Q&A WITH MAHAL BURR

What does it mean to you to be an American?

When I think of being American, I think of shame, struggle and conflict within our country. I think of our country, our government, our identity that claims “American” to mean only the United States and our celebrated patriotic history of white supremacy, genocide and enslavement. And I think of the many people I know, admire and link arms with in fighting systemic racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, antiSemitism, ableism as well as other forms of oppression. I think America is still struggling to accept all that it is, and I wonder what American would mean if we embraced Fannie Lou Hamer’s quote, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”

What moment touched and motivated you to launch this effort?

I know the precise moment. For an hour, the chief jailer had been listening to 18 incarcerated youth share their insights regarding the causes of youth violence and then brainstorm their own solutions. Then the chief jailer spoke. He said to the group, “I have just learned things from you all that I never would have even thought about otherwise.” It was in this moment that everyone in the room realized that not only do these young men have insightful knowledge, but also that their knowledge and insights are necessary to strengthen the systems that failed them.

What gives you hope or what concerns you?

The more I know, the more concerns I have and the more I realize how much needs to be done, if we hope to dismantle systemic oppression that causes so much brokenness in our country: youth being kicked out of schools into prisons; racial hatred and violence; sexual objectification, abuse and discrimination. All of these and more are supported by systems in our society, and we have the responsibility to dismantle them to build something better. What gives me hope is when people come together across experiences, age, socioeconomic class, race and even jails bars and begin listening, valuing and acting on their combined knowledge for a collective good.