Hannah Hunter (Class of 2029) - Dr. Robert Livingston Lecture

 Memory, Quietness, and the Game

On Tuesday, September 30, I attended the book lecture of “Play the Game.  Change the Game.  Leave the Game” by Dr. Robert Livingston.  He spoke about how Black people can address white privilege and compared white privilege to an addiction, and we have the choice to play, change, or leave the game.  I really enjoyed listening to him speak.  I loved how it felt like we were in conversation, and I thought that everything he had to say held meaning.  I resonated the most with and found his definition of the “tempered-radical” very interesting.  He described this as a person who plays the game to change the game.  This made me think more about what my role is in society and if I am resisting or tolerating white privilege.  I also liked the fact that he said his metaphor of addiction is an explanation, but not a condemnation or exoneration.  I really appreciated that he acknowledged that Black people are not always going to be on the same page, but what unites us is the burden of white supremacy. 

These ideas were most closely connected to my FYE and ADW classes.  In ADW, we have been discussing identity and the idea that our culture is always with us, wherever we go, we bring it with us. We have also discussed the various meanings of Blackness and how our individual experiences shape us.  In FYE, we talked about memory and the power of quietness.  I can see the idea of quietness being part of “playing the game” because it requires censorship in some ways to avoid backlash for standing up against white supremacy.  But changing or leaving requires using quietness that cultivates spaces for Black people on their own terms.  As for the definition of “the game,” I believe it is not just a current system, but one that is constantly evolving.  “The game” is something that has been inherited and has been going on for centuries in different forms.  Black people are the living memory of their ancestors.  We represent their pain and resilience.  When we choose to “change the game,” we act on ancestral memory and refuse to let their struggles be erased.  When we “leave the game”, we create spaces of chosen quietness, and we promote imagination of the inner self.  This is a way of honoring our ancestors, as we are creating spaces of freedom and rest that they were denied.  In this way, quietness becomes a practice of remembrance. 

    - Hannah Hunter