How we start envisioning a future where all of us live as equals | Mindy Fullilove | TEDxMidAtlantic

TEDx Talks

5 Oct 201812:19

Summary

TLDRIn this powerful speech, the speaker reflects on their upbringing as the child of civil rights activists and an interracial couple during a time of deep social division. They share stories of their father's impactful work in labor organizing and equal rights advocacy. The speaker highlights how America's history of inequality, dating back to slavery and beyond, has shaped society today. They propose an inclusive approach to addressing inequality, urging communities to come together, acknowledge the past, and work toward a future of equality, emphasizing the importance of collective action and the perspectives of younger generations.

Takeaways

😊 Maggie and Ernie Thompson, an interracial couple and civil rights activists, raised their daughter in a challenging social environment during the 1950s and McCarthy era.
😢 The speaker felt isolated as a teenager due to her parents' interracial marriage but later appreciated their activism when helping her father finish his book.
💼 Her father, Ernie, was a pioneering Black organizer for the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America, fighting for equal opportunities and wages for women and people of color.
🎨 Ernie Thompson is honored in a mural in Erie, Pennsylvania, recognizing his efforts in civil rights and union work.
📜 The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding history, from slavery to today, and how events like Bacon's Rebellion were pivotal in shaping social divisions like 'whiteness' and inequality.
💡 She believes that the ideology of inequality, established through systems like slavery, continues to permeate society, influencing biases based on race, gender, and other factors.
🌍 The speaker discusses the concept of the 'ecology of inequality,' noting how historical systems of inequality impact everyone within society today.
🎉 To address this, she suggests that community events like parties can be tools for healing and collective understanding, especially when involving diverse groups, including teenagers.
📅 The upcoming 400th anniversary of the arrival of Africans in Jamestown in 1619 is viewed as an opportunity to reflect on multiple histories, such as women's, African American, and Native American experiences.
🛠 The speaker advocates for creating 'equal ecologies' where individuals come together across social divides, using creative gatherings as a means to envision and build a more equitable future.

Q & A

Who are Maggie and Ernie Thompson?
-Maggie and Ernie Thompson were an interracial couple and civil rights activists. The speaker is their daughter.
What was the speaker’s experience as the daughter of an interracial couple in the 1950s?
-The speaker described her teenage years as difficult, feeling embarrassed and frustrated by being the daughter of an interracial couple during the McCarthy era.
How did the speaker's relationship with her father change when he became ill?
-When the speaker's father became ill and was unable to finish writing his book due to a stroke, she helped him by writing down the stories he shared with her, which allowed them to bond over his experiences.
What work did the speaker’s father do as part of the United Electrical Workers Union?
-The speaker’s father was the first paid Black organizer for the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America and led their Fair Employment Practices. He fought for equal wages and opportunities for people of color and women, and organized three national conferences for women.
What is the significance of the mural in Erie, Pennsylvania mentioned in the script?
-The mural in the UE headquarters in Erie, Pennsylvania, honors the speaker’s father and two other men for their work in advocating for equality, particularly linking the fight for women's rights with the fight for racial equality.
How does the speaker connect 1619 to the present day in terms of inequality?
-The speaker connects 1619, the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in America, to modern-day inequality, explaining that slavery created a long-lasting system of inequality that shaped the social and political landscape of the United States.
What was the impact of Bacon's Rebellion, according to the speaker?
-Bacon's Rebellion in the 17th century led the elite to invent 'white privilege' as a way to divide poor white indentured servants from enslaved Africans. They did this by treating white servants more leniently than Black slaves, reinforcing racial divisions.
How does the speaker describe the concept of an 'ecology of inequality'?
-The speaker describes an 'ecology of inequality' as a social system that affects everyone, much like an ecosystem, where inequality is ingrained in the foundations of society and impacts all aspects of life.
What solution does the speaker propose for addressing inequality during the 2019 anniversary of 1619?
-The speaker suggests creating events like a timeline of multiple histories and community gatherings to acknowledge the shared history of inequality. She emphasizes including teenagers in these efforts because they are deeply connected to their communities.
What example does the speaker give of geographic inequality in St. Louis?
-The speaker describes the 'Delmar Divide' in St. Louis, where one side of the street is devastated by disinvestment and poverty, while the other side is prosperous and wealthy, illustrating stark geographic inequality.

Outlines

00:00

👨‍👩‍👧 The Story of a Unique Family and Legacy

The speaker introduces their parents, Maggie and Ernie Thompson, who were an interracial couple and civil rights activists. Despite the significance of their work, the speaker humorously reflects on how she did not live up to the image of a 'fabulous daughter,' feeling the challenges of growing up in such a unique family during the 1950s and McCarthy era. The narrative shifts to a touching moment when the speaker helped her ailing father finish his book, leading to the discovery of incredible stories about his work as the first paid Black organizer for the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America. His efforts to fight for equal opportunities for people of color and women left a lasting impact, with his legacy honored in a mural at the UE headquarters in Pennsylvania.

05:02

📜 The Ecology of Inequality in America's Foundation

The speaker reflects on the deep-rooted inequality in America, beginning with historical injustices such as slavery and indentured servitude. They highlight the creation of racial divisions, particularly through 'white privilege,' which was invented by elites to prevent unity among oppressed groups like indentured servants and slaves. These divisions were codified in foundational documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, embedding inequality into the fabric of the nation. The speaker draws on Winston Churchill's quote about how buildings shape societies, extending the metaphor to how America's social system of inequality continues to define the country's ecosystem.

10:04

🎉 Planning Parties to Combat Inequality

The speaker discusses how celebrations can address the 'ecology of inequality.' They argue that to celebrate 2019, which marks 400 years since 1619 when the first Africans arrived in Jamestown, people must acknowledge suffering, find personal connections to history, and bring together diverse communities—especially teenagers, who have a unique perspective. The speaker emphasizes the importance of telling authentic stories, even if they are difficult or uncomfortable, such as those of the Haymarket martyrs or women's suffragists. These stories help people reflect on the past and imagine a future defined by equality rather than the inequality embedded in the country's history.

🗺️ Sense of Place and the Delmar Divide

The speaker shares their experience traveling across different cities and witnessing inequality firsthand. They recall visiting St. Louis and being shown the 'Delmar Divide,' a geographical and social boundary that starkly separates wealth from poverty. The divide is used as a powerful metaphor for the broader divisions created by inequality. The speaker proposes imaginative solutions, such as organizing a potluck across this divide, where people come together to build community and break down the barriers that separate them. Such gatherings create opportunities for healing and envisioning a future where equality is not just a goal, but a lived reality.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Interracial Couple

The term 'interracial couple' refers to a relationship between partners of different racial backgrounds. In the video, the speaker describes her parents, Maggie and Ernie Thompson, as an interracial couple in the 1950s. This is significant because such relationships were socially controversial at the time, and her parents were also civil rights activists. Their union symbolizes love, defiance of racial boundaries, and a commitment to equality during a period of intense racial discrimination in the U.S.

💡Civil Rights Activists

Civil rights activists are individuals who advocate for the equal rights and fair treatment of all people, particularly marginalized groups. Maggie and Ernie Thompson, the speaker's parents, were involved in the civil rights movement, which sought to dismantle racial segregation and promote equality in the U.S. Their activism represents the struggle for justice and human rights during the mid-20th century.

💡United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE)

The United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America is a labor union that represents workers in industries such as electronics and manufacturing. In the video, the speaker mentions her father's involvement with the UE, where he was the first paid Black organizer. His role in advocating for fair employment practices, equal wages, and organizing national conferences for women highlights his dedication to labor rights and gender equality.

💡Timeline of Multiple Histories

The 'timeline of multiple histories' refers to the project the speaker and her students worked on, which aimed to document and integrate various historical narratives, including women's history, African American history, Native American history, and working people’s history. This timeline emphasizes the interconnectedness of different struggles for justice and equality, recognizing that history is not linear and that marginalized groups have contributed significantly to societal development.

💡Ecology of Inequality

The 'ecology of inequality' is a metaphor used in the video to describe the systemic and interwoven nature of social, economic, and racial inequalities that affect everyone. The speaker argues that inequality is ingrained in society, much like an ecosystem, and cannot be easily escaped. It shapes people's lives, environments, and opportunities. The idea suggests that collective action is necessary to dismantle this structure and create a more equitable society.

💡2019 – 400 Years Since 1619

The reference to 2019 marks the 400-year anniversary of 1619, a pivotal year in American history when the first African slaves were brought to Jamestown. The speaker uses this anniversary to reflect on the long history of racial oppression in the United States and to question whether enough progress has been made since then. The timeline created by the speaker’s class marks 1619 as a starting point for understanding the deeply rooted inequalities in American society.

💡White Privilege

White privilege is the systemic advantage that white people have in society due to their race, which has been constructed and maintained to perpetuate inequality. The speaker recounts the historical invention of white privilege during Bacon's Rebellion in the 17th century, where colonial leaders used race to divide poor whites and Black slaves by treating the former more leniently. This division reinforced social hierarchies based on race, embedding racial privilege in societal structures.

💡Three-Fifths Compromise

The Three-Fifths Compromise was a clause in the U.S. Constitution that counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of taxation and representation. The speaker uses this historical example to highlight how inequality was codified in foundational documents of the United States, reflecting the nation’s systemic dehumanization of Black people and the entrenchment of slavery in its political framework.

💡Delmar Divide

The Delmar Divide is a geographical and social divide in St. Louis, Missouri, that starkly separates predominantly wealthy, white neighborhoods from impoverished, predominantly Black neighborhoods. The speaker refers to the divide as an example of how inequality manifests in physical space, with one side experiencing prosperity and the other devastation. It serves as a potent symbol of how racial and economic inequalities are embedded in the urban landscape.

💡Sense of Place

'Sense of place' refers to an individual’s emotional attachment and understanding of their environment, shaped by their experiences and identity. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the power of knowing one's surroundings and how the geography of inequality affects people's lives. By understanding their sense of place, individuals can become more aware of societal disparities and begin to imagine ways to bridge these divides and create more equitable communities.

Highlights

Maggie and Ernie Thompson were an interracial couple and civil rights activists, reflecting on their courage and dedication.

The speaker, their daughter, reflects on her complex feelings growing up as the child of an interracial couple in the 1950s and McCarthy era.

A transformative moment came when the speaker helped her father, who suffered from a stroke, finish his book by listening to his remarkable stories.

Her father, Ernie Thompson, was the first paid Black organizer for the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) and fought for equal rights for people of color and women.

Ernie Thompson's work is commemorated in a mural at the UE headquarters in Erie, Pennsylvania, emphasizing the historical connection between women's and Black people's struggles.

The timeline of U.S. history doesn't go directly from slavery to the present; many important struggles, like those of indigenous people and Bacon's Rebellion, occurred in between.

The invention of 'white privilege' emerged after Bacon's Rebellion when indentured servants and slaves united in rebellion, leading the ruling class to divide them by race.

The foundational documents of the United States, like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, are steeped in inequality, reflecting systemic racial and social divides.

The 'ecology of inequality' is a persistent system in which all people are trapped, regardless of status or privilege, and there is no escape from its impact.

2019 marks 400 years since 1619, the year Africans were brought to Jamestown and sold into slavery, as well as the year white women were sold into indentured servitude.

The speaker teaches a course called '400 Years of Inequality,' which traces the intertwined histories of women's rights, African American history, Native American history, and labor struggles.

To address inequality, the speaker suggests we must recognize everyone’s suffering, engage teenagers in discussions, and be willing to talk about uncomfortable historical truths.

Politicians often tell a 'tidied up' story of history, but real change requires acknowledging the difficult and painful stories, like those of the Haymarket martyrs and women's suffragettes.

The 'Delmar Divide' in St. Louis serves as a stark example of geographical and racial inequality, where prosperous and impoverished neighborhoods are separated by one block.

The speaker envisions a symbolic event where communities gather across divides like Delmar Boulevard, hosting a potluck that fosters healing, unity, and new possibilities.