Reflections on "Race" and Returning Home

First of all, let me apologize for this lengthy diatribe, but I have a bit more time on my hands now.

Just returned (again) to Cambridge, to the news of the arrest of Harvard Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. If you haven’t heard yet, he was arrested in his own home by police who were responding to a 911 call of a break-in. After Gates showed ID proving that he lived there the Cambridge City police arrested him for disorderly conduct and said that he was shouting and resisting them. This story has caused people and the media to re-question the injunction shortly after Obama’s election of the ushering in of a new “post-racial” era, and rightfully so.
At the end of Obama’s press conference a few nights ago he was asked what he thought of this arrest, and stated that the Cambridge police “acted stupidly,” citing the long history in our country of the disproportionate arrests of Blacks and Latinos. The dialogue on blogs, radio, TV, etc has proliferated as people take sides with Skip Gates or the police (who were doing their job??!!).

No need for me to explain my own opinion on this matter as you all know me well enough to guess… but it does raise interesting questions that actually relate to the developments of my project(s) over the last 3 weeks.

“Race” in Kerala
My last night in Kerala, was a stark reminder of the “taking sides-ness” of human nature. Jamie, the Catholic foreman of the fishermen we had been filming with (after a bit too much rum) started lashing out against his Muslim co-fishermen; people who, mind you, he is normally friendly with, works with everyday, and was even holding hands with on the way to the bar. As soon as the Muslim members of his fishing team were out of earshot, he started telling Ben and I that they were bad people, that they kill people, and “all they want is money, money, money.” Needless to say we were a bit surprised by his vehemence, and a bit disappointed that our last night, meant to be a farewell, had turned into a match of hurling insults (primarily one way; from Jamie towards the Muslims). Of course none of this was recorded and so now I struggle with how to address this religious tension in my film. The concept of what we call “race” is intricately bound up with ethnic, religious, and caste issues in Kerala; a complex web that I have yet to even begin to understand.

“Race” in Flint
While in MI over the past two weeks, I spoke to friends and family about the Genesee Land Bank, and heard a variety of responses to it. The Genesee County Land Bank, which is a proposal to shrink the city of Flint and raze several wards. Flint is in the process of electing a new Mayor and the Land Bank issue is hotly debated. However, most people I’ve spoken to about this have said that nothing is happening on the ground and its all just talk at the moment. I am really interested in following this story, but I would prefer to find a good subject “on the ground” to follow and film with over the next several years as things develop there. So far, I’ve found many people to talk to about this, but no one who actually lives in the wards likely to be scheduled for demolition. Not sure how to pursue this at this point?
A good friend of mine who grew up in Flint, but left decades ago said that his childhood friends had quite racist comments to the proposal of razing parts of town. Saying things like: “Good riddens” and “who needs those neighborhoods.” My friend found this shocking and racially motivated but also recalled a violent and troublesome childhood in racially segregated wards.

One thing traveling is always good for is a little perspective. Although I find it (probably too) easy to get worked up over racist or sexist comments/treatment abroad, returning to the States has been a bit of a wake-up call in the sense that what we consider ourselves to be is oftentimes a thin patina for more deeply rooted prejudices. If Skip Gates can get arrested in his own home in one of the countries “most liberal” towns, what’s happening in Flint needs attention as its unemployment rates nears 30% and new politicians vie for controlled change, and what happens in Kerala needs to be balanced by a little well-informed perspective as well.