Want a more just world? Be an unlikely ally
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0:01 - 0:05You can ask anyone you want,
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0:05 - 0:06and they will tell you
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0:06 - 0:11that they are sick and tired
of fighting for justice. -
0:12 - 0:19People of color and members
of the LGBT community are tired -
0:19 - 0:22of carrying the burden of speaking up
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0:22 - 0:23and stepping up
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0:23 - 0:25even when they're being silenced
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0:26 - 0:28and pushed back down.
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0:28 - 0:29And white allies
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0:30 - 0:32and cis allies are tired, too.
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0:33 - 0:36Tired of being told they're doing it wrong
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0:36 - 0:40or that it isn't even their place
to show up at all. -
0:41 - 0:45This fatigue is impacting all of us.
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0:45 - 0:46And in fact,
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0:46 - 0:49I believe we won't succeed
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0:49 - 0:53until we approach justice in a new way.
-
0:54 - 0:58I grew up in the middle
of the civil rights movement -
0:58 - 1:00in the segregated South.
-
1:01 - 1:03As a five-year-old girl,
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1:03 - 1:06I was very interested in ballet.
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1:06 - 1:11It seemed to be the five-year-old-girl
thing to do in the 1960s. -
1:12 - 1:15My mother took me to a ballet school.
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1:16 - 1:18You know, the kind of school
that had teachers -
1:18 - 1:20that talked about your gifts and talents
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1:20 - 1:22knowing that you'd never be a ballerina.
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1:22 - 1:24(Laughter)
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1:24 - 1:26When we arrived,
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1:26 - 1:30they said nicely that they
"did not accept Negroes." -
1:31 - 1:35We got back in the car as if we were
just leaving a grocery store -
1:35 - 1:37that was out of orange juice.
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1:38 - 1:41We said nothing ...
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1:41 - 1:43just drove to the next ballet school.
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1:44 - 1:49They said, "We don't accept Negroes."
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1:50 - 1:52Well, I was confused.
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1:52 - 1:55And I asked my mother
why they didn't want me. -
1:56 - 2:01And she said, "Well, they're just
not smart enough to accept you right now, -
2:01 - 2:03and they don't know
how excellent you are." -
2:03 - 2:04(Cheers)
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2:04 - 2:08(Applause and cheers)
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2:09 - 2:13Well, I didn't know what that meant.
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2:13 - 2:14(Laughter)
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2:14 - 2:17But I was sure it wasn't good,
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2:17 - 2:20because I could see it
in my mother's eyes. -
2:20 - 2:24She was angry,
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2:24 - 2:26and it looked like she was
on the verge of tears. -
2:27 - 2:31Well, I decided right then and right there
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2:31 - 2:33that ballet was dumb.
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2:34 - 2:35(Laughter)
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2:36 - 2:39You know, I had lots of experiences
like that along the way, -
2:39 - 2:41but as I got older,
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2:41 - 2:44I started to get angry.
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2:44 - 2:48And not just angry
at the outright racism and injustice. -
2:48 - 2:52I was angry at people
that stood by and didn't say anything. -
2:53 - 2:58Like, why didn't the white parents
in that ballet school say -
2:58 - 3:00"Uh, that's wrong.
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3:00 - 3:02Let that little girl dance."
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3:03 - 3:04Or why --
-
3:04 - 3:05(Applause)
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3:05 - 3:09Why didn't the white patrons
in the segregated restaurants say -
3:09 - 3:10"Hey, that's not right.
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3:10 - 3:12Let that family eat."
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3:13 - 3:15Well, it didn't take me long to realize
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3:15 - 3:19that racial injustice
wasn't the only place -
3:19 - 3:22that people in the majority
were staying quiet. -
3:22 - 3:26When I'd sit in church and hear
some homophobic comment -
3:26 - 3:28being disguised as something scriptural,
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3:28 - 3:31I'd say, "I'm sorry,
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3:31 - 3:35why aren't the heterosexual
churchgoers disrupting this nonsense?" -
3:35 - 3:38(Applause)
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3:38 - 3:39Or ...
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3:40 - 3:44in a room filled with boomers and Gen-Xers
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3:44 - 3:47who started degrading
their millennial colleagues -
3:47 - 3:50as being spoiled, lazy and overconfident,
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3:50 - 3:53I'd say, "I'm sorry,
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3:53 - 3:57why isn't someone my age
saying 'stop stereotyping?'" -
3:58 - 3:59(Audience) Yes!
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3:59 - 4:02(Applause)
-
4:02 - 4:06I was used to standing up
on issues like this, -
4:06 - 4:09but why wasn't everyone else?
-
4:10 - 4:12My fifth grade teacher,
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4:12 - 4:13Mrs. McFarland,
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4:13 - 4:19taught me that justice
requires an accomplice. -
4:19 - 4:22Not just anyone will do.
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4:22 - 4:26She said we need unlikely allies
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4:26 - 4:30if we want to see real change happen.
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4:30 - 4:35And for those of us
experiencing injustice up front, -
4:35 - 4:38we need to be willing to accept the help,
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4:38 - 4:41because when we don't,
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4:41 - 4:43change takes too long.
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4:44 - 4:48I mean, imagine if heterosexual
and gay people had not come together -
4:48 - 4:51under the banner of marriage equality.
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4:51 - 4:53Or what if President Kennedy
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4:53 - 4:56just wasn't interested
in the civil rights movement? -
4:57 - 5:03Most of our major movements
in this country might have been delayed -
5:03 - 5:05or even dead
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5:05 - 5:09if it weren't for the presence
of unlikely allies. -
5:10 - 5:12When the same people speak up
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5:12 - 5:16in the same ways they've always spoken up,
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5:16 - 5:18the most we'll ever get
are the same results -
5:18 - 5:21over and over again.
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5:22 - 5:25You know, allies often
stand on the sidelines -
5:25 - 5:27waiting to be called up.
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5:27 - 5:32But what if unlikely allies
led out in front of issues? -
5:32 - 5:33Like ...
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5:33 - 5:37what if Black and Native American people
stood in front of immigration issues? -
5:39 - 5:41(Applause)
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5:42 - 5:47Or what if white people led the charge
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5:47 - 5:49to end racism?
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5:49 - 5:53(Applause and cheers)
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5:54 - 5:55Or ...
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5:55 - 5:59what if men led the charge
on pay equity for women? -
6:00 - 6:03(Applause and cheers)
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6:04 - 6:05Or ...
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6:05 - 6:11what if heterosexual people
stood in front of LGBTQ issues? -
6:11 - 6:15(Applause and cheers)
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6:15 - 6:19And what if able-bodied people advocated
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6:19 - 6:21for people living with disabilities?
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6:21 - 6:25(Applause and cheers)
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6:25 - 6:28You know, we can stand up for issues,
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6:28 - 6:30weigh in and advocate
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6:30 - 6:34even when it seems like the issue
has nothing to do with us. -
6:35 - 6:36And actually,
-
6:36 - 6:40those are the issues
that are most compelling. -
6:40 - 6:41And sure,
-
6:42 - 6:46people will have no idea
why you are there, -
6:46 - 6:49but that's why those of us
facing injustice -
6:49 - 6:52must be willing to accept the help.
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6:52 - 6:55You know, we have to fight injustice
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6:55 - 6:58with a consciousness of grace.
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6:59 - 7:01When white guys stand up to fight
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7:01 - 7:05for the liberation
of Black and Brown people, -
7:05 - 7:09Black and Brown people will have to
be willing to accept their help. -
7:10 - 7:12And I know that's complicated,
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7:12 - 7:16but this is collective work
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7:16 - 7:21and it requires everyone to be all in.
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7:22 - 7:25One day when I was at kindergarten,
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7:25 - 7:26our teacher introduced us
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7:26 - 7:30to this beautiful, tall,
white lady named Miss Ann. -
7:31 - 7:34I thought she was the prettiest
white lady I'd ever seen. -
7:35 - 7:36Well, if I can be honest with you,
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7:36 - 7:40I think it was the first time we'd ever
seen a white lady in our school ever. -
7:40 - 7:41(Laughter)
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7:41 - 7:43Miss Ann stood in front of us,
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7:43 - 7:47and she said she was going
to start teaching ballet classes -
7:47 - 7:49right there are our school
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7:50 - 7:54and that she was proud
to be our dance teacher. -
7:54 - 7:57It was unreal.
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7:58 - 8:00All of a sudden --
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8:00 - 8:03(sings) I didn't think
ballet was dumb anymore. -
8:03 - 8:05(Laughter)
-
8:06 - 8:11You see, what I know now
is Miss Ann was fully aware -
8:11 - 8:16that the white ballet schools
would not accept Black girls. -
8:16 - 8:18She was incensed by that.
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8:18 - 8:21So she came to the Black neighborhood
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8:21 - 8:24to start teaching
the dance classes herself. -
8:25 - 8:28And you know, it took love
and courage for her to do that. -
8:28 - 8:31(Applause)
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8:35 - 8:38And where there was no justice,
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8:38 - 8:40she just built it.
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8:41 - 8:44We all survived,
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8:44 - 8:48because we stood on the shoulders
of our Black ancestors. -
8:49 - 8:55We all thrived, because
Miss Ann was an unlikely ally. -
8:56 - 8:59You know, when you add your voice
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8:59 - 9:01and your actions
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9:01 - 9:05to situations that you
don't think involve you, -
9:05 - 9:08you actually inspire others
to do the same. -
9:09 - 9:13Miss Ann inspired me
to always be on the lookout -
9:13 - 9:17for situations that weren't about me
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9:17 - 9:19but where I saw injustice
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9:19 - 9:21and inequality happening anyway.
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9:22 - 9:25I hope she inspires you, too,
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9:25 - 9:30because to win the fight for equity
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9:30 - 9:34we will all need to speak up
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9:34 - 9:36and stand up.
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9:36 - 9:39We will all need to do that.
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9:39 - 9:41And we will all need to do that
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9:41 - 9:43even when it's hard
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9:43 - 9:46and even when we feel out of place,
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9:46 - 9:50because it is your place,
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9:50 - 9:52and it is our place.
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9:53 - 9:57Justice counts on all of us.
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9:57 - 9:59Thank you.
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9:59 - 10:01(Applause and cheers)
- Title:
- Want a more just world? Be an unlikely ally
- Speaker:
- Nita Mosby Tyler
- Description:
-
A more equal world starts with you. Citing a formative moment from her own life, equity advocate Nita Mosby Tyler highlights why showing up and fighting for others who face injustices beyond your own lived experience leads to a fairer, more just future for all.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 10:15
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for Want a more just world? Be an unlikely ally | ||
Erin Gregory approved English subtitles for Want a more just world? Be an unlikely ally | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for Want a more just world? Be an unlikely ally | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for Want a more just world? Be an unlikely ally | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for Want a more just world? Be an unlikely ally | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz accepted English subtitles for Want a more just world? Be an unlikely ally | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for Want a more just world? Be an unlikely ally | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for Want a more just world? Be an unlikely ally |