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Insight News
December 19, 2022 - December 25, 2022
Vol. 49 No. 51• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com
CELEBRATE BRITTNEY GRINER Wikipedia
Brittney Griner
Welcome home Brittney Griner: “Representing the best in American values” and the dealing with the aftermath of a traumatic experience Culture and Education Editor
By Irma McClaurin, PhD “Brittney Griner [BG]has been released from a Russian penal colony and is on a plane home,” according to President Biden in press conference early yesterday on December 8, 2022. POTUS went on to express that Brittney “represented the best in American values” throughout her ordeal. Brittney landed back on American soil early this Friday morning: https://www. cbsnews.com/live-updates/ brittney-griner-back-us-releaserussia-prisoner-swap-viktorbout/ A Political Pawn? There is now speculation that Brittney Griner was intentionally targeted and arrested so that Russia could push for the release of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Not everyone agrees that this was the right political move. Some inside the U.S. State Department say that this type of deal “… violates the rule of law and sets a very dangerous precedent,” according to the Dec 8, 2022 Live CBS News report hosted by Gayle King. What’s Next Brittney? Clearly the State Department’s concern demands consideration, and to that point, there is now a warning for U.S. travelers to view the State Department’s list of countries that might put Americans in harm’s way—possibilities that now include false detainment alongside kidnapping. In other words, the days of “have American will travel,” with no repercussions, are over. We can no longer divorce our individual travel plans from our country’s foreign policy meanderings. Whether we agree with them or not, we stand as symbols of our country when we travel. Like it or not. Who knew we would
ever reach a moment when being a globetrotter American could be hazardous to your health? And what of Brittney? How will she navigate her newfound freedom? According to her wife Sherrell Griner, in the same press conference yesterday, she indicated that Brittney has promised to become an advocate for the release of other Russian detainees like Paul Whelan, accused of espionage. His release will probably require the relinquishing another highly valued Russian asset who has been detained in the U.S.—or something bigger. And, we just learned in the same press conference yesterday that the U.S. had also secured the release of the CITGO Executives known as the CITGO 6, who were being detained in Venezuela (https:// abc13.com/citgo-6-venezuelap r i s o n e r- r e l e a s e - u s - s w a p exchange/12286799/ ). Funny how that piece of negotiations flew under the radar screen. Return to Normalcy & the Reality of Sexism and Racism? Brittney must now readjust to some aspect of normalcy. What exactly does that look like for a Black woman in America under everyday circumstances? What does it look like for a Black woman who was only in Russia because the U.S. has a gendered athletic ecosystem in which male players (Black, White, Latinx, or whatever) across all the games (basketball, football, baseball, soccer) are paid millions upon millions of dollars. Take Aaron Judge who just struck the largest free-agent contract for $360 Million over 13 years (https://www.forbes.com/ sites/dereksaul/2022/12/07/ aaron-judge-yankees-agree-tolargest-free-agent-deal-in-mlbhistory/?sh=593955247b94) for batting a ball with a stick. No woman in the history of any competitive U.S. sports has ever come close to earning that amount! And Black women athlete and teams earn far less than White men, Black men, and White women.
The Reality of Whiteness and the Ukraine War How can America and (White) Americans be so concerned about what is happening in the Ukraine to whom we are sending millions in weapons and aid when American citizens like Brittney are so grossly underpaid such that they have to go to our political enemies for employment on top of their U.S. employment? As we watch the rise of homelessness in America, signs like “we stand with Ukraine” in airports piss me off. That is not to say I don’t have sympathy for any country in the throes of war, conflict, or natural or economic disasters. However, I cannot EVER recall seeing an airport sign that said “we stand with Palestine” or “we stand with Haiti,” or “we stand with Afghanistan.” There has been an unspoken, and occasionally revealed, racialized dimension to America’s /Americans’ support of the Ukraine that follows racial lines of white supremacy. Ukrainian refugees have been welcomed and treated with unprecedented cutting of immigration red tape. While Americans have chosen to ignore the stories of Ukraine forcing African students and workers to evacuate last https://www. euronews.com/2022/04/01/thetreatment-africans-are-facingin-ukraine-is-despicable-butwhy-are-we-surprised)! They also have completely forgotten that part of Ukraine, recently occupied Soviet Union, was a Nazi ally, and Ukranian “police auxiliaries …’had been involved at least in preparations for the Babi Yar massacre’.”( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Ukrainian_collaboration_with_ Nazi_Germany). This is the privilege of whiteness—escaping individual, historical, and national accountability. Call it a White Pass. White Americans may stand with Ukraine, but do they stand with the America’s most vulnerable and historically marginalized people in getting a livable wage of $15/hr; do
they stand with the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act (https://www.freedom-tovote.com/) that will ensure the right to vote for Black people cannot be erased, redlined, or gerrymandered; do they stand with returning women’s reproductive rights back to those bodies are at risk; and do they stand with women athletes to earn wages comparable to men athletes so they do not have to seek international employment? Finally, do they stand with Brittney Griner, who now may not have sufficient income and will make she and her wife financial hostages as result of her ordeal? These are rhetorical questions to be sure, but America must search it conscience about how it has gone all out for white Ukrainians and done very little for its own Black and Brown citizens. Another rhetorical question, to which I do not expect an answer: did Russia incarcerate Brittney because she was a woman, because she was a Black woman, because as a WBNA star athlete her arrest would be news worthy? We will never know. But Brittney must live with the scars of her ordeal. The Aftermath of Trauma The American Psychological Association (https:// w w w. a p a . o rg / t o p i c s / trauma#:~:text=Trauma%20 is%20an%20emotional%20 response,symptoms%20 like%20headaches%20or%20 nausea) defines trauma as: … “… an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape, or natural disaster. Immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical. “ Their definition also includes a description of the lingering and long-term impact of traumatic events—sometimes called PTSD-post-traumatic stress disorder. They state: “Longer term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships, and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea.” Bell, Lee Anne (2010-
Brittney Griner back home 07-01) at p. 75 We now know that false incarceration can be added to the list above of unjust traumatic events. There is no doubt that unjust incarceration in a Russian prison and being sent to a labor camp were traumatic experiences for Brittney. They will be forever branded in her psyche and we still don’t know the full physical toll. For a short time, Brittney might have glimpsed what her ancestors endured as enslaved forced laborers. Storytelling as a Healing Mechanism Make up a story. Narrative is radical, creating us at the very moment it is being created.” Toni Morrison, 1993 Nobel Lecture (https:// www.nobelprize.org/prizes/ l i t e r a t u re / 1 9 9 3 / m o r r i s o n / lecture/ ) Now, the difficult part begins. Healing from trauma is no joke. It is not a question of “getting over it” or forgetting— after all we assert that many Black Americans now suffer from generational trauma that began over three hundred years ago. Recent studies and healing projects by organizations and groups like the Kellogg Foundation and the Metropolitan Housing and Community Policy Center both suggest that healing can come from narratives—being allowed to tell our stories of trauma is a documented therapeutic step towards healing and recovery: “Rather than ignoring our narrative past, we may gain mental reprieve by facing prior trauma and find a way to rewrite our story.” Telling Our Own
Story: The Role of Narrative in Racial Healing,” America Healing®: a racial equity initiative of the w.k. kellogg foundation, p. 22 (https:// perception.org/wp-content/ u p l o a d s / 2 0 1 4 / 11 / Te l l i n g O u r- O w n - S t o r y. p d f h t t p s : / / perception.org/wp-content/ uploads/2014/11/Telling-OurOwn-Story.pdf). Let us hope that the white media will give Brittney ample air time to tell her story to the world. Indeed, as I suggested earlier, the U.S. Government should make her an ambassador to accompany them when they visit any detainee—Brittney knows what they are going through and can provide mental support and inspiration. Did I mention this needs to be a PAID position— none of this volunteer bullshit like Angelina Jolie, who can afford to give her time for free. Our enslaved ancestors already paid back in the day. NBA—Help a Sistah Out To All the NBA basketball bros, and your white cousins, here’s a thought: begin a GoFundMe page for Brittney and put some of your millions to good use, instead of collecting a kazillion cars (or sneakers) you can never drive or wear at one time. Yeah, it’s your money, but only because men athletes are overvalued while women athletes are woefully underpaid and undervalued. Brittney deserves your generosity. Come on, help a Sistah out. (c) 2022 Irma McClaurin