‘Homework’ We Should All Tolerate

When she was introduced the other night at a panel discussion on tolerance and racism, Brenda Ness, an associate history professor at Santa Monica College, pulled out a batch of handouts and jokingly called them the audience’s “homework.”

The 80 people at the Museum of Tolerance on West Pico Boulevard laughed at that, and at Ness’ subsequent suggestion that there would be a quiz after her talk. Later, when I looked over a copy of Ness’ handout, “Commitment to Combat Prejudice & Bigotry,” I realized she really shouldn’t have been joking.

It’s a test we all should take.

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The organizers of last Thursday night’s discussion had wanted to continue the dialogue about race and tolerance ever since City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas talked the city into sponsoring a Day of Dialogue in October to chew over such matters.

Since attending a Day of Dialogue seminar at Hebrew Union College, I’ve been wanting to find out how we as individuals can deal with racism. After all, it’s the biggest issue facing the city and I think we have to deal with it head-on.

So when officials with the Southern California Regional Council of Organizations and the American Assn. of University Women invited me to take part in this panel, I jumped at the chance.

As the evening progressed, I waited for someone to suggest how all of us can informally deal with racism and intolerance, as opposed to vast set-in-concrete bureaucracies. That’s when Ness spoke up, and it didn’t take long for me to embrace Ness’ “homework” notion.

She says the idea behind the 13 questions on the “quiz” is simple. If you can answer each question with a “yes,” you’ve already made a commitment to fight the problem.

If you can’t, you have some work to do. If you don’t even bother to read the questions, well then, we gotta talk.

James Edler at the University of Maryland thought the questions up; Ness takes credit only for disseminating them.

So, the next time you worry about how race relations have broken down, think about these 13 questions that issue a personal challenge to do something about it:

* Have I aggressively sought out more information in an effort to enhance my own awareness and understanding of racism [talking to others, reading, listening]?

* Have I spent some time recently looking at my own racist attitudes and behavior as they contribute to or combat racism around me? [Yes, it does presume that everyone--black, white, brown, yellow, red--is to some extent racist.]

* Have I reevaluated my use of terms or phrases that may be perceived by others as degrading or hurtful?

* Have I openly disagreed with a racist comment, joke or action among those around me?

* Have I made a personal contract with myself to take a positive stand, even at some possible risk, when the chance arises?

* Have I become increasingly aware of racist TV programs, advertising, news broadcasts, etc.? Have I complained to those in charge?

* Have I realized that all Americans are trapped by their own schools, media, homes, government, etc., even when they choose not to be openly racist?

* Have I suggested and taken steps to implement discussions or workshops aimed at understanding racism with friends, colleagues, social clubs or church groups?

* Have I investigated the curricula of local schools in terms of their treatment of the issues of race and racism [also, textbooks, assemblies, faculty, staff, administration]?

* Have I been investigating political candidates at all levels in terms of their stance and activity against racist government practices?

* Have I contributed time and/or funds to an agency, fund or program that actively confronts the problems of racism?

* Is my school or workplace a target for my educational efforts in responding to racism?

* Have I become seriously dissatisfied with my level of activity in combating racism?

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Many in the audience that night, I suspect, didn’t need to be preached to about intolerance of any kind. Judging from the comments I heard, they are appalled at the rise of racism in the city. They hate the cruel jokes about ethnic minorities or the disabled. They want to do what they can to fight it, which is why many of them showed up for the panel. The people this discussion needed to reach weren’t necessarily the ones who showed up for it.

Nevertheless, they snapped up the pile of “quizzes” Ness put on a table. They weren’t afraid to say they couldn’t answer all the questions affirmatively. But I was impressed as at least seven in the audience said they could answer at least 10 questions in the affirmative.

I could answer “yes” to only six of the questions. How about you?