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by Jayla Shanmugam,, Editor-in-Chief
The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.
Racism:It is a word that holds an incredible amount of weight, especially in our country today. Despite the notion some people hold that we are in a "post racism" nation, we still have a long way to go. The recent attention surrounding the Black Lives Matter Movement has brought to light so many of the racial injustices people of color are facing right now. This movement has sparked serious conversations surrounding racial issues, but this topic seems to be hard for some to speak about. Racism is still a prominent problem and there are a million conversations that need to be had surrounding ways to remedy it. I wanted to dive into why it is so difficult to have these conversations and how Hilliard Bradley can assist students when talking about race.
The Jaguar Times spoke to students and staff on why they believe it is difficult to speak about race. When asked about this, Mr. Gmerek commented, “I don’t have the same experiences regarding race as other people and so, even though I certainly empathize with others, I cannot possibly begin to imagine how racial biases and discrimination has made them feel in their lives.” He also stated, “ I am afraid I may inadvertently say something that is offensive. I think this is something that is easy to accidentally do when dealing with sensitive topics.” This is an understandable concern that I think some of the majority has. They want to learn about race in order to make a change but will never understand what it means to be a person of color. I saw this type of response a lot when interviewing people who haven’t been on the receiving end of racism.
When speaking to people of color I got a different perspective on why they think it is hard for some to have discussions about race. Ms. Thomas said, “I believe that it is difficult for some people to talk about race because in our culture, we often see racism as either inherently good or inherently bad; there can’t be a good person that does racist things. When in reality we have to understand that you can be a good person, but have racist beliefs or hold onto your privilege and use that privilege and benefit from that privilege without even thinking about it.” This is a very important point that needs to be stressed more when discussing race. When people think of someone who is racist, they think of evil people, when this is not always the case. The majority of people who are racist or racially insensitive in our country are people we know. They are our neighbors, the people we see at the grocery stores, or even members of our family. Of course, not all of these people mean to be hateful. Some of them never even come across that way. But deep down, even subconsciously, they embody apartheid.This stems from a society that allows racism to thrive and allows its citizens to breed racism in their hearts. The only way to rectify it is to educate those who exhibit "learned" racism or racism.
Students agreed with the staff on why they feel uncomfortable when having conversations surrounding racial injustices. Penelope Kern (12) added, “When we do talk about race, it’s usually with people who look like us because it gives us a sense of comfort. This is because people feel uncomfortable when speaking about race with people from other cultures and this feeds the racial divide.” People need to have uncomfortable conversations in order to educate themselves on how to be anti-racist. Racism is such a part of culture that some don’t even understand they have racist beliefs or have or said something racially insensitive.
Bradley has taken an initiative to give resources and information to students in order for them to have a better knowledge about racial issues. When asked about how Bradley is working towards this Mrs. Mordarski explained, “our teachers met over the summer to discuss ways to create and improve an inclusive environment. From that day, we chose to have difficult discussions on where we need to make change. The first task is that we are changing our schools' mission statement. Teachers and students will all have a say in what we are committed to as we attend Bradley. This mission will drive all decisions and all events that take place. We want to continue to create a safe place for students to talk and accept each other, no matter what race/culture they bring.” This is an excellent step that has been made in the right direction. When asked about how he thinks Bradley can help Mr. Witt said, “I think first and foremost we should be celebrating the diversity we have within our building. Every person and every race represented in this school is important and brings something special to our school culture. As individuals, we all can seek to grow and learn about cultures and backgrounds different from our own.” The more information people know about different races, the more they can embrace the diversity that surrounds them every day. Ms. Thomas believes that as a teacher, “We can’t avoid those conversations; we have to be fearless as educators and have those tough conversations and be willing to be uncomfortable ourselves;, be willing to give our students a little bit of discomfort in order for us to kinda rip that bandaid off and start having the conversations that need to happen in order to have change.”
Students also added ideas of ways they think that Hilliard Bradley can help when bridging the racial divide that is happening in our world. Feras Aklahi (12), said, “I think Bradley needs racial sensitivity education for both teachers and students. It should be required because there are many students that need to be educated on race.” Elyanna Rhondon (11) agreed that we need to “educate others to respect one another in general and to respect their differences.” Education is key when learning about how to better the racial issues in our country. So many people don’t even realize how systemically racist America is, and in order to combat discrimination, everyone needs to understand this.
When interviewing students and staff at Bradley, I came to the conclusion that race is hard to talk about because of the uncomfortable nature of the topic. Most people know deep inside that racism is wrong, yet it still lives inside them due to outside sources. In order to create change arduous conversations need to be had with different groups of people and within ourselves. Members of the Bradley community need to recognize their own bias and identify it as a first step in becoming anti racist. Hilliard Bradley is making steps to help students and staff have those intimate conversations, but individuals need to seek resources as well. The Jaguar Times encourages you to educate yourself in order to help our society move forward and effectively fight the racism our country holds.
Find more information below:
Internet Articles:
‘Not Racist’ Is Not Enough: Putting In The Work To Be Anti-Racist- NPR
How to talk to your family, friends about racism and white privilege- USA Today
The Best Anti Racist Films and Podcast to Educate Yourself- Glamour
Why Is It So Hard to Talk About Race- The Atlantic
‘I Don’t See Color’- Psychology Today
Documentaries, movies, and TV shows on Netflix:
13th (also on YouTube)
American Son
Dear White People
Explained: The Racial Wealth Gap
Who Killed Malcom X?
Teach Us All
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson
When They See Us
Documentaries, movies, and TV shows on Hulu:
Boom For Real
Whose Streets?
Black Stories Presents: Your Attention Please
Books to Read
So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ljeoma Oluo
Racism Without Racist, by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
How to Be An Anti Racist, by Ibram X Kendi
White Rage: The unspoken truth of our racial divide, by Carol Anderson
The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas
Podcasts to Listen To:
Code Switch
About Race
The Diversity Gap
Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
Kendi- How to be Anti Racist
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