TED2015
Clint Smith: How to raise a black son in America
克林特·史密斯: 如何在美国抚养一个黑人孩子
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从小，我们都从我们的父母和老师那得到看似奇怪甚至不解的建议。当小克林特·史密斯在停车场和他的白人朋友玩水枪的时候，那个夜晚这一切困惑都豁然开朗。在这个真诚的演讲中，这个诗人描述了他父亲当时激烈且惊恐的反应。
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Growing up, I didn't always understand
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在成长的过程中，我并不总能理解
00:15
why my parents made me
follow the rules that they did.
follow the rules that they did.
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为何我的父母让我遵循
他们所遵循的规矩。
他们所遵循的规矩。
00:17
Like, why did I really
have to mow the lawn?
have to mow the lawn?
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比如，为什么我非要修剪草坪？
00:20
Why was homework really that important?
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为什么家庭作业就这么重要？
00:23
Why couldn't I put jelly beans
in my oatmeal?
in my oatmeal?
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为什么不能把软糖放在燕麦里边？
00:27
My childhood was abound
with questions like this.
with questions like this.
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我的童年充斥着类似的问题。
00:30
Normal things about being a kid
and realizing that sometimes,
and realizing that sometimes,
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这在孩童时期很正常，
并且我意识到有的时候，
并且我意识到有的时候，
00:34
it was best to listen to my parents
even when I didn't exactly understand why.
even when I didn't exactly understand why.
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最好还是听父母的话，
即使你并不理解为何他们要你这么做。
即使你并不理解为何他们要你这么做。
00:38
And it's not that they didn't want
me to think critically.
me to think critically.
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并不是他们不希望我能够批判的思考。
00:41
Their parenting always sought
to reconcile the tension
to reconcile the tension
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他们的教育方式总是寻求缓解矛盾，
让我和我的兄弟姐妹在
看清现实世界的同时，
看清现实世界的同时，
00:44
between having my siblings and I
understand the realities of the world,
understand the realities of the world,
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00:47
while ensuring that we never accepted
the status quo as inevitable.
the status quo as inevitable.
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确保我们不会屈从于不可避免的现状。
00:51
I came to realize that this,
in and of itself,
in and of itself,
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我意识到这种方式本身，
00:54
was a very purposeful form of education.
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是一种很有意义的教育。
00:58
One of my favorite educators,
Brazilian author and scholar Paulo Freire,
Brazilian author and scholar Paulo Freire,
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我最爱的教育家之一，
巴西作家和学者保罗·弗莱雷，
巴西作家和学者保罗·弗莱雷，
01:02
speaks quite explicitly
about the need for education
about the need for education
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曾公开说过对教育的需求要成为
01:05
to be used as a tool for critical
awakening and shared humanity.
awakening and shared humanity.
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批判性意识和共享人性的工具。
01:09
In his most famous book,
"Pedagogy of the Oppressed,"
"Pedagogy of the Oppressed,"
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在他最著名的《被压迫者教育学》一书中，
01:12
he states, "No one can be
authentically human
authentically human
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他指出，“当一个人要阻止他人成为人时，
01:17
while he prevents others from being so."
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他就不算是个真正意义上的人。”
01:20
I've been thinking a lot about this
lately, this idea of humanity,
lately, this idea of humanity,
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最近，我对这种人性的观点
进行了很多思考，
进行了很多思考，
01:23
and specifically, who in this world
is afforded the privilege
is afforded the privilege
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特别是那些人，
在这个世界上被赋予了特权
在这个世界上被赋予了特权
01:27
of being perceived as fully human.
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成为了完整的人。
01:30
Over the course of
the past several months,
the past several months,
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在过去的几个月,
01:32
the world has watched
as unarmed black men, and women,
as unarmed black men, and women,
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在全世界的注目下，
手无寸铁的黑人男子与妇女，
手无寸铁的黑人男子与妇女，
01:35
have had their lives taken
at the hands of police and vigilante.
at the hands of police and vigilante.
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被警察和民间武装夺走了生命。
01:39
These events and all that
has transpired after them
has transpired after them
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这些事件所产生的影响
01:42
have brought me back to my own childhood
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让我想起了我的童年，
01:44
and the decisions that my parents made
about raising a black boy in America
about raising a black boy in America
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以及我父母关于在美国抚养
一个黑人孩子所作出的决定，
一个黑人孩子所作出的决定，
01:49
that growing up, I didn't always
understand in the way that I do now.
understand in the way that I do now.
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在成长的过程中，
我从未像现在这样理解他们的决定。
我从未像现在这样理解他们的决定。
我能想象当他们为了
让我们能够在夜晚
让我们能够在夜晚
01:53
I think of how hard it must have been,
how profoundly unfair it must have felt
how profoundly unfair it must have felt
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01:58
for them to feel like they had
to strip away parts of my childhood
to strip away parts of my childhood
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平安的回到家里，
而不得不剥夺我们的部分童年，
而不得不剥夺我们的部分童年，
是多么艰难和不公平。
02:02
just so that I could come home at night.
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02:05
For example, I think of how one night,
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例如，我想到在我12岁时，
02:07
when I was around 12 years old, on an
overnight field trip to another city,
overnight field trip to another city,
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在去往另一个城市郊游的夜晚，
02:11
my friends and I bought Super Soakers
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我和朋友们都带了水枪，
02:13
and turned the hotel parking lot
into our own water-filled battle zone.
into our own water-filled battle zone.
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并把旅馆的停车场变成了水枪战场。
02:18
We hid behind cars,
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我们躲在车后面，
02:19
running through the darkness that
lay between the streetlights,
lay between the streetlights,
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在街灯间的黑暗中穿梭，
02:22
boundless laughter ubiquitous
across the pavement.
across the pavement.
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笑声传遍了整条街道。
02:26
But within 10 minutes,
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但还不到10分钟，
我的父亲就走了出来，
反常地紧紧抓住我的前臂，
反常地紧紧抓住我的前臂，
02:28
my father came outside,
grabbed me by my forearm
grabbed me by my forearm
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把我拉回到了房间。
02:31
and led me into our room
with an unfamiliar grip.
with an unfamiliar grip.
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02:34
Before I could say anything,
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在我还没来得及开口告诉他，
02:36
tell him how foolish he had
made me look in front of my friends,
made me look in front of my friends,
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他这么做让我在朋友面前多丢脸，
02:39
he derided me for being so naive.
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他就开始嗤笑我太天真。
02:42
Looked me in the eye,
fear consuming his face,
fear consuming his face,
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他一脸后怕地看着我的眼睛说，
02:47
and said, "Son, I'm sorry,
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“儿子，我很抱歉，
02:49
but you can't act the same
as your white friends.
as your white friends.
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但是你不能像你的白人朋友那样。
02:52
You can't pretend to shoot guns.
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你不能假装自己在开枪。
02:55
You can't run around in the dark.
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你不能在夜里乱跑。
02:57
You can't hide behind anything
other than your own teeth."
other than your own teeth."
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一旦出事你没人可以保护你。“
03:00
I know now how scared he must have been,
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我现在知道了他当时是多么的害怕，
03:03
how easily I could have fallen
into the empty of the night,
into the empty of the night,
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我可能很容易就倒
在这空荡荡的黑夜中，
在这空荡荡的黑夜中，
03:07
that some man would mistake this water
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让别人把这水枪中的水，
03:09
for a good reason to wash
all of this away.
all of this away.
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当做一个好的借口来清除掉我。
03:13
These are the sorts of messages I've been
inundated with my entire life:
inundated with my entire life:
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我的一生都淹没在这些信息中：
03:16
Always keep your hands where they
can see them, don't move too quickly,
can see them, don't move too quickly,
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把你的手放在他们能够
看到的地方，动作不要太快，
看到的地方，动作不要太快，
03:20
take off your hood when the sun goes down.
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晚上把你的帽子摘下来。
03:22
My parents raised me and my siblings
in an armor of advice,
in an armor of advice,
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我的父母为我和兄弟姐妹
装备了一系列告诫，
装备了一系列告诫，
03:25
an ocean of alarm bells so someone
wouldn't steal the breath from our lungs,
wouldn't steal the breath from our lungs,
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这无数警告只为我们能够平安活下来，
03:28
so that they wouldn't make
a memory of this skin.
a memory of this skin.
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而不需要因为肤色付出代价。
03:31
So that we could be kids,
not casket or concrete.
not casket or concrete.
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这样我们才是活生生的孩子，
而不是棺材或墓碑。
而不是棺材或墓碑。
03:33
And it's not because they thought it
would make us better than anyone else
would make us better than anyone else
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这并不是因为他们想
让我们比别的孩子更优秀，
让我们比别的孩子更优秀，
他们只希望我们平安地活着。
03:37
it's simply because they wanted
to keep us alive.
to keep us alive.
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03:39
All of my black friends were raised
with the same message,
with the same message,
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我所有的黑人朋友都在
同样的信息
同样的信息
03:42
the talk, given to us
when we became old enough
when we became old enough
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和谈话中成长，当我们到了
03:44
to be mistaken for a nail ready
to be hammered to the ground,
to be hammered to the ground,
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能够轻易被人按倒在地上的年龄时，
03:47
when people made our melanin
synonymous with something to be feared.
synonymous with something to be feared.
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当人们把我们的肤色与恐惧对应起来时。
03:52
But what does it do to a child
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但是这么做对孩子的影响是什么，
03:54
to grow up knowing that you
cannot simply be a child?
cannot simply be a child?
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当在孩童时期就知道
自己不能成为一个真正的孩子？
自己不能成为一个真正的孩子？
青春期的冲动会危及你的生命，
03:58
That the whims of adolescence
are too dangerous for your breath,
are too dangerous for your breath,
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04:01
that you cannot simply be curious,
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你无法再有好奇心，
04:02
that you are not afforded the luxury
of making a mistake,
of making a mistake,
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你没有资格犯错误，
04:05
that someone's implicit bias
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某人似有若无的偏见
就可能是你没法活到第二天的原因。
04:07
might be the reason you don't
wake up in the morning.
wake up in the morning.
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04:10
But this cannot be what defines us.
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但是这些并不是定义我们的因素。
04:11
Because we have parents
who raised us to understand
who raised us to understand
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因为我们的父母让我们知道，
04:14
that our bodies weren't meant
for the backside of a bullet,
for the backside of a bullet,
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我们的身体并不意味着弹靶子，
04:17
but for flying kites and jumping rope,
and laughing until our stomachs burst.
and laughing until our stomachs burst.
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而意味着可以去放风筝和跳绳，
并且笑到肚子疼。
并且笑到肚子疼。
04:20
We had teachers who taught us
how to raise our hands in class,
how to raise our hands in class,
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我们的老师教会我们在课堂上举手发言，
04:23
and not just to signal surrender,
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而不是举起双手以示投降，
04:25
and that the only thing we should give up
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我们唯一应该摒弃的观念
04:27
is the idea that we
aren't worthy of this world.
aren't worthy of this world.
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就是我们不配在这个世界上生存。
04:29
So when we say that black lives matter,
it's not because others don't,
it's not because others don't,
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我们说黑人的生命很重要，
并不是因为别人的生命无关紧要，
并不是因为别人的生命无关紧要，
04:33
it's simply because we must affirm that we
are worthy of existing without fear,
are worthy of existing without fear,
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只是因为我们必须
在一切都否定我们的时候，
在一切都否定我们的时候，
04:36
when so many things tell us we are not.
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还能无畏无惧的生存下去。
04:38
I want to live in a world where my son
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我想生活在这样一个世界，
04:40
will not be presumed guilty
the moment he is born,
the moment he is born,
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在那里，我的孩子不需要
一出生就被假定有罪，
一出生就被假定有罪，
04:43
where a toy in his hand isn't mistaken
for anything other than a toy.
for anything other than a toy.
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在那里，孩子手上的玩具不会被误认
为是其他东西。
为是其他东西。
04:47
And I refuse to accept that we can't
build this world into something new,
build this world into something new,
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我拒绝承认我们不能够
让这个世界变得更美好，
让这个世界变得更美好，
04:50
some place where a child's name
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在这个世界一个孩子的名字
04:52
doesn't have to be written
on a t-shirt, or a tombstone,
on a t-shirt, or a tombstone,
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不需要被印在T恤或者被刻在墓碑上，
04:54
where the value of someone's life
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一个人的生命价值
04:56
isn't determined by anything other
than the fact that they had lungs,
than the fact that they had lungs,
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不由除了呼吸之外的
任何其他因素决定，
任何其他因素决定，
05:00
a place where every single
one of us can breathe.
one of us can breathe.
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一个我们每个人都能自由呼吸的地方。
05:04
Thank you.
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谢谢。
05:05
(Applause)
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（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Clint Smith - Poet, educatorClint Smith's work blends art and activism.
Why you should listen
Clint Smith is a writer, teacher and doctoral candidate at Harvard University studying education, incarceration and inequality. Previously, he taught high school English in Prince George’s County, Maryland where, in 2013, he was named the Christine D. Sarbanes Teacher of the Year by the Maryland Humanities Council.
Clint is a 2014 National Poetry Slam champion, an Individual World Poetry Slam Finalist, and author of the poetry collection Counting Descent. He has received fellowships from the National Science Foundation, Cave Canem and the Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Guardian, Boston Review, American Poetry Review, Harvard Educational Review and elsewhere. He was born and raised in New Orleans, LA.
Clint Smith | Speaker | TED.com