Response 2--Natural Communities
As we move closer to cementing our PDA's we find splits in the group between those that blame the media for the problems of racism and those that find families at fault. Our natural communities; families, friends, neighborhoods are easy targets in the push to interrogate racist societal beliefs. "Your mother didn't raise you right," "Hate is not a family value," and "Our community doesn't tolerate diversity, we celebrate it," are all catch-phrases that are used to distance oneself from culpability in demanding an an anti-racist standpoint.
My greatest frustration with this class and this project is that at every possible point, we have been limited in our scope and efficacy of tackling a dicey and sophisticated problem. With a predominately white class, and white instructors, getting support for our initiatives has been an unecessarily uphill battle for us. Our original super-initative was thoughtful, timely, relative and impactful, but it was shot down. My sheer dissapointment with this outcome was compounded by the fact that the biggest objectors to the project were of a different race and had clearly not come to grips with their own racist beliefs before critiquing this project.
As one of the few people of color, it served as a major blow to any possibilities of creating a body of work that would have any efficacy. I presented this situation and our original ideas to another class that I am taking. This particular class is offered through the African-American Studies department and as a result, everyone in this class, including the instructor, is a person of color. The shock and anger that was expressed from my classmates and professor confirmed my own feelings. This fellowship of other individuals who have experienced racism in the classroom, helped me heal from my experience in this class. Their affirmations proved key in my ability to continue this course with any measure of caring or interest. Indeed, their implorations that I fight to keep our original concept for Sundown Towns gave me a sense of solidarity and support.
I did not have to take my complaints to a higher governing body, such as the Equal Opportunities Office or the Dean of Students to recieve the assistance and encouragement that I needed. If I had attempted to resolve these concerns through those methods, my concerns may have been dismissed as trivial or unfounded, which is unfortunately not an exception for students of color at predominately white institutions. So in this way, my natural community was a far superior means of interrogation, introspection and ultimately healing that what could have been offered through more established means.
My greatest frustration with this class and this project is that at every possible point, we have been limited in our scope and efficacy of tackling a dicey and sophisticated problem. With a predominately white class, and white instructors, getting support for our initiatives has been an unecessarily uphill battle for us. Our original super-initative was thoughtful, timely, relative and impactful, but it was shot down. My sheer dissapointment with this outcome was compounded by the fact that the biggest objectors to the project were of a different race and had clearly not come to grips with their own racist beliefs before critiquing this project.
As one of the few people of color, it served as a major blow to any possibilities of creating a body of work that would have any efficacy. I presented this situation and our original ideas to another class that I am taking. This particular class is offered through the African-American Studies department and as a result, everyone in this class, including the instructor, is a person of color. The shock and anger that was expressed from my classmates and professor confirmed my own feelings. This fellowship of other individuals who have experienced racism in the classroom, helped me heal from my experience in this class. Their affirmations proved key in my ability to continue this course with any measure of caring or interest. Indeed, their implorations that I fight to keep our original concept for Sundown Towns gave me a sense of solidarity and support.
I did not have to take my complaints to a higher governing body, such as the Equal Opportunities Office or the Dean of Students to recieve the assistance and encouragement that I needed. If I had attempted to resolve these concerns through those methods, my concerns may have been dismissed as trivial or unfounded, which is unfortunately not an exception for students of color at predominately white institutions. So in this way, my natural community was a far superior means of interrogation, introspection and ultimately healing that what could have been offered through more established means.
posted by R. Kiah Morris at 2:21 PM
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