Hello hello,
I just finished a book called You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey – Crazy Stories about Racism by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar. Amber Ruffin is a comedian, and in 2014, she became the first Black woman to write for a late-night network talk show in the US (on Late Night with Seth Meyers). Think about that for a minute… 2014?!? 2014 was yesterday. Lacey Lamar is Amber’s sister, and they grew up in Omaha, NE. The sisters share many stories from their lives that highlight racist interactions with a comedic retelling. The book provides a personal view into the day-to-day lives of Black women in very white spaces… (ahem, Omaha…)
While the whole book had me simultaneously laughing out loud and shaking my head, I have to share this snippet:
“The gym teacher who we all hated at school also worked at the local bowling alley … Our brother, Jimmy, absolutely loves video games and would go there to play them as much as he could. One day, Jimmy took a bunch of coins to the bowling alley. Nothing special about the coins. Mostly quarters with some silver dollars or fifty-cent pieces mixed in. When he paid for his food with these coins, Mr. Gym Teacher called the cops. Because he had never seen a silver dollar or a fifty-cent piece, he accused Jimmy of using counterfeit coins. He accused a child of inventing a special denomination of coin, minting it, and using it to buy hot dogs. When I think about this I wonder, How in the f*ck did this man, the dumbest human being alive, have two jobs?”
I know what you’re thinking… can I laugh at stories about racism? I personally think that it depends. If you’re laughing because you agree Mr. Gym Teacher is the dumbest human alive then yes – laugh away. We are laughing in solidarity with Jimmy. If you’re inclined to laugh at little Jimmy who had the cops called on him – no, no you should not laugh (rather, you should to back to the beginning of this blog and consume every book, article, and podcast as a means to begin a journey of self-education about racism, just a suggestion) . All joking aside, I think Amber and Lacey have successfully demonstrated the absurdity of racism, and they give the reader a lot to think about while doing so in an entertaining fashion.
#blacklivesmatter #powertoprivilege #courageousconversations
Talk soon,
Jessica
PS In case you’re in need of a podcast fix, check out last week’s episode of This American Life – it follows 3 activists within the BLM movement: Warriors in the Garden (thisamericanlife.org)