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When folks saw the Tulsa Massacre on #Watchmen or Combahee Raid in #Harriet, they ran #onhere to shout, "Why don't they teach this in schools!?"
The catch is, they do: 100,000+ teachers go to @ZinnEdProject for tools to teach that history every day. zinnedproject.org/news/100k-regi…
The catch is, they do: 100,000+ teachers go to @ZinnEdProject for tools to teach that history every day. zinnedproject.org/news/100k-regi…
The Zinn Education Project doesn't have corporate sponsorship to make sure histories of Reconstruction, Civil Rights Movement, labor, and other people's movements show up in students' assignments.
We depend on donors like you to keep our lessons free to teachers and students.
We depend on donors like you to keep our lessons free to teachers and students.
We challenge everyone who has tweeted, facebooked, or griped to friends about how histories of environmental injustice, racism, labor exploitation, & genocide *aren't* taught in schools, to make a donation today. zinnedproject.org/donate/
Spoilers ahead! I've spent the weekend percolating on my thoughts after seeing @HarrietFilm Friday. While I liked the movie as a whole, there was one character/story line that did not sit well with me. When I thought about it, the signs were there.
In fact, I don't even know why it was in the film to begin with. Why on earth would the writers of this movie think it was okay to have a black antagonist in this? The antagonists should have only been the white people and the institution of slavery.
I loved watching Harriet on screen. She was strong and sure, and an inspiration. By contrast, every time Bigger Long came on the screen I cringed and not because he was the "bad guy."
Took my 11 year old daughter to #HarrietMovie last night & am still disturbed.
She left the theater scared of Bigger Long “the worst bad guy.” The only sadistic character in the movie—who was BLACK, and DID NOT EXIST. wtf, Hollywood!
Great thread by @LaQuetteWrites:
She left the theater scared of Bigger Long “the worst bad guy.” The only sadistic character in the movie—who was BLACK, and DID NOT EXIST. wtf, Hollywood!
Great thread by @LaQuetteWrites:
@LaQuetteWrites The film is artful, with some great acting, and Harriet Tubman is one of our most important national heroes.
To me, this makes it worse, not better, that it misrepresents slavery, and history, and race in this country. Felt designed to not make white people uncomfortable.
To me, this makes it worse, not better, that it misrepresents slavery, and history, and race in this country. Felt designed to not make white people uncomfortable.
@LaQuetteWrites And this:
Here are some resources to teach/learn about #Harriet Tubman and her life in Canada and the UGRR era in Canadian history: 
Harriet Tubman @CdnEncyclopedia thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/har…
The Underground Railroad @CdnEncyclopediahttps://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/underground-railroad
Here is why Cynthia Erivo, in particular, should not play Harriet Tubman.
TL; DR: There’s a troubling pattern of Cynthia repeatedly, deliberately, selectively *choosing* to not give respect to African-American heritage – the heritage of Harriet Tubman.
#HarrietDeservesBetter
TL; DR: There’s a troubling pattern of Cynthia repeatedly, deliberately, selectively *choosing* to not give respect to African-American heritage – the heritage of Harriet Tubman.
#HarrietDeservesBetter
Note: There’s an argument to be made against Africans/non-DOS Brits playing important African-American figures – & vice versa. Performance & perspective, where & how we take up space, larger economic & cultural issues at play.
Others have unpacked that; this thread won’t.
Others have unpacked that; this thread won’t.
This thread is about why Cynthia Erivo should not play Harriet Tubman, “the Moses of her people” & a sacred African-American ancestor. It goes beyond Cynthia’s birthplace, accent, heritage & even her association with an ethnic bigot.
It rests on a pattern of behavior & choices.
It rests on a pattern of behavior & choices.
The framing of @paularogo's @Essence piece on Cynthia Erivo is…interesting.
This response will be a long thread bc it's impt that:
◾️we step back to analyze the larger narrative that's being created ◾️Essence is aware that we're aware of deliberate editorial decisions.
This response will be a long thread bc it's impt that:
◾️we step back to analyze the larger narrative that's being created ◾️Essence is aware that we're aware of deliberate editorial decisions.
TL;DR: From word choice, to sourcing, to biased, inaccurate framing, @paularogo's article, "Cynthia Erivo Pushes Back On Criticism Of Her New Role As Harriet Tubman" amounts to an Erivo fluff piece that tries to further neutralize valid criticism of a very real, very large issue.
(Note: When referring to African-Americans, I'm referring to DOS (descendant of slaves, h/t @BreakingBrown)/DACS (descendants of American chattel slavery)/BADASS (Black American descendants of American slavery & sharecropping, h/t @kimmaytube)
