Bridging the Gap: Chapter 1, the Actual Struggle
Disclaimer: This post cuts-off somewhat abruptly to encourage further reading down the line. I hope for this to serve as an educational alleviation to any ignorance about systematic racism. Short and sweet works better for that, I think.
This post is a response to recent events occurring on campus here, including a hacking of the Theatre Arts Instagram page changing the logo to reveal a Confederate flag, as well as a supposed video of a student in blackface insulting an African-American faculty member. The former event is indisputably true, while the latter, was actually very much a rumor. The threat, discontent and fear however, brought to the forefront by this allegation, is very real, regardless of the rumor having any validity. The actual issue at hand, racism, when partnered with complacency is much bigger. I’m here to comment on that, and have little to no interest in a witch hunt.
This post is a response to recent events occurring on campus here, including a hacking of the Theatre Arts Instagram page changing the logo to reveal a Confederate flag, as well as a supposed video of a student in blackface insulting an African-American faculty member. The former event is indisputably true, while the latter, was actually very much a rumor. The threat, discontent and fear however, brought to the forefront by this allegation, is very real, regardless of the rumor having any validity. The actual issue at hand, racism, when partnered with complacency is much bigger. I’m here to comment on that, and have little to no interest in a witch hunt.
Allow me first to express that the history of oppression for people of color, especially black people in American society, is more intricate and severe than you or I could ever possibly comprehend. My knowledge on this matter matures everyday, my latest read revealing to me that slave-owners worked fervently to instill a fear of water in slaves, in order to keep them from escaping. This includes violent drownings and elaborate fables of dangerous creatures living in the water. After the Civil War, black people were banned from popular beach towns such as Atlantic City and these efforts evolved in the 20th and 21st centuries through segregation keeping African-Americans out of swimming pools. Does that not blow your mind? That hundreds of years of our history were geared towards just keeping black people from enjoying swimming? A reminder that this "fun fact" is most likely omitted from almost if not all General history courses in the United States, unless you're specifically taking "Black History" which of course would be offered as an elective, not a required course. I urge you to consider the emotional effects on students of color of having white history be required in American curriculums, while black history being offered as an elective.
I offer this anecdote to provide a window into the insurmountable disadvantages posed to people of color everyday, and leisurely water activities are the tip of the iceberg. There are much deeper socio-economic disadvantages, including higher incarceration rates, lower pay, unequal access to education and public resources, even cars being sold at higher rates to POC with identical income and credit scores to their white counterparts. As college students (hello my demographic) our ability to completely dismantle these systems is not great, and I understand that. I call this "the justification for complacency," aka "how can I devote any effort into taking apart something that is way bigger than me?" As well as "why should I work to take apart something that doesn't directly effect me?" To these questions I have two answers:
1. Working to take apart these systems is what POC must do in order to succeed in modern society every single day. It should not be our job to dismantle something we didn't even create.
2. It is actually easier for someone, say, a white person, who is at the advantage of these systems to incite change. The privilege granted to you by your skin color actually allows you to bring forth the voices of those who are rarely given a chance to speak.
The analogy I use is this: you know at the beach how the sand that's right at the top is light and easy to move around, and then as you get deeper the sand gets darker, wetter, more dense, and difficult to swipe at? Now imagine that POC are beneath that dark, wet sand and white people are simply standing at the top of the beach, enjoying the view. Our job would be much easier if someone standing at the beach kicked some of that light sand away, and then while they were at it, maybe tossed some chunks of that heavy sand away too. That way we can dismantle the sand from both the top and the bottom. Then everyone can enjoy the beach.
There is one easy way to start in helping bridge the gap between the treatment of whites and the treatment of POC, or kicking some sand. And that way is socially. I'll show you how to do that next.
1. Working to take apart these systems is what POC must do in order to succeed in modern society every single day. It should not be our job to dismantle something we didn't even create.
2. It is actually easier for someone, say, a white person, who is at the advantage of these systems to incite change. The privilege granted to you by your skin color actually allows you to bring forth the voices of those who are rarely given a chance to speak.
The analogy I use is this: you know at the beach how the sand that's right at the top is light and easy to move around, and then as you get deeper the sand gets darker, wetter, more dense, and difficult to swipe at? Now imagine that POC are beneath that dark, wet sand and white people are simply standing at the top of the beach, enjoying the view. Our job would be much easier if someone standing at the beach kicked some of that light sand away, and then while they were at it, maybe tossed some chunks of that heavy sand away too. That way we can dismantle the sand from both the top and the bottom. Then everyone can enjoy the beach.
There is one easy way to start in helping bridge the gap between the treatment of whites and the treatment of POC, or kicking some sand. And that way is socially. I'll show you how to do that next.
And thus ends Chapter 1. Next Chapter: Allyship.
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