HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lens - September 202110/6/2021 The Lens - September 2021
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/IAIOWA/bulletins/2f061d7 1/4
The Lens - September 2021
City of Iowa City sent this bulletin at 09/15/2021 08:00 AM CDT
Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.
September 2021 | Visit us online at www.icgov.org/SJREinitiatives
Frida Kahlo, Latinx Icon
Frida Kahlo died nearly 70 years ago in 1954, but lives on as an
icon for Latinx people, feminists, LGBTQ+ people, Indigenous
people, people with disabilities, and art lovers — quite a legacy for
one person. Born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón in
Mexico City in 1907, Kahlo had polio as a child, leaving one leg
shorter than the other. But her struggle with lifelong pain truly began
when she was 19 and a trolley she was riding collided with a bus.
Her spine was broken in several places, a metal handrail from the
trolley pierced her pelvis, her right leg was shattered, her foot was
crushed, her collarbone was broken, and she had other injuries as
well. Emergency personnel on the scene believed she was injured
beyond hope, but her boyfriend, who was also in the crash,
convinced them to take her to the hospital. Confined to bed for
several months, she began to paint. (She had enjoyed drawing from
an early age, but now began to paint seriously.)
A graduate of a prestigious private high school, Kahlo became active in politics after recovering from
the crash, joining the Communist Party. At a party, she spoke with the muralist Diego Rivera, whom
she had encountered while he painted a mural at her school. Kahlo asked his opinion of her art and
learned Rivera thought she had talent. The two also fell in love and married, but their relationship was
stormy and both had multiple affairs. Kahlo is known to have had several affairs with women, including
Paulette Goddard, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Josephine Baker. Kahlo and Rivera eventually divorced,
then remarried. Ultimately, they lived together — but separately — in a family compound consisting of
two houses joined by a bridge.
Unusual for a female artist of her time, Kahlo addressed difficult subjects in her art, according to the
Cleve Carney Museum of Art. Due to the injuries suffered in the trolley crash, she had several
miscarriages, the emotional effects of which she depicted in her paintings. She also portrayed chronic
pain (dozens of nails in her skin), violence against women (a scene of domestic violence in which
blood-red paint is so plentiful it leaps from the painting onto the frame), and the conflicts between
Indigenous culture and modern life (contrasting iconography contained in single paintings, leading to a
tension between worlds).
Kahlo’s talent made her world-famous. She was the first Mexican artist to have work purchased and
displayed by the Louvre in Paris. She was also a fashion icon, alternately wearing Indigenous Mexican
women’s clothing and modern Western male attire according to her mood, and appearing on the cover
of Vogue and other magazines. Kahlo died in 1954 at the age of 47. She had endured over 30
surgeries, many infections, and many years of extreme pain during her life. After falling into obscurity
in the years following her death, she enjoyed a resurgence in the 1970s that has never ended. Today,
she is a source of inspiration for many.
Systematic vs. Systemic: How to use them correctly
In the protests following the death of George Floyd, conversations about systemic racism spread
across the country. But with this heightened interest came considerable confusion around what
systemic really means. According to Dictionary.com, searches for the word "systemic" rose 187% on
June 10th, 2020. Even greater confusion seemed to pop up around the difference between systemic
racism and systematic racism. To understand this difference, we’ll break these terms down one by
one.
Subscribe to updates from City of Iowa City
Email Address e.g. name@exam
Subscribe
Share Bulletin
10/6/2021 The Lens - September 2021
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/IAIOWA/bulletins/2f061d7 2/4
What does systematic mean?
According to Dictionary.com systematic means “having, showing,
or involving a system, method, or plan.” A good way to think about
systematic is you have a plan and you execute the steps on that
plan.
What does systemic mean?
Systemic is defined by Dictionary.com as “of or relating to a
system.” This term is used to describe a situation that impacts the
system as a whole. When we talk about systemic problems or systemic changes, we aren’t focusing
on a small part of our society that needs to be fixed, but rather looking at the way the problem is
pervasive throughout our entire society.
What is systemic racism?
When we think about racism, many of us can point to clear examples. Things like racial slurs or the
existence of hate groups like the KKK are examples of explicit racism. But harder for some people to
define are the ways in which racism has seeped into every institution in our lives. Racism exists in
government, education, law enforcement, fair housing, and so much more. Also referred to as
structural racism or institutional racism, systemic racism acknowledges the ways racism is baked into
all of our institutions. If we truly want to push back against the impact racism has on our society it is
important for us to recognize the ways in which it is systemic, and begin to unravel its hold on our
institutions.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Podcasts
In recent years, podcasts have soared in popularity. According to
Apple, there were 550,000 active podcasts and 18.5 million
podcast episodes on their podcast platform as of 2018. By 2020
those numbers had dramatically increased, with Apple reporting
700,000 active podcasts and 29 million episodes. All around the
world people pop in their headphones and listen to their favorite
hosts talk about everything from current events, to pop culture
moments, to true crime stories. Podcasts have also become an
excellent source of education. During the Black Lives Matter
protests of last summer, many people turned to podcasts as an
excellent source of information about systemic racism.
Whether you’re just starting your Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) education, ready to dive deeper
into a topic, or just looking for something interesting to listen to, we’ve got a list of amazing podcasts
you’ll love.
Code Switch: Code Switch is a podcast from NPR. Hosts Shereen Marisol Meraji and Gene
Demby put out weekly episodes focusing on the intersectionality of social justice issues. The
podcast covers everything from disability rights, to police brutality, to the immigrant experience.
The scholars, writers, and activists they bring on the show make every episode engaging and
unique. You can listen to Code Switch on Spotify or the Apple Podcast app.
Pod Save the People: Hosted by noted activist and organizer DeRay Mckessen, Pod Save
the People focuses on news, culture, politics, and social justice, specifically centering on people
of color in the conversations. Each episode also features weekly interviews with analysts,
researchers, and activists. New episodes come out every Tuesday and you can listen to them
on Spotify or the Apple Podcast app.
Women at Work: Hosts Amy Bernstein, Amy Gallo, and Emily Caufield from Harvard
Business Review bring together professors, social workers, and business leaders to discuss the
hurdles women have to overcome in male-dominated workspaces. They cover issues like the
gender pay gap, sexual harassment, and countering the casual sexism present in most work
places. Women at Work can be found on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Diversity: Beyond the Check Box: Each week, host Jackie Ferguson dives into issues of
diversity, equity and inclusion to teach listeners how to explore these topics in a meaningful
way. Drawing on the insights of experts, this Diversity Movement podcast helps readers think
about treating diversity as more than just a box to be checked off. Diversity: Beyond the Check
Box can be found on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Sociologist and Historian James Loewen, Author of
'Sundown Towns' Dies
James Loewen wrote almost a dozen books, the most famous of
which was 'Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School
History Textbook Got Wrong.' A Northerner fascinated by the
South, Dr. Loewen was raised in Illinois, earned his PhD at
Harvard, and began his half-century-long teaching career at
Tougaloo College, a historically Black university in Mississippi.
10/6/2021 The Lens - September 2021
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/IAIOWA/bulletins/2f061d7 3/4
There, he discovered his students had been fed a wildly inaccurate version of history. They had been
taught the Ku Klux Klan was a fraternal organization akin to clubs like the Elks and Eagles, had been
told that Black officeholders during Reconstruction were corrupt, and had not been taught about
lynching at all. The incredible inaccuracies led to the 1976 book, co-written with colleague Charles
Sallis, 'Mississippi: Conflict and Change.' The book won the Lillian Smith Book Award for best
Southern non-fiction, but Mississippi’s officials would not allow it to be used in schools, calling it
“inflammatory.” The NAACP and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law sued for the
right to use the book in Mississippi schools, which they won in 1980.
According to his New York Times obituary, Dr. Loewen spent the bulk of his career searching out
hidden history and correcting the “blind patriotism and outright lies” he found circulating in many
history books. In addition to Lies My Teacher Told Me, he wrote, for example, Lies Across America:
What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong, and Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism.
Sundown Towns, which addresses the little-known history of segregated towns in northern states,
where people of color were warned they could enter town in daylight to do business, but must be gone
by sundown. The legacy of sundown towns still remains; the website ProPublica recently profiled one
(warning: depictions of racial violence and racist language quoted). A photograph accompanying the
story shows a confederate flag casually draped outside a storefront. It is hoped Dr. Loewen’s
thousands of former students will continue his vital work.
Blue Beetle
Latinx comic and superhero fans are finally getting the
representation they deserve with the upcoming Blue Beetle movie.
Scheduled for release in late 2022, Blue Beetle will be the first
feature-length film to headline a Latino superhero, according to
Mitú. Xolo Maridueña, who was recently cast as Blue Beetle, is a
Los Angeles-born actor of Mexican, Cuban and Ecuadorian descent. The movie’s director and
screenwriter, Angel Manuel Soto and Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, respectively, are also Latino.
Blue Beetle is the alter-ego of Jaime Reyes, a Mexican-American teenager from El Paso, Texas who
encounters a magic scarab, which fuses to his spine. Scarabs are desert beetles which played an
important role in Egyptian mythology. In the story, the scarab forms armor designed by aliens that has
“a mind of its own.” It allows Jaime to fly, connect with other machines, emit energy blasts, and more.
Prior to the feature film, Blue Beetle has appeared in supporting roles in Justice League and Teen
Titans. Maridueña says he is “beyond grateful to be able to fill in these enormous shoes as one of the
first Latino Superheroes on the big screen.”
Mitú further reports Warner Brothers has also cast Latina newcomer Sasha Calle to star as Supergirl
in the upcoming “Flash” movie. Rachel Zegler of “West Side Story” will play an unknown role in the
upcoming “Shazam” sequel, “Shazam: Fury of the Gods,” as well. Let’s hope the trend of Latinx
representation in the superhero realm continues.
New & Views: Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoyed these articles and we want to hear your
feedback for future issues. The newsletter will be published monthly. We’d like to hear from you
regarding racial equity and social justice in your work or your department. Contact humanrights@iowa-
city.org.
Follow us on Instagram @ichumanrights
Questions?
10/6/2021 The Lens - September 2021
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/IAIOWA/bulletins/2f061d7 4/4
Contact Us
STAY CONNECTED:
SUBSCRIBER SERVICES: Manage Preferences | Unsubscribe | Help
Powered by
Privacy Policy | Cookie Statement | Help