Nancy Bookhart

October 13, 2013.  8:52 PM.

The Nancy Bookhart talk on Wednesday was actually really interesting.

To be honest, I was confused at first.  I wasn't exactly sure what was being said, literally and intellectually.  But by the end I really appreciated Bookhart's thoughts.

I have heard of Kara Walker but never actually seen her work.  Now I can say I am a fan.  It seems so very simplistic, but it is actually incredibly deep and symbolic when you analyze it.

What intrigued me the most was the idea that black Americans are still hurting from issues that were never resolved.  There was never a generation that unanimously agreed whites were forgiven: people simply passed down their unresolved grudges to their children who became angry in their turn.  As Bookhart explained, she herself once hated white people for no other reason than that her parents were poor, and their bosses were white--facts that in reality held little correlation.  Many black Americans believe they are trapped in poverty or inferiority, and while these feelings hold some merit, it causes them to give up on trying to change things.  Because they believe whites will always oppress them, they can only continue to be oppressed until they change their mindset.  More accurately, all races need to change their mindset.  We need to actually think of each other as equals, not just feel bad because we are not treated equally, if that makes sense.

So I'm glad I went to this talk.  It made me consider new ideas from different perspectives, and introduced me to the fine work of Kara Walker.