Silver continues crusade for oral history on racism
By JIMMY GALVAN Managing Editor

Lani Silver is on a mission.

She would like to see racism reduced in her lifetime.

"I truly believe that if we talk about racism it would be reduced," Silver said. "If we did 10 minutes a week to reduce racism, then racism would be reduced in the world.

"If people took 10 minutes a day to reflect on racism, then they would see some that would help the world," Silver said.

She asks classes that she guest teaches in to write down nine things that could reduce racism in their community.

"At first, everyone says there is nothing they can do and then I tell them to pretend there is something they can do," Silver said. "Every time, the first answer is 'I could not be racist myself.'"

Silver, a teacher, taught a course on "Violence against women" and has done extensive research on the Holocaust, including 1,700 oral history interviews with survivors.

Silver said the purpose behind the oral history project is to raise awareness that racism is still alive and well today.

"It is everywhere," Silver said. "After James Byrd was murdered, we had a similar murder in California where a transgender man was murdered and it only goes to show you that racism is everywhere.

"In our quietest times, we all know that but we move so fast that we don't want to think about it or we believe it is better than it was," Silver said. "I think we have a crisis in society and that is deflecting our most important issues."

Silver had just finished her work on the Holocaust when she heard the news that James Byrd Jr. had been killed in Jasper, Texas.

"I knew then that I had to do something to reduce racism just a little," Silver said.

Two years later, she sent a proposal to the James Byrd Jr. Foundation for Racial Healing to conduct an oral history project on racism and how it has impacted generations.

"I have hated racism as long as I can remember," Silver said. "Meeting the Byrds was the most uplifting experience in my life. After I met them, I knew I had found the work that was I meant to do."

The main question that Silver asks during her oral histories is "How has racism impacted your life?"

Nine years since starting her project, Silver has coordinated more than 2,300 interviews on the subject. She said 80 percent of the interviews have been conducted in high schools.

"I have heard some of the saddest stories," Silver said. "I struggled a lot with human nature - whether it is good or bad."

She said through her oral histories on racism she has found that people are still aware of prejudices in society.

"I think we have a spiritual crisis where are compassion is underdeveloped," Silver said. "If we didn't have all these other crises in our lives, we would sit back in our rocking chairs and see what else is going on."

She said one way to attack this issue might be through further education of children on the issue of racism.

Silver said she has seen the need to teach racial relations at the lower levels of schools in an attempt to reach a growing audience.

She has conducted assemblies at Jasper High School but would like to reach out to Rowe Intermediate and Jasper Junior High when she returns to Jasper in nine months.

"Can we stop racism or reduce it? Absolutely," Silver said. "I believe racism is the worst problem we have in this country. If it were the most discussed topic in this country, it would be dramatically reduced.

"Racism is not funny," Silver said. "It hurts us all."

Anyone interested in conducting an oral history on the question "how has racism impacted your life" can record them and send them to:

The James Byrd Jr. Racism Oral History Project, P.O. Box 27333, San Francisco, CA., 94127 or call (415) 485-4208 for more information.