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Rachel Jeantel’s testimony on the witness stand during the George Zimmerman murder trial was cringe-inducing, embarrassing, and mortifying to watch. As a Black woman I have been ridiculed for “talking white” and “thinking I’m white” because I navigate quite well outside of Black culture. Frankly, I would rather take that type of flack than be an embarrassment across worldwide media because of my inability to do so.
If we take nothing else away from Rachel Jeantel’s testimony, it should be this: Literacy involves more than being able to read and write. It involves the ability to effectively operate in the overall society when it matters most. Unfortunately, Rachel failed this test. We will see how it affects the outcome of this trial, and whether it helps or hurts the prosecution’s case.
SEE RELATED: Trayvon Martin trial tilts toward Zimmerman after Jeantel testimony
It would be wonderful if this sparked a wider conversation on the failure of modern Blacks to instill a love of words, literacy, and knowledge in our young, and greater still, the failure to encourage and teach our children how to maneuver outside of their everyday reality. This used to not only be a matter of practicality, but of progress, and safety. We appear to no longer give this proper weight, let alone thought.
Ebony, a history-making Black publication, could have penned a thought-provoking piece about how far we have fallen from this cultural norm, how we must return to it, and how we can begin again. Instead, the editorial writer went into attack mode: “The chastising of this woman’s speech and body language belied the fact that many themselves were rejecting their own self-reflection. For far too many of our community members that epitomize Drake’s ‘started from the bottom’ mantra would like to forget the places from whence they came.” When You Make Fun of Rachel Jeantel, You Make Fun of Us.
Ebony shoots, Ebony misses. My single mother made sure I knew how to read and write, as well as how to talk to adults and authority figures. If reality and sitcom television is any indicator, this has become a lost art. Christina Coleman, writer at the Global Grind, takes the “you’re not black enough to understand Rachel” tack: “And as Rachel Jeantel sits on the stand, nervous, mumbling and annoyed, it’s not that she’s just a ‘hoodrat with no media training from a hostile environment.’ It’s just that your world and our world are … excuse the cliche … worlds apart.”
Read more: Rachel Jeantel
Follow us: @wtcommunities on Twitter
How can the "truth" be pursued when persons of ignorance are the source of information in any application whether it be courts, schools or work?
If we take nothing else away from Rachel Jeantel’s testimony, it should be this: Literacy involves more than being able to read and write. It involves the ability to effectively operate in the overall society when it matters most. Unfortunately, Rachel failed this test. We will see how it affects the outcome of this trial, and whether it helps or hurts the prosecution’s case.
SEE RELATED: Trayvon Martin trial tilts toward Zimmerman after Jeantel testimony
It would be wonderful if this sparked a wider conversation on the failure of modern Blacks to instill a love of words, literacy, and knowledge in our young, and greater still, the failure to encourage and teach our children how to maneuver outside of their everyday reality. This used to not only be a matter of practicality, but of progress, and safety. We appear to no longer give this proper weight, let alone thought.
Ebony, a history-making Black publication, could have penned a thought-provoking piece about how far we have fallen from this cultural norm, how we must return to it, and how we can begin again. Instead, the editorial writer went into attack mode: “The chastising of this woman’s speech and body language belied the fact that many themselves were rejecting their own self-reflection. For far too many of our community members that epitomize Drake’s ‘started from the bottom’ mantra would like to forget the places from whence they came.” When You Make Fun of Rachel Jeantel, You Make Fun of Us.
Ebony shoots, Ebony misses. My single mother made sure I knew how to read and write, as well as how to talk to adults and authority figures. If reality and sitcom television is any indicator, this has become a lost art. Christina Coleman, writer at the Global Grind, takes the “you’re not black enough to understand Rachel” tack: “And as Rachel Jeantel sits on the stand, nervous, mumbling and annoyed, it’s not that she’s just a ‘hoodrat with no media training from a hostile environment.’ It’s just that your world and our world are … excuse the cliche … worlds apart.”
Read more: Rachel Jeantel
Follow us: @wtcommunities on Twitter
How can the "truth" be pursued when persons of ignorance are the source of information in any application whether it be courts, schools or work?