ANNOUNCING
The 2007-8 Liba Nelson Vital Voice Award
This award is presented to one student that I have met over the course of each academic year whose voice, spirit and persistence touched me in a way I will never forget. Named in memory of one of my most important mentors, The Liba Nelson Vital Voice Award is a way to continue her work of catalyzing a path of social change led by strong young voices.
Liba Nelson was a music teacher, mother and a muse. She believed that the voices of young people were vital in creating a healthy and thriving community. She taught me to sing and to live out loud. Her voice sings through me still, and I honor her with this award, so that no young person's voice may ever go without the support it needs to blossom, thrive and be heard.
The 2007-8 academic year recipient is Brittany Brock of Vancouver, Washington. Brittany made herself known to me when she sent me a debate text of hers titled "A White Girl's Speech on Privilege." This original oratory turned out to be a biting, straight-talking, insightful piece of wisdom on race relations from a white perspective. Brittany really breaks through the same old boring rhetoric of white privilege when she says "Racism, to whites, can be described as individual acts of meanness. A white person's cultural perspective stops them from seeing race as a social system, wrongful stereotypes or institutional discrimination." Brittany's answer to this problem? "let's make white folks uncomfortable. We can continue to put pressure on the white community by mentioning whiteness even if it may make us uncomfortable... in order to change what the normative boundaries of society are...we must push against them." This was so well put that I immediately sent her writings to Tim Wise so that he could mentor her to cultivate her potent voice.
Brittany, along with Grant Buckles, Kimmy Kunkle and Lauren Marino now head up WORK: Whites Overcoming Racism through Knowledge, a network of white people, and people of color allies committed to bursting through the tired and played out laziness of anti-racist politics and dig into the dirt and get things accomplished. You can join WORK here: http://worknow.ning.com/
Thank you, Brittany for your work, and for your voice. Keep it alive, thriving and loud! We all look forward to hearing more from you!
"Always desperate to sing" ~ Liba Nelson