Strength in Diversity and Compassion – Wise Words from My Father

It's been a while since my last post, and although much has happened in my personal and professional life, I think – given the severity of world events – it's most appropriate to dedicate this first-in-a-long-time entry to the alarming increase in xenophobia and racism that is affecting communities large and small.

James & Linda Henning. Photo by Bev Widney.

Long before the current administration tried to close our borders to refugees struggling to find a safe home for their families, the Brooklyn neighborhood I grew up in faced a similar small-scale crisis:

The city planned to open a homeless shelter for women and children in Kensington, where my father grew up and still lives today with my mother.

For nearly fifty years he has served the community in its keystone organization, The Albemarle Neighborhood Association, and has taken an active role in neighborhood affairs.

In fall 2015 a community meeting was held to discuss "The Kensington" shelter and my father was appalled by the "absolute panic" of residents – many of whom were themselves immigrants seeking a better life – fearful of the newcomers' effect on the community.

As a longtime resident who knew the community's history of diversity and compassion, he drafted a short presentation to address these fears and remind his neighbors of the importance of lending a helping hand to those in need.

His words, over a year later, are even more relevant today, as we must continue to remember that we are a country united not by ethnicity or common heritage, but by ideals. And that most central ideal – to welcome those "yearning to breathe free" – must never be forgotten.

An ANA Table at a Recent Street Fair. Courtesy of  KARMABrooklyn Blog.

Comments for “The Kensington” Homeless Shelter Meeting, Thursday 12/10/2015

Good Evening.  My name is James Henning. Perhaps you know me from the Albemarle Neighborhood Association.   

I am a long-time resident of this neighborhood. Except for four years in the service, and four years living in Manhattan when my wife and I were first married, I’ve lived here all my life. I went to [the local elementary school] P.S. 130 – and my kids went to P.S.130 also. And although we don’t own a house, we have as much to lose as anyone in this auditorium if things went seriously wrong in this neighborhood.  

So, we have a fair amount of trepidation regarding the opening of a homeless shelter here.

Even so, I think the people coming to the shelter, homeless mothers and their children, should be accepted into our neighborhood.  It is the noble and compassionate thing to do.

I’m sure that many of us here have themselves been in dire straits at one time or another in their lives, or at least know people close to them who were in such a situation, and needed a helping hand.  

These people, although strangers to us, are NYC residents and need acceptance and a helping hand for themselves and for their children. 

Without a family network, or even friends with sufficient resources, they have turned to the city for this helping hand.

And the city has turned to us.

New York City at present is enjoying a period of prosperity.  One way or another we all are enjoying the fruits of this prosperity. For example: Home owners are seeing their property values rise. Landlords are seeing see that they can charge higher rents for their apartments. 

But, like so many things in life, this prosperity has a downside, and that downside is homelessness.  

I think it only fair, that while enjoying this prosperity, we also assume responsibility for the homeless situation, and do our part. 

I was at the meeting held at the Windsor Terrace Library and I must say that it was an embarrassment: Instead of witnessing respectful consideration of the points being presented by the attending officials, I witnessed absolute panic over what may or may not happen as a result of the opening of the shelter, and heard much anger and bitterness often aimed at things unrelated to the opening of the shelter.  

In addition, I saw the officials being treated with appalling disrespect. 

That said, I hope that you all here see the need for compassion and acceptance for those who will be our new neighbors. 

One way to think of them is as immigrants.  

Everybody here is either an immigrant or the descendant of immigrants and we’re all grateful for this country’s compassionate history of the welcoming of immigrants.

So, in that same spirit, rather than dismiss the shelter and its occupants out of hand, let’s welcome the new arrivals and, if problems arise, let’s deal with them rationally on a case-by-case basis.

We are a very diverse community, and this is something to boast about because we get along with each other quite well.  

In fact, it has always been a diverse community – all the way back to the 1940s!

With this in mind, I trust that our “better angels” will guide us this evening to a thoughtful and constructive meeting regarding this new addition to our community.

Thank you.

Casual Racism--It's Not OK

In my early 20s I joined several NYC theater companies, happy to be a part of any group that would have me as a member.

One group was particularly small and was most focused on "collective" work. We met every week to read plays, to discuss vision, to vote on prospective members.

And every member of the group was white (yes, I count Ashkenazi Jewish as white).

Toward the end of my short year with the group I remarked to a member -- a West Virginian native -- that maybe we should try to bring in more racially or culturally diverse members. He shrugged and asked why. 

I thought this would be self-evident, but gave him the usual reasons about inclusiveness and representing at least some of the many cultures as New York had to offer. Or, more importantly, NOT excluding people for superficial reasons. 

He argued that we had no control over who applied to be a member. I suggested that we could advertise in less homogenous communities. 

He shrugged again, saying it wasn't important, then added, "Yeah. I don't know. I don't really care. I don't think it matters." My jaw dropped. 

He read my expression and added, "I guess I'm kind of racist. I don't know. It was just the way I was raised. You know, that like they just aren't as good as us? It's just how I feel. It's the way I was raised." My jaw welded to the floor. 

Seriously?!?!?!

It was like he was saying, "So, big deal if I'm a bigot, it's not my fault, and it doesn't really matter." But it was his fault. And it absolutely did matter!

Did he ever consider that any non-white prospective member just might pick up on this attitude and react accordingly? Did he ever consider that just maybe this was a heinous belief system that was responsible for some of our culture's most hateful acts??

No. 

To him it was just "how he was raised" -- in the same way a person might be raised to eat with a fork, or to love football, or to say please and thank you. But instead of being raised to have good manners, he was raised to have contempt based on skin color; and contempt is a close cousin to hatred and oppression.

Yes, racism was his "family value" -- which he embraced with a shrug of defiant indifference: If it doesn't matter, why should he bother to change it?

But racism isn't a "family value". I'ts not a "tradition" any more than child abuse is: Just because parents do it doesn't mean its OK to abuse the next generation!!

Racism is a destructive belief system -- even when it's latent -- that affects everyone in a culture: We may not be acting directly on destructive and hateful beliefs, but those beliefs influence other aspects of our behavior, as well as those around us ... who may be more inclined to act directly.

And that is important -- something for our all of us to care deeply about. 

As we have seen.

Regardless of "how we are raised" we must not unconsciously absorb the beliefs and values surrounding us.

As adults, we have a responsibility to test those values against our developing conscience. If we find ourselves holding a hateful belief, at least question it; don't chalk it up to it being "just how we feel." 

Because, while we may not be able to control how we feel, we might examine those feelings and the needs behind them. 

More importantly, evaluate how much these feelings affect our attitudes and actions, and ask: Do these beliefs harm others or ourselves? Do they cause us to hold others in contempt, to consider them less-than? If so, why would we cling to such a belief? 

To start, just ask the question... 

It is not OK to blindly perpetuate harmful attitudes as though we have no choice in the matter, as though it's "just how we're raised". We need to care and we need to choose our values.

But the only way to truly have a choice is to recognize that the beliefs we are hold are chosen, to look at why we have chosen to hold them, and acknowledge that we have the ability to un-choose them if they are harmful.  

But to do this takes honesty, introspection, and a willingness to change.