Is there a specific quote that stood out? Why do you think it spoke to you?

Is there a specific quote that stood out? Why do you think it spoke to you?

There are numerous quotes in this book that have special meaning to me. I will just mention one by James Baldwin which seems to always be relevant.

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed unless it faced."

"The negro has saved himself and the white man very patronizingly says, I have saved you." Ralph Waldo Emerson

I highlighted many passages as I read the book on my Kindle app. Unfortunately, I can’t copy the text here. But Chapter 14 that listed Black musicians and other entertainers made a big impression on me.

I realized that for most of my life the Black contributions to popular music have influenced cultures all over the world. They have helped to spread American ideas even when the artists making the music still encountered hatred and discrimination. The same can also be said for Black athletes. Where would TV sports shows be without Black football and basketball players?

We will be a better nation when we realize that every citizen’s contributions to the nation are valuable.

I am a big music fan so the passage that Anne C referenced was also one of my favorites and I agree with her opinion. I recently read My Black Country by Alice Randall and was surprised to learn how much African Americans influenced country music but didn’t initially get credit for it.

“...the institution of American slavery and the event of Indian Removal were, in both cause and effect, ‘twin evils.’”

We regularly open meetings with this acknowledgement,

"...acknowledging that the land on which we are situated is the seized territory of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which includes the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, and Tuscarora Nations. We pay respect to their elders past and present, and will take a moment to consider the many legacies of violence, displacement, migration, and settlement that enable us to be here together today. "
These are just words...little action has been taken.

Today, in our community 47% of the children in the school disrict are below the poverty level. These children are mostly brown and black. I volunteer for an organization that provides books to these children. The generosity of Random House to provide copies of Born on the Water was greatly appreciated, and a step toward recognizing that the twin evils continue.