What is a FPLC?
2022 Campus-wide book discussion
- Preface: Origins
- Ch. 1 Democracy
- Ch. 2 Race
- Ch. 3 Sugar
- Ch. 4 Fear
- Ch. 5 Dispossession
- Additional Resources
What was your emotional reaction to the reading?
What do you think is the importance of the poetry, photography, and short fiction interwoven in the essays?
Was there anything that you discovered in the readings that really resonated with you?
Can you imagine how this book could be helpful in your teaching and/or everyday life?
What do you know about the controversy around the book? What do you think the impact of that will be?
What is your reaction to the last sentence in Ch. 1: “We were told once, by virtue of our bondage, that we could never be American. But it was by virtue of our bondage that we became the most American of all”
The enforcement of racial divisions through legislation, Loving vs Virginia, Miscegenation, Moynihan’s 1965 report; The Negro Family: The Case for National Action, Loretta J. Ross and Reproductive Justice are discussed in Chapter 2.
What are your general impressions after reading this chapter?
How do you see people trying to heal from deeply rooted and systematic racism, both on a personal and structural level?
The earlier section of this chapter details some of the horrors of the slave trade, including the violent and inhumane treatment of enslaved people. We just want to acknowledge this and ask if anyone would like to comment on it.
What we’d like to discuss with this group is another central point of this chapter about sugar. On the one hand, over the course of centuries, the sugar industry was built on the backs of Black people. On the other hand, now the sugar industry is profiting by selling harmful sugary foods and beverages to Black people. We’d like to look at how this happened and see what’s important to learn from this history.
How did this all get started? Specifically, what was it about the sugar industry that made it particularly appealing for sugar planters to have enslaved Black people do the work? Do you see any echoes of that pattern today?
After the Civil War, what prevented enterprising Black people from owning and profiting from the sugar business? Again, do you see any echoes of these patterns today?
Why are Black people today particularly vulnerable to excess consumption of sugary beverages and foods?
What obstacles do you think stand in the way of a skilled and enterprising Black person today who wants to buy or start their own agriculture business or food business?
Community and public health people are doing a lot these days in an effort to bring healthier food options into low-income and predominantly Black neighborhoods and to promote healthy eating. Can you think of any lessons from this reading and discussion that could inform these efforts?
The authors write, “Nothing has proved more threatening to our democracy, or more devastating to Black communities, than white fear of Black freedom dreams” (p. 102). What are your thoughts, reactions, connections, or questions in response to that quote?
What can we learn from this history of dispossession and what are the implications for the present day?
Final question: How can real, sustainable change happen in the United States?
2021 Campus-wide campaign
Button-making September 7-17
![Button Making](https://sites.suffolk.edu/fplcrace/files/2021/09/20210916_buttonmaking_mjc_268.jpg)
What is #WeRSuffolk?
#WeRSuffolk is a call to action for transformative change in Suffolk’s racial climate. The aim is to raise racial awareness campus-wide and seek widespread commitment to change from Suffolk community members.
Why is there a focus on race?
The racial violence that our country has witnessed has shattered the myth that we live in a post-race society. Race does matter and it is integral to everyone’s experiences on campus. We believe that shifting to an anti-racist approach is work we must do, for Suffolk to carry out its mission and for students, faculty, and staff to thrive at Suffolk and in other communities.
“RACE” is an acronym for Reinvention, Action, Community and Empathy
To shift to an anti-racist approach, we need to re-imagine what our community can be. Many community members have not been on campus since March 2020, and many newer members of the community have never set foot on campus. And the world has changed in so many ways over the last eighteen months. This fall, our return to campus provides an opportunity for us to reinvent our community, to learn anew how to treat each other with empathy after a challenging year and a half, and to take action toward lasting change.
What is anti-racism?
To be anti-racist is to actively identify, oppose, and dismantle racial inequities. Those inequities are often invisible to many of us. They are built into our institutions and policies, and they are built into the social fabric of our everyday lives. Being anti-racist is both more than, and different from, simply saying “I’m not racist.” Being an anti-racist means we task ourselves with actions rather than denouncing others as racists.
How is button-making related to an anti-racist paradigm?
Button making is a community arts project where individuals create their own buttons to wear and display. A community arts project invites community members, regardless of skills, to create with whatever means and materials are available. Button-making is an embodiment form of community arts activity that gathers members together to share an activity. Stepping into the button-making room is a first step toward claiming one’s identity as a member of a Suffolk anti-racist community. Wearing and displaying your button makes visible what binds us together at Suffolk.
What else can I expect from this call to action?
Through the 2021-2022 academic year, Suffolk students, faculty, and staff will be invited to participate in activities including in the creation of a community video on our shared identities, and making individual commitments to action for change.
![Button Making](https://sites.suffolk.edu/fplcrace/files/2021/09/20210916_buttonmaking_mjc_30.jpg)
![Button Making](https://sites.suffolk.edu/fplcrace/files/2021/09/20210916_buttonmaking_mjc_123.jpg)
![Button Making](https://sites.suffolk.edu/fplcrace/files/2021/09/20210916_buttonmaking_mjc_95.jpg)
FPLC Members 2021-2022
Ilona Anderson (Art and Design)
Greg Beaver (Management and Entrepreneurship)
Audrey Goldstein (Art and Design)
Micky Lee (Communication, Journalism, and Media)
Marilyn Plotkins (Theatre)
Peter Rivard (Healthcare Administration)
Joyya Smith (Diversity, Access, and Inclusion)
![#WeRSuffolk1-01](https://sites.suffolk.edu/fplcrace/files/2021/06/WeRSuffolk1-01.png)
![Audrey](https://sites.suffolk.edu/fplcrace/files/2021/09/Audrey.jpg)
![Greg2](https://sites.suffolk.edu/fplcrace/files/2021/09/Greg2.jpg)
![Joyya](https://sites.suffolk.edu/fplcrace/files/2021/09/Joyya.jpg)
![Ilona](https://sites.suffolk.edu/fplcrace/files/2021/09/Ilona.jpg)
![Micky 1](https://sites.suffolk.edu/fplcrace/files/2021/09/Micky-1.jpg)
![Peter](https://sites.suffolk.edu/fplcrace/files/2021/09/Peter.jpg)