Furthermore, many institutions propagate anti-Black racism in a myriad of ways, all of which cannot be exhaustively detailed here. Racist policies, which pervade many institutions, are “any measure that produces or sustains racial inequity between racial groups” and are “written and unwritten laws, rules, procedures, processes, regulations, and guidelines that govern people” ( Kendi 2019, pp. It is essential to acknowledge the reality of racism as the “marriage of racist policies and racist ideas that produces and normalizes racial inequities” ( Kendi 2019, pp. Jewish commentaries on Esther show how these communities could “lift the biblical story out of its original context and apply it to another context” in order to process and navigate difficult diasporic experiences ( Berlin 2003, p. The “ritual of refinement and beautification” contributes to the theme of collective identity in that individual women’s bodies are purified and perfumed not only to satisfy the King’s desire, but also to please the male leadership of Persia ( Oren 2009, pp. Furthermore, the extensive preparation of the young women for the king underscores the priority of power in the Persian empire. For instance, seeing beyond the magnanimous feasts and beauty contests, Oren highlights the feasts as “a strategy of control” utilized for the purposes of subjugation ( Oren 2009, p. Additionally, Jewish readings of Esther have elucidated how power, gender and politics meld to compound oppression. In contrast, Jewish interpretations of Esther foreground the reality of “Jew hatred” in past and contemporary diasporic contexts ( Adler 2015, p. Long-held interpretations of Esther’s narrative often portray the eponymous character as the fortunate winner of a beauty pageant that leads to a great romance, yet this obscures the death-dealing realities of violence and human suffering woven throughout the scroll. In the field of biblical studies, some interpretations of selected biblical texts may serve as case studies of Eurocentric priorities that either ignored or legitimized injustice against other racial and ethnic groups. Hermeneutical conventions that promoted the political and economic interests of empires, such as Great Britain and the United States of America, indeed influenced significant work produced by academics. ![]() Racist and colonial ideologies have been entrenched through the standardization, even veneration, of white superiority. As a piece of trauma and survival literature, Esther’s scroll makes a valuable contribution to the repertoire of resilience and resistance curated by many Black individuals and communities to counter anti-Black racism. Although there are numerous sites of oppression and violence throughout society, this essay highlights the institution of academia, which is often upheld as a paragon of progress and peace but which is frequently a prime site of racism and its attendant inequities. ![]() ![]() ![]() Inherent within this Jewish survival account is an indictment of complicit and culpable individuals and institutions that enable, fund and sanction violence against marginalized members. Informed by the death-dealing realities of anti-Black racism, a reading of Esther’s key scenes and themes provides insight into the destructive and deadly ways that injustices such as anti-Black racism are supported and sustained by institutional policies and practices. Esther’s scroll exposes how the propaganda of peace and progress, foundational to various imperial and institutional contexts, can veneer structures and events of violence and trauma. This Hebrew Bible narrative offers a critique and a challenge to present interpreters, especially those belonging to professed progressive and peaceful societies. Esther’s scroll is not only designed to be read, but it too reads contemporary circumstances of trauma and oppression. Esther, Mordecai and the Jewish People’s survival in ancient Persia alert readers that anti-Semitism can exist even in professedly peaceful and progressive settings.
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