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The Necessary ‘Re-Education’ of America
Although various media formats proliferate airways, and would therefore seem to heighten awareness regarding the challenges that people of color face in every corner of the globe, Black History Month 2022 and the 24 months that preceded it remind us that we are still far from fulfillment of the words Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. proclaimed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1967 when he said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
UNEARTHED: Untold Stories from The Ramayana
There is something about story-telling that captivates my imagination; it is an intrinsic part of South Asian culture. I grew up in New Delhi, India, in the 1980s, at a time when watching the Ramayana and Mahabharata were the beginning of our exposure to television, but mostly listening to stories from these epics, read to me by my mother. Decades later, these stories still intrigue me and I found a kindred spirit in Amit Patel, who grew up in Fremont, California in the 1990s, watching these on DVD, with his ba. These Hindu epics which mostly celebrate the victory of good over evil, read differently when viewed now – less simplistic, more layered, providing more questions than answers.
The Power of a Role Model
For years, I’ve told the story of my transformation from a child who rejected her Indian heritage, to a child who embraced it. But until recently, I was mystified about the reason for this change.