{"id":8637,"date":"2020-06-10T04:19:42","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T04:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/?p=8637"},"modified":"2020-06-10T04:25:36","modified_gmt":"2020-06-10T04:25:36","slug":"demonstrations-black-lives-matter-and-perspectives-from-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/demonstrations-black-lives-matter-and-perspectives-from-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"Demonstrations, Black Lives Matter, and Perspectives from Abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"
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George Floyd Mural in Minneapolis, Photo: Pillsbury United Communities<\/p><\/div>\n

Last week\u2019s blog post<\/a> was a small attempt to emotionally respond to the killing of George Floyd via music. Events in my home state have continued to spark conversations and protests abroad as people work to bring injustices to light in their own communities. It is difficult to discuss, but avoiding it is simply not an option. I will share a few sources that my students and I have used over last week, and three conclusions I drew from our classes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of my students, I feel really lucky to have students living all over the world. From Hong Kong, to Australia, France, Sweden, and various states in the U.S., they bring a variety of lived experience, and all have unique reasons for studying Swedish. They are constantly sharing personal stories and reflections in class, and this has been no different in our recent discussions. Trying to make sense of what is happening and asking ourselves difficult questions has lead to three main topics of conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, students wanted my perspective as a Minnesotan. <\/span>While I do not live in Minneapolis at the moment, I did live and work in South Minneapolis, in the neighborhoods where much of the unrest is taking place. A fellow Swedish instructor shared the soundbite below that she has been using with her students. It details some of the early scenes in Minneapolis as described by native Swede Maj-Britt Syse, co-owner of a Scandinavian import store and caf\u00e9 in the Midtown Global Market. Midtown Global Market, located on Lake Street, houses a sizable sampling of the diverse food cultures in Minneapolis. I do not know Maj-Britt personally, but if I needed a good mandelkringle<\/em>, that was my go-to. See Maj-Britt’s interview with Aftonbladet: <\/span>Svenska Maj-Britt, 62, i Minneapolis: \u201dEn mardr\u00f6m\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

“De v\u00e5ldsamma protesterna i USA efter den svarte tv\u00e5barnspappan George Floyds d\u00f6d sprider sig. <\/span>Mitt i kaoset i Minneapolis, d\u00e4r allt b\u00f6rjade, bor svenska Maj-Britt, 62.
\n<\/span>\u2013 En mardr\u00f6m. De f\u00f6rsta n\u00e4tterna kunde jag inte sova.
\n<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Below is a poster, and just one example of dozens of efforts by Minneapolitans to help their neighbors in need. People have been cleaning the streets, donating food, and other essential items to people in affected areas (it’s not p\u00e5 svenska,<\/em> but I struggled to find much media in Swedish on the cleanup efforts).<\/p>\n

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For my beginners to intermediate students, I used this 8sidor.se article to sum up the early protests in this article from June 1,\u00a0 “<\/span>Protesterna forts\u00e4tter i USA<\/span><\/a>.” Here is our beginning word list:<\/span><\/p>\n

att protestera<\/em> –\u00a0 to protest
\nmot rasism\u00a0<\/em> \u00a0 \u00a0–\u00a0 against racism
\nv\u00e5ld\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 –\u00a0\u00a0 violence
\natt eld <\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0–\u00a0 to burn
\nfredlig\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 – peaceful
\nv\u00e5ldsam\u00a0\u00a0<\/em> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0– violent
\natt skjuta\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0– to shoot
\nt\u00e5rgas\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0– tear gas
\ngummikulor<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 – rubber bullets
\n<\/span>att andas\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 – <\/span>to breathe <\/span>
\n<\/span>en svart man<\/span>\u00a0<\/em> \u00a0 – a black man<\/span><\/p>\n

Second, many of my foreign students were wondering – “What does racism really look like in the U.S.?” Many of them noted seeing films about the American South in the 1960’s, putting systemic racism in the country’s past.\u00a0 I found a very fitting discussion on SVT’s Sverige m\u00f6ts<\/em>. The question was “<\/span>Finns det likheter mellan Sverige och USA n\u00e4r det g\u00e4ller rasism?”<\/a> Are there similarities between Sweden and the U.S. in terms of racism?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Foto: SVT<\/p><\/div>\n

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A panel discussion was brought together to answer this question in response to the Black Lives Matter demonstations in Swedish cities like Stockholm, G\u00f6teborg, and Malm\u00f6. Historian Lars Tr\u00e4dg\u00e5rdh has lived in the U.S. for 40 years and says it’s “Oanst\u00e4ndigt att j\u00e4mf\u00f6ra l\u00e4nderna<\/em>,” that it is “obscene” to compare the two countries and that this is about the history of black oppression in the United States specifically. Another panelist Michael Popoola, countered by asking, “Vad \u00e4r det som g\u00f6r att folk k\u00e4nner igen sig och reagerar?<\/em>”<\/p>\n

This is a question that brings international perspectives into to picture, that although the history of racism in the U.S. cannot be directly compared to that of other countries, what is it then that is resonating with folks and making them react?<\/em> Watch the entire discussion here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Lastly, all my students agreed that we have work to do. Donating money to neighborhoods and businesses in need, raising their voices on social media, calling and emailing their local representatives, and adding to their reading lists are a few concrete steps they have already taken.<\/p>\n

In future blog posts, I would like to cover some of my favorite Swedish writers of color who are championing these discussions in novels, songs, plays, and open letters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Last week\u2019s blog post was a small attempt to emotionally respond to the killing of George Floyd via music. Events in my home state have continued to spark conversations and protests abroad as people work to bring injustices to light in their own communities. It is difficult to discuss, but avoiding it is simply not…<\/p>\n

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