Never a dull moment neither in Denver, Chicago, nor in Nashville
It is true–there is never a dull moment in my life. I am blogging from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. I have just arrived here, and have made it to my room. It is nice and cozy. The Scarritt-Bennett Center is a former missionary training center. It is now a non-profit independent center committed to issues of social justice. It is mid-afternoon, and the program gets underway at 5:30. So, I’m resting a bit in my room, and I decided to recap yesterday and my travels of today.
Here goes…
Wayne’s memorial service was yesterday. The week had flown by since returning home from Princeton, NJ. There was much to do, and the reality that I was heading out again was weighing heavy. I was growing to be a tired person. The memorial service happened. We went to Ajuua’s Restaurant following, and this is what I’m particularly interested in sharing.
I sat by some long-time friends of the Isley’s. I am not sure how we got on the topic of politics, but we did. And, like I usually do, I didn’t let on where I stood on issues. I asked lots of questions and just listened. I heard the following: ”I’m prejudice!” ”Obama’s a muslim and he’s not American!” ”Nancy Pelosi should be taken to Alcatraz and left there. She’s not doing anybody any good!” ”The Mexicans don’t belong here!” Scandalous, I know! Little did these folks know, they were talking at a Latino who’s really committed to Xicanismo and tries to live out the politics of a radical mujerista! I was amazed…there again, sitting in the midst of racism. How can I get away from it? Perhaps I never will!
4am came bright and early this morning for my travels to Vanderbilt University. Being on such an early flight meant that I got to trade seats and spread out a bit in my row. I shared the row with a Flight Attendant on the American Airlines flight. She had driven down from Wyoming. I was bound for Nashville and made a short stop in Chicago. My day is getting really interesting at this point.
The flight from Chicago to Nashville had me sitting next to a black man. He was also on my Denver to Chicago flight, I came to find out. He and I got to talking about politics! Again, I just sat and listened…and I learned a lot! I learned from this man that the immigration issues, the economic issues, the social issues of our country are much more complex than how the public is addressing them. Now, this fellow did say we need to strengthen the border and close it up, but he agreed that this is such a complex task. He’s a fan of the militarized border. At this point, I disclosed that my mother is Mexican, and I identify with the Mexican people. He was friendly, and remained engaged in the conversation. I appreciated this about him. In the end, he outed himself as a conservative democrat. That’s respectable…there are a lot of these types running around. I just happen to be really GREEN.
I finally arrived in Nashville. Clearly, I’ve had enough conversations about politics with folks in the past 24 hours, but there again, on the shuttle, I meet an HRC scholar from Yale. We launched into issues of identity politics and race. I realized then that there is never a dull moment in my life. And, as I sit in my room in Nashville and peer out the window, I am reminded that the most important relationships I have are ones who take the intersection of race, class, gender, and sexuality seriously. These are few people, but the ones who do it, they do it well!
I’m anxious to be in conversation with the folks here for the HRC Summer Institute. I am convinced that this week will NOT be dull! And that, my friend, is a grand thing!
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