." (Kristof, 11, NYT, 10/20). Not encouraging.

I have signed up for the Muslim Registry in the event they decide to deport and question Muslims in this country, many of whom are my students and friends. I went to a Muslim wedding just the other week. And I said, when people questioned me, I understand the Civil Rights movement, how people were willing to go to jail for a cause, and yes, I am not Black, but does it matter? How many Whites marched to Birmingham alongside Martin Luther King; how many Jews ended up in jail, since once upon a time, Jews stood up for human rights, since they understood them intimately; they had suffered the elimination of six million relatives in the Holocaust.

The older I get, the less frightened I become. I am becoming that little girl told by her father (mine) that I could do and be anything; that the world was my oyster, that-according to Franklin D. Roosevelt, "The only thing to fear is fear itself."

I feel fearless in the face of social injustice, since what do I have but my voice? If that sends me to jail, so be it, though I still believe that would never happen. As an only child, I have many brothers and sisters in the world to defend, and defend them I will, and I can only pray some kind God up there will defend and commend me for standing up for what I believe in!

South Carolina by Jacqueline Woodson

This piece in the Sunday magazine section of the New York Times brought me to tears, how Jacqueline Woodson, famed author of the National Book Award winner BROWN GIRL DREAMING, among other significant children's books, talked about waking up and the grief of her son's down-cast form when he heard the result of the election. He is eight. He has only known a Black president. His response, "This wasn't supposed to happen."

And what does his Mama say to him? "It was time to tell him the deeper truths of our country. It would be time to tell him what I saw this year: the Confederate flags in my own childhood home of South Carolina and in Alabama, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Virginia, Georgia-even in his home state of New York. It would soon be time to tell him that this country's earliest history is one of unkindness. That the blood of his ancestors was expendable, priced along with stocks of cotton and gold. Will they really build a wall? he asked. Will they really send my friends away?" But then she concludes with the positive-you have always made a way out of no way. We'll get through this."

I pray!

A Message from Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

November 20, 2016

A Message from Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

Dear Students:

After the harsh and ugly rhetoric of the campaign, many of you are concerned about what might happen next.

Let me be clear: This is the State of New York, not a state of fear. We will not tolerate hate or racism.

We have been and always will be a place where people of many backgrounds have come to seek freedom and opportunity. Almost all who live here can trace their roots to someplace else.

We cherish our diversity. We find strength in our differences. Whether you are gay or straight, Muslim or Christian or Jewish or Buddhist, rich or poor, black or white or Latino or Asian, man or woman, cisgender or transgender, we respect all people in the State of New York.

The Statue of Liberty is a proud symbol of American values, and she stands in our harbor. We feel a special responsibility to make her offer of refuge and hope a reality every day.

As long as you are here, you are New Yorkers. You are members of our community, and we will stand up for you.

The State of New York has strict laws against hate crimes and discrimination and we fully and firmly enforce them. It is illegal in this state to target, harass or discriminate against a person because of his or her race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation. We are a tolerant people, and cannot and will not let our freedoms be undermined. ​

New York State has a toll-free hotline where people can report incidents of bias and discrimination. Our responsibility is to protect all who are here, whether native-born or immigrant, whether documented or not. The hotline strengthens our efforts. Contacting us will not affect your immigration status.

New Yorkers who have experienced bias or discrimination should call the toll-free hotline at (888) 392-3644 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday.

If you want to report a crime or fear for your safety, call 911 immediately.

New Yorkers feel a particular affection for young immigrants. For centuries, our state has thrived on the energy and ambition of the young people seeking to build their lives here. Your intelligence, your creativity, your idealism enriches us all. You are welcome here.

Sincerely,

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

Poem About Trump

Trembling Ghosts

It didn’t matter

that women were silly putty

shaped in your hands,

discarded;

nor did it matter

that this Muslim had a name-Assad,

and a wife and a daughter

who whispered American dreams.

The only America you know

was your brand-

big, blustering, bombastic words:

“Make America great again”

worn on your silly baseball hat,

forgetting America

is the Mexican

standing by the wall,

(built by whom?)

and who to keep out:

my Holocaust ancestors

the Irish and the poverty of potatoes

the Sudanese lost boy who has walked

miles in the blazing hot desert,

the Syrian doctor

whose children were doused to death

with chemicals,

the African Americans, who once were slaves,

and if some have their way

in this topsy-turvy law and order world,

will be slaves once again.

The ghosts and skeletons

burned and buried

tremor in disbelief:

This is not America.

America is not free.

“America never was

America to me.” (*)

Langston Hughes

Book Giveaway!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Ronit & Jamil

by Pamela L. Laskin

Giveaway ends February 28, 2017.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Happy Birthday, Samantha

Happy birthday, Samantha. Dad and I feel we have been blessed with terrific children, and this has helped us get through these hard days, post-election. And today is your birthday, so this is what I (we) have to say. I need to tell you, when I look at you I marvel and muse: how did I get a daughter like you? You are the quintessential do-gooder, values Dad and I have given you, but you take it to another plane.  You have already been to Namibia to teach, on a search and rescue mission on the Adaman Sea, and working for Capital Appeals Project in New Orleans. This summer you will be working for ACLU. To say we are proud of your convictions, your moral compass, is an understatement. You are the quintessential idealist, and make us daily want to be better people. Changing the pronoun to WE, since Dad feels the same way. We admire your fire, your passion, the causes you advocate for. But today, your birthday, there are other things which make us proud: your sense of humor; your love of family; your generosity and your warmth. A smart person once told me, when you go to sleep at night you have to feel you have made the world a better place, even in some small way. Samantha, you have made the world a better place in so many small and big ways. On this day we wish you the world-and more. We love you! Mom and Dad

Idealism

I am a proud idealist. In my twenties, I was extraordinarily idealistic, going to marches, fighting for different causes, but then I had children, worked hard and grew complacent. I was just too busy.

Now, I feel on fire again. Working as a teacher with young people helps. They are on fire; they are motivated. They want to see a better world, and they are not often self-serving. I am a proud parent of children who are decent people. And I am finding myself caring about important causes in much the same way I did when I was younger. I am grateful to be married to a man who has worked in healthcare in an inner city hospital his whole life, one who feels Obamacare was as good as it could have been, considering how obstructionist the Republicans have been. He loved President Obama the way I did, and I feel he has grown increasingly more liberal with time.

I have wonderful friends and family, all of whom are liberal the way I am-and poised for the fight. Samantha, I have YOU to thank for the ferocity of your convictions and idealism; you daily make me a better person. When I ask my husband where Samantha came from, he answers, with pride, "from you!"  And this will be the fire that guides me. All of you, thank you; you are woven in my heart!