Speaking Truth to Power
How can you speak truth to power? What are different ways to speak truth to power? How do people hold onto their own truth in the face of coercive power, which only sustains itself by destroying this truth?
PURPOSE:
I have put together this text set to help students imagine different ways of speaking truth to power. In the novel, Rashad must confront the power of his father’s shame at having shot and paralyzed an innocent black youth. He will ultimately have to challenge the power structure in his community and society that either have blind faith in the police or simply don’t want the issue of police brutality discussed because it is too controversial for those who feel protected by the status quo. Quinn must speak up in the face of strong family and community pressure to support the actions of Officer Galluzzo, a close family friend. This puts him in the middle of conflict at school, one he knows he can sidestep because he is white and not afraid of the police. However, he knows that he would not be able to live with himself if he succumbs to cowardice by taking shelter behind the very power structures that keep him safe while imperiling classmates of color. These are issues that the students at my school all understand and must grapple with themselves. Students will not need support in reading the book, but they will need support with unpacking some of the forces in society and their lives that this book depicts. The purpose of the text set is to have them look at those forces through the lens of speaking truth to power.
When we talk about speaking truth to power, we are really talking about using truth to dismantle coercive power that is there to maintain a power dichotomy that accords rewards and privileges to one group at the direct expense of another group. Those privileges may be power-consolidating, meaning that they ensure access to resources that distribute new and stronger power to those in privilege. These resources may be concrete, such as coal, rubber, or water. They may be abstract, such as education or dignity. The dignity derived from drinking from a whites only water fountain or using a whites only restroom is directly derived from withholding those rights from another. Leaving aside transgender people for a moment, a mens restroom does not confer dignity on men while taking it from women because the desire for separation provides natural and mutual protection to each gender. Coercive, self-consolidating power seeks to maintain its position of dominance, and will use various forms of physical, financial, mental, and spiritual oppression to maintain that power. Speaking truth to power resists at least mental and spiritual oppression, and in the best case scenario dismantles it. At best, those who can relieve themselves and be relieved of the burdens of spiritual and mental oppression have the best chance of breaking free from physical and financial power as well. In my mind, the ultimate power, the ultimate grace is achieving the power to protect, using that power, and expecting nothing other than the joy of doing so as a reward. The purpose of this text set is to provide a view into how people can speak truth to power from different standpoints: as poet, activist, comedian, songwriter and performer, documentary filmmaker, athlete, and editorial writer. Ultimately students must consider how they can speak truth to coercive and exploitive power and/or how they can ally with others who do.
The audience for this text set is 9th-10th grade.
I have put together this text set to help students imagine different ways of speaking truth to power. In the novel, Rashad must confront the power of his father’s shame at having shot and paralyzed an innocent black youth. He will ultimately have to challenge the power structure in his community and society that either have blind faith in the police or simply don’t want the issue of police brutality discussed because it is too controversial for those who feel protected by the status quo. Quinn must speak up in the face of strong family and community pressure to support the actions of Officer Galluzzo, a close family friend. This puts him in the middle of conflict at school, one he knows he can sidestep because he is white and not afraid of the police. However, he knows that he would not be able to live with himself if he succumbs to cowardice by taking shelter behind the very power structures that keep him safe while imperiling classmates of color. These are issues that the students at my school all understand and must grapple with themselves. Students will not need support in reading the book, but they will need support with unpacking some of the forces in society and their lives that this book depicts. The purpose of the text set is to have them look at those forces through the lens of speaking truth to power.
When we talk about speaking truth to power, we are really talking about using truth to dismantle coercive power that is there to maintain a power dichotomy that accords rewards and privileges to one group at the direct expense of another group. Those privileges may be power-consolidating, meaning that they ensure access to resources that distribute new and stronger power to those in privilege. These resources may be concrete, such as coal, rubber, or water. They may be abstract, such as education or dignity. The dignity derived from drinking from a whites only water fountain or using a whites only restroom is directly derived from withholding those rights from another. Leaving aside transgender people for a moment, a mens restroom does not confer dignity on men while taking it from women because the desire for separation provides natural and mutual protection to each gender. Coercive, self-consolidating power seeks to maintain its position of dominance, and will use various forms of physical, financial, mental, and spiritual oppression to maintain that power. Speaking truth to power resists at least mental and spiritual oppression, and in the best case scenario dismantles it. At best, those who can relieve themselves and be relieved of the burdens of spiritual and mental oppression have the best chance of breaking free from physical and financial power as well. In my mind, the ultimate power, the ultimate grace is achieving the power to protect, using that power, and expecting nothing other than the joy of doing so as a reward. The purpose of this text set is to provide a view into how people can speak truth to power from different standpoints: as poet, activist, comedian, songwriter and performer, documentary filmmaker, athlete, and editorial writer. Ultimately students must consider how they can speak truth to coercive and exploitive power and/or how they can ally with others who do.
The audience for this text set is 9th-10th grade.
Protesters Speak Truth to Power
Aretha, D. (2014). The story of the civil rights freedom rides in photographs. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow. In December of 1960, the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed segregation on interstate buses and facilities, including any restrooms, restaurants, and waiting areas in the bus terminals. The fight for voting rights and desegregation were the essential struggles of the Civil Rights movement, arguably the most forceful, heroic and poetic cri de coeur of truth to power in this country's history. The introduction and short text that accompanies each of the photographs in this book will provide students with a comprehensive overview of the bravery, stamina, and heroism of the Civil Rights movement. It will provide a basis for their understanding of many of the support texts from that period in this collection. The reading level is accessible to all high school students. |
Actor Speaks Truth to Power
Alfre Woodard reads Sojourner Truth. (2008, May 10). Retrieved from https://youtu.be/4vr_vKsk_h8 In this brilliant re-enactment of Sojourner Truth's 1851 speech now known as the Ain't I A Woman? speech, Alfre Woodard brings to life an early tour de force of speaking truth to power in American history. In the novel, Rashad has his rights violated -in a country where all men are supposedly created equal. But just as Sojourner Truth has been deprived of her natural human rights and of the privileges normally accorded a woman, so has Rashad been deprived of his human rights, and of the privileges normally accorded a child. While the words were originally spoken by Sojourner Truth, it is this actress's incredible talent and intensity that bring the emotion and circumstances from the past to the immediate present. In so doing, Woodard traps us in the barbed and clawing truth that these emotions from the past still resonate all too strongly in the present. |
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Poetic Truth to Power
Clifton, Lucille (1993). Won't You Celebrate With Me. The Poetry Foundation. Retrieved on 14 November 2017 from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50974/wont-you-celebrate-with-me This poem is easy to read and its message is accessible. In this collection, I am including different examples of speaking truth to power. This poetic example breaks free from spiritual oppression, with the poet insisting on her own survival and on her own miracles. |
Lifelong Activist Truth to Power
Angela Davis on Violence and Revolution [Video file]. 1972 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HnDONDvJVE Angela Davis is an activist, a controversial figure. This text is an excerpt from a prison interview. Her response here to a question regarding the use of violence in revolution is very thought provoking. In this interview, she bristles at being questioned about the possible use of violence in the Civil Rights movement. While she does not endorse the use of violence, she speaks to the hypocrisy of those who expect that Black people will never engage in violent revolution after being the victims of so much violence. She cites her own experience with losing loved ones in the 16 Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. She indicts the state's use of and the state's de facto acceptance of violent force against African-Americans. Students would need some basic background about the Civil Rights movement to understand what she is referencing. While none of the characters in the book endeavor to violence as a form of protest, they do receive pressure from school officials to remain silent and pretend nothing has happened. Angela Davis reminds us that injustice demands and will result in a response. |
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Truth to Power in Parody/Comedy
Noah, T. (2017, September 25). When Is the Right Time for Black People to Protest? - The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Retrieved from http://www.cc.com/video-clips/nujtiv/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-when-is-the-right-time-for-black-people-to-protest- This text is very self-contained in that it provides a review of current responses to African-American people's protests. Trevor Noah presents various examples of white politicians and media establishment personalities critiquing Black people who have protested state violence, which he summarized with this Dr. Seuss parody: It's wrong to do it in the streets/ It's wrong to do it in the Tweets/ You cannot do it on the field/ You cannot do it if you've kneeled/ And don't do it if you're rich/ You ungrateful son of a bitch/ Because there's one thing that's a fact/ You cannot protest if you're black He uses comedy and parody to show the hypocrisy and insidiousness of how establishment forces work to keep the oppressed and their allies from protesting oppressive power. The characters in the novel are also told that they cannot protest in the one place that they all gather together: school. |
Truth to Power in Song
Cleveland, A., Benson, R., & Gaye, M. (2010, December 29). Marvin Gaye - What's Going On. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/H-kA3UtBj4M Students will need some background to understand the context to this song. The Vietnam war was raging. Young people were protesting, and they were sometimes beaten by the police. The writers of this song wanted to protest both the war and police brutality. In addition to confronting the United States government on the morality of the war and the police on their conduct, Marvin Gaye had to challenge the power of the powerful Motown studio head, Berry Gordy, in order to have the song released. Barrie Gordy was fighting his own fight- to create a space for black musical artists to gain prominence in the industry, and he didn't want to take on politically charged topics and risk undermining his own work. This fits in particularly well with this novel, which confronts the complexity of police and civilian relationships by juxtaposing an African-American former cop, whose son was just beaten by the police, the son, the cop, and the white boy, whose close family friend and father figure betrays his oath to serve and protect. There are multiple sides to an issue, and this song, along with its history, highlights that. Just as Marvin Gaye had to challenge musical father figure Berry Gordy in order to make his protest song, Rashad must challenge his own father to participate in his protest. |
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Documentary Film - Truth to Power
Martin, K. (2012, March 16). Viola Liuzzo. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/zy2CO7Nuxok Martin Kent's TV documentary from 2000, Civil Rights Martyrs: Free at Last revives many of the great Civil Rights era martyrs and their brave deeds. This particular clip features Viola Liuzzo, a Detroit housewife and mother of five who had grown up in the South and returned to participate in the Selma to Montgomery marches, where marchers marched in protest of discriminatory voter laws. She was shot by members of the KKK, who were in a car with an FBI agent. The longer documentary highlights the bravery of people like Medgar Evers, Vernon Dahmer, Andrew Goodman, James Earl Chaney, Michael Henry Schwerner, and others who were willing to speak truth to power even if it cost them their lives. This documentary shows the necessity of non-violent soldiers in the fight to speak truth to power and to bring about change. However, it also turns a spotlight on the risks and ultimate cost of doing so. It is important for young people to understand the risks involved in challenging established power structures in society before enlisting in the fight. People sometimes pay with their lives, and it's important to be aware of this. |
Athlete and Intellectual - Truth to Power
Muhammad Ali on Black & White - Video Dailymotion. (2012, July 26). Retrieved from http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsfg39 In some ways, this BBC interview of Muhammad Ali, conducted by Michael Parkinson in 1971, is one of the most radical instances of speaking black truth to white power. In this clip, Ali discusses the grinding racism of depicting all positive cultural symbols, like Santa and angels, as white and so many negative symbols, like the black sheep and the ugly duckling, as black. He goes on to discuss his experience of being refused at a service at a restaurant after returning home as an Olympic Gold medalist and an American hero. He explains the reasons for casting off his anglo name, Cassius Clay, in favor of Muhammad Ali, and turning away from Christianity towards Islam. In the book All American Boys there are the white teachers and a coach who don't want the situation in the novel discussed at school. They want it to be put aside, as if it is irrelevant to the natural course of education. For African-American students and students of all backgrounds who don't want to live in an unjust world, it is what matters more than anything. In this clip, Muhammad Ali demands his audience consider the spiritual and psychological hegemony opposed on African-Americans in the same way the book demands the reader understand how central police brutality and the denial of its importance or existence forcefully oppresses and separates all of us. |
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Editorial Writing- Truth to Power
Joseph, P. (2016, August 29). Colin Kaepernick's righteous crusade on race. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/29/opinions/colin-kaepernick-protest-joseph/index.html In this editorial, Peniel Joseph exhorts his readers to acknowledge, "The same nation that upon his death celebrated Muhammad Ali's youthful rebellion has yet to develop the political maturity to engage in a dialogue with a young black athlete courageous enough to make his own righteous point: that there is a yawning gap between one of American democracy's most enduring symbols and the nation's treatment of black bodies who continue to fight, bleed, and die to preserve freedom at home and abroad." He points out the ultimate hypocrisy of our nation: black people die to protect this nation, but this nation is failing to protect black people. On the contrary, those deputized to protect all of us, Black people include, are too often the ones causing the greatest harm. We all must unify, as Rashawn and Quinn ultimately do, around what is truly right, regardless of what the voices with the most interest in preserving their coercive and oppressive power would have us believe. |
The All American Boys Book Talk...
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Annotated Bibliography With Suggestions for Classroom Use Alfre Woodard reads Sojourner Truth. (2008, May 10). Retrieved from https://youtu.be/4vr_vKsk_h8 I would recommend using this assignment in class. I would ask students to discuss the main ideas in the speech and to make connections to the text. Of particular focus might be the part that talks about Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, which addresses experiences of being invisible in white society. Sojourner Truth addresses that invisibility as she is not viewed as a woman; woman only means white woman. Angela Davis on Violence and Revolution [Video file]. 1972 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HnDONDvJVE Students will need some basic background about the Civil Rights movement to understand what she is referencing. This should be part of a larger class discussion wherein the teacher provides some background. Students could be invited to use some structured discussion strategy to process their views of what Davis says in this clip. I would recommend using the David Aretha text prior to showing this video if the students lack knowledge of the Civil Rights Era. Aretha, D. (2014). The story of the civil rights freedom rides in photographs. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow. It could be nice to read the introduction as a class and then have students jigsaw and present the remaining six chapters. Cleveland, A., Benson, R., & Gaye, M. (2010, December 29). Marvin Gaye - What's Going On. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/H-kA3UtBj4M You assign students to research on the song prior to listening to it in class. There are ample resources on the internet which discuss the both the events that inspired the son and the dynamic between Gaye and Gordy at Motown records. Students could be asked to imagine what events might inspire a similar song today. Clifton, Lucille (1993). Won't You Celebrate With Me. The Poetry Foundation. Retrieved on 14 November 2017 from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50974/wont-you-celebrate-with-me This poem could best be read aloud as a class or independently. It would be great to use it to inspire response poems. Martin, K. (2012, March 16). Viola Liuzzo. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/zy2CO7Nuxok This would be an important piece of footage to watch with students and discuss. Students would need to understand some background about the Civil Rights movement and the fight for voting rights for African-Americans. Of particular interest is the fact that an undercover FBI agent was in the car at the time of the shooting. Was he just on board with shooting civil rights protesters? Was he afraid to blow his cover? How does his participation in the death of Viola Liuzzo compare to Officer Galluzo's actions in the novel? Muhammad Ali on Black & White - Video Dailymotion. (2012, July 26). Retrieved from http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsfg39 Ali describes his own evolution here. You could ask students to describe that evolution in discussion or in writing and connect it with the evolution of Rashad, Quinn, and Rashad’s father in the novel. Joseph, P. (2016, August 29). Colin Kaepernick's righteous crusade on race. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/29/opinions/colin-kaepernick-protest-joseph/index.html It would be interesting to ask students to find an editorial that takes the opposite position, that Kaepernick should not have kneeled. You could ask students to analyze the grounds and backing from this article and different articles in a Socratic Seminar or other structured discussion. Noah, T. (2017, September 25). When Is the Right Time for Black People to Protest? - The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Retrieved from http://www.cc.com/video-clips/nujtiv/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-when-is-the-right-time-for-black-people-to-protest- This video is accessible to students because it contains so much background or in class. It could be used to contrast the effect of this comedic parody with that of the straightforward editorial by Joseph Peniel. Reynolds, J., & Kiely, B. (2017). All American boys. NY, NY: Atheneum, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division. This book could be the basis for a unit of study or would be a great recommendation for students to read independently. |