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1619, Approaching the Election...

By Richard Myers
Posted: 10/27/2024

The 1619, Lingering Imprint Discussion Group met October 18, 2024 at 12:00 PM, PST.

The group was joined by Sharon Kyle and Dick Price, writers and publishers of LA Progressive (laprogressive.com). LA Progressive is an online newsletter, which publishes daily.

The conversation began with Dick Price sharing an experience demonstrating the gap in racial understanding that exists even between individuals who have known one another over an extended period of time.  Dick indicated that he had published an article previously appearing in the newsletter.  He did not consult with Sharon and learned that the article was deeply offensive to her.  The article concerned an African American film producer who was followed by security in a store and the outcome of this.

Sharon began by stressing that no matter how long individuals have known one another  (Sharon and Dick have been married over 20 years), individuals bring a lens with them through which they view events and experiences. In this case they saw the incident as emotional, seeing the treatment of a producer through the lens of a black women thinking of her son and a white man seeing it as an example of inappropriate behavior.

Sharon and Dick then used this example of seeing through a different lens to highlight behaviors in the current election. They contrasted the openness, optimism and inclusion of one candidate with the fear mongering and manipulation of the other candidate.  This led to a discussion about the concerns for anti-democratic ideas being used in campaigning.  The burden placed on Black, Brown and LGBTQ individuals was discussed with cultural, racial and gender differences being acknowledged as important to consider and understand.

Sharon interjected a personal note related to the last point.  She shared that her son is running for a seat on the City Council in Lomita, California.  Lomita is part of the "South Bay" section of Los Angeles County and has historically been a white majority.  Sharon shared her concerns as her son campaigns at events and during community visits.  If he is elected, he would be the first African American on the Council.

This led to a discussion about Kamala Harris and the dangers that surround her as a candidate.  One participant saying their concerns were based on the election of Barak Obama and the reception he received.

Further discussion revealed an understanding that the election system has deficiencies.  Yet, some believed this could be a turning point in the country and were hopeful. Another participant pointed to the increase in civic engagement as a positive and recommended avoiding that assumption that some people are good and some people are bad.

A final brief discussion touched on the media and news cycle.  The challenge is presenting balanced news versus the current monetized systems appealing to specific mind sets. One participant described it as a “race to the bottom.”

During the discussion, the following books were suggested as helpful to broadening understanding:

"How the Irish Became White", Noel Ignatiev. 1995

"West of Jim Crow: The Fight Against California's Color Line"   Lynn Hudson. 2020

Two recently published books that might be of interest:

"Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame and the Rise of the Right"   Arlie Russell Hochschild. September, 2024

"The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority is Transforming Democracy"  Mike Madrid September, 2024

This presentation was recorded and can be found on our Pasadena Village YouTube channel. 

Sharon and Dick previously spoke to us in June of 2023 about Mixed Race Marriage. 

Our next meeting will be November 15^th at Noon Pacific to 1:30pm. Our guest speaker will be Lynn Hudson who will be talking about her new book, West of Jim Crow. Hudson grew up in Pasadena and will include in her discussion of race in California specific information related to Pasadena.

Guests are welcome at our 1619, Th Lingering Imprint discussions. For information about participating, contact our office at [email protected] or by phone (626) 765-6037.