Let's Talk About Race and Privilege (Again)!

The Trayvon Martin case and its verdict brought the world back to the reality of racial inequality. This event sparked conversations about race and privilege nationally, possibly globally. Even President Obama had a few words to say on the Martin case and race relations today:

There are very few African American men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store.  That includes me.  There are very few African American men who haven't had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars.  That happens to me -- at least before I was a senator.  There are very few African Americans who haven't had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off.  That happens often.

And I don't want to exaggerate this, but those sets of experiences inform how the African American community interprets what happened one night in Florida.  And it’s inescapable for people to bring those experiences to bear.  The African American community is also knowledgeable that there is a history of racial disparities in the application of our criminal laws -- everything from the death penalty to enforcement of our drug laws.  And that ends up having an impact in terms of how people interpret the case (Remarks by the President on Trayvon Martin).

In the wake of it all, Rhodes College participated in a discussion about the role of race and privilege on our campus and within greater society. During this time, a faculty panel shared their email correspondence where they explored their thoughts on the importance of the word "race" in academia and in today's society. The following questions were proposed: Can we simply eliminate it from conversation? Is it just a word? Half of the panel suggested that it was possible to delete the word "race" from our general vernacular. It was expressed that it is possible to move forward as a society. The other half suggested that it is impossible to dissolve the word in an attempt to delete how this expression has shaped much of our lives. Why and how has such an ambiguous term made such an impact on American society?

These are questions that my roommates and I tend to converse about very often. It was refreshing to hear perspectives other than the ones that I am familiar. Although few gave their opinions, everyone present seemed to receive what was being stated. There were emotional reactions from everyone. Having a conversation on race is a feat and that night, Rhodes College was the victor.

With thrill, many students inquired Professor McKinney about the date of the next forum. He replied that is the responsibility of the students to lead such conversation. I felt ambivalent about this proposition. Are we really going to have another forum? Why does the conversation on race and privilege tend to be closeted? How important are having these conversations? What types of change are we to make?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/07/21/204154690/many-welcome-obamas-entry-into-discussion-on-race

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/07/19/remarks-president-trayvon-martin