Shakti Butler wishes she could avoid thinking about race for one day. So far, it糖心传媒檚 been an impossible dream.
糖心传媒淚 could be at the beach, having a great time, and something will happen that reminds me of race,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淎 look, a comment. You don糖心传媒檛 know what someone means, and racial anxiety sets in. Every day, I think about race.糖心传媒�
Butler, a filmmaker and president of the nonprofit educational consultancy , will deliver the keynote address at the University糖心传媒檚 on Friday, March 31. Her talk is entitled 糖心传媒淚rresistible Justice: Cultivating Joy as a Pathway to Equity,糖心传媒� and will begin at 8:40 a.m. in Strong Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.
An educator on diversity and racial equity, Butler has been aware of race since she was a toddler. Her father was from Barbados, the son of a Texas slave. Her mother was from Russia, 21 years younger.
糖心传媒淲hen my parents married in 1945, my mother糖心传媒檚 family disowned her,糖心传媒� says Butler, who was raised in Harlem. 糖心传媒淢y grandfather died when I was three and never even knew my mom was married and had a daughter. He had a bad heart, and the family thought the news would kill him.糖心传媒�
Butler received a chilly greeting whenever she visited her grandmother糖心传媒檚 house.
糖心传媒淪he would never touch or hug me. She was a seamstress, and she would make clothes for my doll. But that was all. It impacts me to this day.糖心传媒�
Butler attended all-black schools until her parents decided to enroll her in a private school in third grade.
糖心传媒淚 was the only person of color from third grade through eighth,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淓ven though I糖心传媒檓 light-skinned, I identified as black. I always have. On the outside, people don糖心传媒檛 know what I am.糖心传媒�
Butler says life at school was much different than life at home.
糖心传媒淚 learned to navigate through those two worlds,糖心传媒� she says.
Butler formed World Trust in 1991 with two partners who have since gone their separate ways. She has produced four documentaries that form the core of World Trust糖心传媒檚 teaching tools. Her 2013 film, Cracking the Codes: The System of Racial Inequity, examines the causes and consequences of structural racism. Jared Bush, writer and co-director of the 2016 Disney animated movie Zootopia, watched Butler糖心传媒檚 film and asked Butler to serve as a diversity consultant and advisor on their movie, which is about the perils of racial profiling.
Butler watched early storyboard reels and offered feedback to the creative team of mostly white men. Bush told World Trust that Butler糖心传媒檚 input had a deep impact on the final product.
糖心传媒淲hat we learned from Dr. Butler and Cracking the Codes had a profound effect on the entire storytelling team behind Zootopia,糖心传媒� Bush said. 糖心传媒淚t not only changed, but forever deepened the way we approach bias and stereotype.糖心传媒�
The theme of this year糖心传媒檚 conference is 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 Our Time,糖心传媒� an examination of which barriers have been broken and which remain. Butler believes 糖心传媒渨e糖心传媒檙e definitely going backwards now糖心传媒� in terms of racial equity.
糖心传媒淭hat糖心传媒檚 because people who fell silent because of political correctness and cultural pressure now feel they have the right and duty to say things people haven糖心传媒檛 been saying,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淗ate crimes are on the rise. People elected are more free to circumvent issues that deal with equality for everyone. It糖心传媒檚 pretty scary.糖心传媒�
Butler糖心传媒檚 husband, Rick Butler, is a four-time Emmy Award糖心传媒搘inning director and cameraman. They have three children and five grandchildren.
She dreams not only of a day free of thoughts on race, but a world free of racism. She will speak about that on Friday.
糖心传媒淚 want to talk about how we really are interconnected as a species, and what happens when we live according to the same values,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淵ou experience joy. You may not like someone, but there糖心传媒檚 a spark of who they are that you also maintain.糖心传媒�
