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Shameful Blight on MLK Day Celebration

1/23/2016

3 Comments

 
Picture
On Monday, January 18th, a few minutes before the OSA Chamber Choir filed onto stage to blow the roof off the Veterans Memorial Building, Cava Menzies suffered a shocking verbal assault from two audience members. She and her 32 students were packed into the catering galley area off to stage right. This area would normally have been reserved for staging, but had become makeshift overflow seating to accommodate the turnout. 

First, one middle-aged white woman walked up to her to say that her students "were an embarrassment and need to learn some respect." Then a second woman jumped in saying, "you know, I'm a teacher too. You need to learn to control them. It's not that hard. Make them go outside." All this with her students and their parents watching. In Cava's own words, "It was unbelievable to experience that kind of condescension and entitlement only five minutes prior to us going on stage. I was shocked by the lack of compassion and respect for myself or my students from those particular guests."

Needless to say, this is a horrifying blight on our community. Such condescension and entitlement on a day of celebrating tolerance and humanity — the irony here is grimly poetic. And, of course, this was not just an assault on Cava, but also on the 32 students who had dedicated their day to serve our community by sharing music with us. Let us remember that these students commuted to us from East and West Oakland to participate in our event whose purpose was to promote and celebrate diversity. Is this the message we want to give our young people of color that come as visitors? 

You may be tempted to downplay the racial overtones of this incident. Please don’t. What is not communicated in the summary of the encounter is tone of voice, body language, and overall demeanor of both women while speaking to Cava. Clearly, beyond just the language that was spoken, the way in which she was spoken to in front of her students was unacceptable. The specter of two privileged white women vying to put a successful black woman in her place, and to shame a talented group of student performers, most of whom are black, is blatant.  The message, "You folks don’t belong inside here” is inescapable. We don’t know if these two women are racist or even if they are Piedmont residents. But the impact of their actions is undeniable. And, unfortunately, this behavior is not completely atypical in our community.

​I'm sorry to hear about the distress experienced by Ms. Menzies and I hope we convey to her our sorrow at the incident and our plans to improve staging for next year's event. 
​I hate to hear and read things like this because it puts a lot of anger inside but unfortunately it's reality!
​This is a very complex situation containing so many internal issues on both sides
​Lesson learned--we need to be very conscious of the staging areas for performers
​How very rude!!! ... Until more people have more experiences with people who don't look like them, I fear these incidents will continue.
​Public shaming is not acceptable. No true educator should undermine the authority of another educator like that. Piedmont has a problem with its image in Oakland. Nobody will want to perform here if they are spoken to like that.    
This gets to the heart of my previous request that we reexamine this event. The idea that this celebration needs to be reclaimed and realigned with Dr. King "The Man and The Work" is trending and this incident highlights why.  I'm thinking service learning, a series of commonwealth-like conversations with social justice leaders
​Our membership has been very vocal and thoughtful in their responses, ranging from embarrassment and outrage to questioning the organization and the focus of this annual event. We’re also reminded that, as an organization promoting diversity and inclusion, we have a responsibility to give the two aggressors the space and opportunity to reflect on the events in a constructive manner.

 The logistical issues identified are obviously straightforward to address. The existential challenge to the event itself - the idea that the celebration may need to be "reclaimed and realigned ..." - also seems to be a tractable problem.

 But there also emerged some questions with no obvious or straightforward answers:
  • Our city has a reputation for being unwelcoming to   visitors. "Piedmont definitely has diversity, race, and privilege issues."  Is this reputation fair? Is this how we want to be perceived?
  • What was going on for the two women who verbally assaulted Ms Menzies and her students? What assumptions did they make? Are they aware of the impact of their outbursts?
 
Cava Menzies herself asks,
  • Are there cultural considerations and communication norms that are essential in breaking down racial barriers in communities like Piedmont that are predominantly white?
  • What is our responsibility in educating our population of these needs?

 PADC is committed to spurring our community as a whole to discuss and reflect upon these questions. Will you join the conversation?
3 Comments
Donn Harris, OSA Executive Director link
1/26/2016 02:29:27 am

The school supports Ms. Menzies and those wonderful students.We appreciate the public acknowledgement of the incident and hope this serves as a learning moment for the community.
Donn Harris, OSA Executive Director

Reply
Amy G.
1/28/2016 04:14:05 pm

Dear Ms. Menzies and those involved in the MLK Day Celebration, Please don't let this reflect all of those who live in Piedmont and let this keep you from coming back. PLEASE! I know I can speak for so many of my friends and neighbors when I say how blessed I feel to have all of these wonderful larger communities and neighbors like you and your students share in such a day as MLK Day. When my husband and I saw the article in the Piedmont Post about the Celebration after it happened (we have a one year old, so we don't get out much!), we were very sad to have missed it. But we also realized we hadn't even heard about it in the first place (we wish we had!). We would have loved to come, and feel it is an important kind of event that should be a monthly ritual, even, not just something that happens once a year. The reason why my family thrives in a place like Piedmont is not necessarily because of Piedmont; it is because we are surrounded by more diversity in Oakland, Berkeley, San Leandro, El Cerrito, etc. We aren't even sure if Piedmont is the right fit for us because we like to be surrounded by people who aren't like us - this makes life more interesting, makes our lives richer, and our souls fed. We are indebted to those who seek to bridge our communities together, and I hope, as one HUMAN BEING to another, we get another chance to do that. Let us know what my family can do to right this wrong and connect with you. Be well, Amy

Reply
Terra Salazar
2/1/2016 07:51:54 am

Absolutely no surprize! My family has lived in Piedmont for 43 years. When I was in 9th grd I asked the Principal at PHS why we
didn't celebrate MLK Day here. His answer, I'll never forget it,
"because it has nothing to do with us here in Piedmont" I told him it certainly does and I was taking the day off and will write a paper on why I think we need to celebrate. I did and still got an unexcused absence.
Our family is made up of so many wonderful people. Unfortunately others have looked upon us and have not seen past the color of their skin, the shape of their eyes or the accent they have. We have had to be extra strong at times. Our parents showed the way of tolerance and acceptance and it's our responsibility to continue that same message. I remember my Father and what he said more than once. "I should have never moved my family here." In this case I have to disagree. We have the right to live where we want and our children to be educated so they too may achieve the honorable.
Thank you,
Terra

Reply



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