Courageous Convorsations
In this project, we learned
Courageous Conversations paper
Audrey Matosian
In April, our class went to Brookdale retirement home to interview individuals on race. My group was set to interview a man of ninety years named John. John spoke to us about his life growing up in Montana next to a Native American reserve, his service in the United States Navy, his education and his life at the retirement home, and about how it was influenced by race and by racism. A particular account concerning his time in the military was most enlightening. During World War II, his ship was preparing to invade Italy One day, he was out on the deck talking to a black sailor and one of his ship’s officers approached them saying he shouldn’t be talking to a steward. John said to us that when he replied that he was a sailor, the Officer said, “Don’t get smart with me.” After they made the invasion, the sailor whom John had spoken with only once, was killed. “I only spoke with him, 15-20 minutes but uh, someone who, I thought he was a nice guy.... But I never got a chance to know him because someone said, he’s different.” While this may have happened many years ago, racism is still prominent in our society and White Privilege is not widely acknowledged. The best way to change the way our society functions and to create equality is to talk about the issues at hand, whether you be against or for a solution. Having courageous conversations about race can change the way someone sees the world.
Over the course of this project we have learned more and about the true effects of racism and the origins of white privilege. Our class conducted interviews with not only the senior citizens at Brookdale retirement home, but also with college students attending California State University San Marcos. During this interview my partner and I gained some valuable insight into current racial issues rather than those more prominent in the lives of the elderly. One of the students said that having grown up in Colorado, he lived in a predominantly white community and stated that unfortunately his extended family was racist. He told one particular story that gave an insight into his decision to distance himself from his cousin. They had been driving when his cousin noticed a black man on the side of the road and proceeded to roll down the window and shout the N word as they drove past.
I gleaned from this story a better understanding of the intensity of racism that remains, embedded in our society. It is even reminiscent in our own individual lives as proven by the Harvard developed IAT tests. These tests measure your own biases, unconscious or otherwise. The test will measure if you have an ingrained bias towards either african-american people, european-american people, or no biases. It was heavily stressed before we took this test in class that, no one is born with a particular bias. The reason that these biases exist and the reason that there is prominent racial inequality is because of the way that information is presented to members of society. According to Project Implicit i.e. Harvard, “Automatic White preference may be common among Americans because of the deep learning of negative associations to the group Black in this society. High levels of negative references to Black Americans in American culture and mass media may contribute to this learning. Such negative references may themselves be more the residue of the long history of racial discrimination in the United States than the result of deliberate efforts to discriminate in media treatments.” My own IAT test were originally inconclusive due to an excess of errors on my part, but upon taking the test again, I realized that I too was apart of the majority in that I resulted in a (slight) European-American bias. I was shocked and confused considering that I see myself as a very accepting and equal person, especially since I have dealt with similar prejudice and inequity in my own life. However, I do now understand that the test is not a reflection of myself and my values, it is a projection of our society’s values and what is collectively deemed to be the norm. What is shown to our generation through not only media, but at home, in school, and as we grow leaves traces of negative impact.
Engaging in Courageous Conversations or just bringing issues to light can change how others view the issue including yourself. By informing others and expanding your own knowledge, a conversation can be all it takes to get someone to care about an injustice that they may not have realized existed. I feel that if more people were to talk about issues, without commiserating or feeling disconnected guilt, but instead getting down to the heart of the matter, change would be much easier to implement. It is possible for this to happen if we just managed to reserve judgement and biases. The world is changing rapidly making it easier to get an idea into the world, and if you believe in an idea with enough solid ground beneath your feet, that idea can’t ever be destroyed.
Audrey Matosian
In April, our class went to Brookdale retirement home to interview individuals on race. My group was set to interview a man of ninety years named John. John spoke to us about his life growing up in Montana next to a Native American reserve, his service in the United States Navy, his education and his life at the retirement home, and about how it was influenced by race and by racism. A particular account concerning his time in the military was most enlightening. During World War II, his ship was preparing to invade Italy One day, he was out on the deck talking to a black sailor and one of his ship’s officers approached them saying he shouldn’t be talking to a steward. John said to us that when he replied that he was a sailor, the Officer said, “Don’t get smart with me.” After they made the invasion, the sailor whom John had spoken with only once, was killed. “I only spoke with him, 15-20 minutes but uh, someone who, I thought he was a nice guy.... But I never got a chance to know him because someone said, he’s different.” While this may have happened many years ago, racism is still prominent in our society and White Privilege is not widely acknowledged. The best way to change the way our society functions and to create equality is to talk about the issues at hand, whether you be against or for a solution. Having courageous conversations about race can change the way someone sees the world.
Over the course of this project we have learned more and about the true effects of racism and the origins of white privilege. Our class conducted interviews with not only the senior citizens at Brookdale retirement home, but also with college students attending California State University San Marcos. During this interview my partner and I gained some valuable insight into current racial issues rather than those more prominent in the lives of the elderly. One of the students said that having grown up in Colorado, he lived in a predominantly white community and stated that unfortunately his extended family was racist. He told one particular story that gave an insight into his decision to distance himself from his cousin. They had been driving when his cousin noticed a black man on the side of the road and proceeded to roll down the window and shout the N word as they drove past.
I gleaned from this story a better understanding of the intensity of racism that remains, embedded in our society. It is even reminiscent in our own individual lives as proven by the Harvard developed IAT tests. These tests measure your own biases, unconscious or otherwise. The test will measure if you have an ingrained bias towards either african-american people, european-american people, or no biases. It was heavily stressed before we took this test in class that, no one is born with a particular bias. The reason that these biases exist and the reason that there is prominent racial inequality is because of the way that information is presented to members of society. According to Project Implicit i.e. Harvard, “Automatic White preference may be common among Americans because of the deep learning of negative associations to the group Black in this society. High levels of negative references to Black Americans in American culture and mass media may contribute to this learning. Such negative references may themselves be more the residue of the long history of racial discrimination in the United States than the result of deliberate efforts to discriminate in media treatments.” My own IAT test were originally inconclusive due to an excess of errors on my part, but upon taking the test again, I realized that I too was apart of the majority in that I resulted in a (slight) European-American bias. I was shocked and confused considering that I see myself as a very accepting and equal person, especially since I have dealt with similar prejudice and inequity in my own life. However, I do now understand that the test is not a reflection of myself and my values, it is a projection of our society’s values and what is collectively deemed to be the norm. What is shown to our generation through not only media, but at home, in school, and as we grow leaves traces of negative impact.
Engaging in Courageous Conversations or just bringing issues to light can change how others view the issue including yourself. By informing others and expanding your own knowledge, a conversation can be all it takes to get someone to care about an injustice that they may not have realized existed. I feel that if more people were to talk about issues, without commiserating or feeling disconnected guilt, but instead getting down to the heart of the matter, change would be much easier to implement. It is possible for this to happen if we just managed to reserve judgement and biases. The world is changing rapidly making it easier to get an idea into the world, and if you believe in an idea with enough solid ground beneath your feet, that idea can’t ever be destroyed.