Christine innovates education with the Waller Scholars

My sister, Dr. Christine Ristaino, is an Italian professor at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Recently she and her children were attacked in a parking lot; Christine was mugged and her nose was broken. The man who mugged her was black.



There are many reasons I mention his skin color:

Having been mugged at gunpoint by two gentlemen of color in my neighborhood nearly a year ago, as well as having several friends (and another brother, Mark, who stands between myself and Christine in the picture to the left) become the victims of violence in lower income black neighborhoods, I am left with a tremendously unsolvable series of questions. How do we take responsibility for these kind of crimes when its obvious the reason they are happening is due to hundreds of years of racial injustice, economic slavery, and societal neglect? How does or can an ignorant "white" person solve these injustices? Does an outsider to an African American community even have the right to try to change this? More importantly, how does one go about ceasing to see these crimes as racial in nature, and instead begin to view them as committed by people in need reaching out in desperation for some kind of balance or justice, or even merely as revenge for being brought up in situations where they are shunned and seen as less than human? How can someone raised with no self worth see the worth in others, and therefore be willing and able to not commit these kinds of crimes? Or is it because of a sense of self worth that these kinds of crimes are committed, meaning that people who are marginalized due to race and economic position say, "This area is mine, you can not take any more from me."

Having lived and worked in places where I was a minority, as well as having lived my life as an Artist (with a capital A for all the arts), I am no stranger to being poor and marginalized. Hell, the arts are a much shunned area of our society, seen as luxury yet underfunded. Many people see an Artist's "work" as "play" or a "hobby." I defy anyone to talk to a performer, painter, filmmaker, or musician (who must work several other jobs just to stay afloat while they pursue their life's purpose as an Artist, an seemingly insurmountable task with very little promise of reward) and ask them how much "fun" it is to realize their passions. Its a lifetime of hard work and maybes. I have considered time and again if it wouldn't be easier to turn to a life of crime just to make ends meet or to fund a project that can only come about through copious amounts of cash. I understand the rage and frustration of being a broke, unseen, marginalized member of society - no health care, no vacations, no promise of a brighter future, no love.

I think Christine recognizes a lot of these issues, and instead of allowing this experience to make her life smaller, she has instead used this experience to explore understanding race relations and personal hardship in a new upcoming book. Perhaps even more importantly, Christine has initiated a program with her Emory University Italian classes where her students mentor an engaged group of amazing (and predominately African American) kids called the Waller Scholars. She says that together the Waller Scholars and their mentors are innovating the way education happens in Atlanta. So she took a minus and turned it into a great big plus. Nice Christine, you are manifesting on a very high level! The world thanks you for it. And so do I.

Here's a video with Christine narrating (and incorporating her kids Maddy and Benny's illustrations) explaining her experience and the Waller scholars program a little better:



For even more information about Christine's work, please check out her website, Seeingthroughneweyes.com

For more info about the Waller scholars, please check out http://www.wallerscholars.org/