Inspiration from Harriet Beecher Stowe

Saturday, September 23rd was Free Museum Day! Sponsored by the Smithsonian, many museums across the country participated in this event. I attended two museums that day, but today I'm going to tell you about my visit to the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. It's not your typical house tour, where architecture and decor are pointed out. In fact, other than to mention some renovations still in process, the home and furnishings are just a back drop. 

Home of Harriet Beecher Stowe

 Visitors are encouraged to have a seat, and read, handle and discuss copies of primary source letters, posters, and documents. No boring, memorized lecture here. You are encouraged to interrupt, ask questions, and talk about items that interest you.

The Stowe Visitor Center

 Harriet's neighbor was Mark Twain. He wrote Huckleberry Finn, she wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin. 

A view of  neighbor Mark Twain's house

Raised by Reverend Lyman Beecher, who insisted his children come to the dinner table each evening prepared to discuss important and serious topics, Harriet was well trained to articulate societal problems. More importantly, she understood how to communicate the horrors of slavery by writing in a style that helped the readers of the day empathize with the suffering of slaves. Having lost a child of her own, she found the idea of selling away a slave woman's child abhorrent - So she wrote about it, and brought others to tears.

Perennial gardens line the front and side walkways

 One quiet, reflective woman sitting and writing in the calm of her upper class home in Hartford, Connecticut managed to enlighten the country as to what was wrong with slavery. She managed to shift the thinking from "They don't have feelings anyway," to one of empathy and compassion - The power of a pen is immense when wielded by a thoughtful intellect and a caring heart. This in a day when women still did not have the right to vote.

"As Columbus sought an old continent and discovered a new one, so Harriet Beecher Stowe meant to write an argument on an old theme and succeeded in writing an immortal classic." 

Along the same vein, it turns out it is not true that all slaves were illiterate. Although against the law to teach slaves to read, many quietly ignored the law in order to promote Christianity through reading the Bible. Others saw a benefit to having educated slaves working for them. So, quietly, in the privacy of their homes and plantations, one by one slaves were taught to read. A ripple effect - slaves taught slaves to read. Change occurred - The power of teaching - sharing knowledge with your fellow human beings, one at a time. Need I say more? I feel I must.

In today's climate of divisiveness, inequality, and injustice, I feel I must point out that although slavery is no longer legal, injustice still occurs too often. Although we elected a black president in both 2008 and 2012, deeply held prejudices still exist. According to the NAACP Criminal Justice Fact Sheet, "Though African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately 32% of the US population, they comprised 56% of all incarcerated people in 2015." 

We must do better. We must ban racial profiling. We must train law enforcement officers to verbally deescalate potentially dangerous situations, and to use non-lethal procedures in dangerous situations. We must stop seeing black men as a threat, and start seeing them as human. We must have public service announcements that teach all of us - regardless of skin color - how to behave when law enforcement stops you.

I have a confession to make. I have a bit of a lead foot. Yes, I've been know to speed down the highway, and yes, I've been ticketed. Here's what happened during one stop: Cop pulls up behind me, lights flashing, and over loud speaker tells me to pull over. I do. While he is preparing to come to passenger side of my car, I (thinking I'm being efficient) go through my purse to get my license, and glove box to get my registration, and lower my passenger side window, checking my mirror to see where he is. The first thing he asks is what I was looking for. I explain, and he tells me you are suppose to wait until you are asked for those items. He then proceeds with giving me a ticket. We both drive away unharmed.

Looking back I realize how fortunate I was. From an officer's point of view, not knowing what a person is searching for must be pretty scary, even threatening. I'm fortunate I am a white woman. If I had been born a black man, or even a black woman, would I have survived that encounter? More and more lately I have heard about black parents having "the talk" with their teenage sons regarding how to behave during a stop. I believe "the talk" should also come from law enforcement professionals in the form of public service announcements. These educational announcements could explain law enforcement procedures, the citizens expected behavior and rights when stopped, and the officers point of view. We need to build empathy for and with everyone if we want to live in a safe, caring, and compassionate society.

Recently, football players have been taking a knee during the National Anthem. It began with pro quarterback Colin Kaepernick. He could have begun a riot. He could have shouted hate. Instead, he used his celebrity to bring attention to a major problem in America - the inequality and injustice in the way blacks are too often treated - by quietly taking the humble pose of kneeling during the National Anthem sung before football games.

Colin Kaepernick quietly and humbly takes a knee to protest injustice

Many people support Colin. I am one of those people. Many people oppose him. They feel he is being disrespectful to our country, disrespectful to our veterans and active duty military, ungrateful for the opportunities he has received, and is destroying the great game of football. I understand some of those concerns. As a teacher, I always insisted my students stand with hand over  heart for the Pledge of Allegiance (unless they had a religious objection). It was about teaching respect, and about having a common tradition and values. I have a family member in the military, and would never want him to feel disrespected for his service to country. Peaceful protest is not disrespectful. Freedom of expression is a right we as a country have fought for. I also do not believe Kaepernick is ungrateful for the opportunity to play football. I believe he recognizes the privilege of his celebrity and is using it in a responsible way. He is paid to play football at a professional level. That is what he does come game time. His humble protest occurs during the National Anthem and has the whole country talking. As to destroying the great game of football, well I must admit I've never been a fan. It always seemed too violent. Since learning about the serious effects of brain concussions players suffer, I'm even less of a fan. This I believe, is the reason there has been a decrease in viewership of pro games. The NFL has undone itself by hiding this information from players and fans for too many years.

I must take inspiration from Harriet Beecher Stowe. I must do something. In my own quiet way, from the comfort of my middle class Connecticut home, I'm posing for a photo of myself, a white woman, taking a knee while watching the National Anthem sung before a football game. In support of Colin Kaepernick, in support of all African Americans, in support of equality and justice for all, I'm taking a knee.

White woman takes a knee to demonstrate for equality and justice for all

Still not convinced? Here are a few more things to consider: 

• Statistics show our military's active duty enlistment consists of 17.8% blacks, while black Americans make up only 13.3% of the U.S. population.
• Many children and parents look up to professional sports players as role models. Kaepernick is a role model. He is a role model for non-violent forms of protest, just as Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. were. 
• Minority populations can not fight injustice alone. They must motivate across the lines of skin color, religious affiliation, and political ideals. This is why I have joined the demonstration.
• Read about the psychology of kneeling and why some have misinterpreted this action here.
• Read what George Clooney has to say here.

In Harriet Beecher Stowe's day, wealthy plantation owners refused to stand up for human rights in favor of their economic system of slavery. Today it is wealthy football players taking the lead in peacefully promoting awareness of the inequality and injustice that still exists. They risk their jobs, and their wealth in the process, but feel they must. I applaud, encourage and kneel with them.              
     

Laura S. Pringle is the author of The Pringle Plan, a series of educational guides. 

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