Author:
As officers of the new club White Students for Racial Equity, we know that there have been some uneasy reactions to our club. In response, we want to clarify what our club is about, and why it is important to Oxy.
Our number one goal is to help white students become allies for racial justice at Occidental College and in the world.It takes all of us to fight for racial equity. We recognize that white people often unconsciously perpetuate racial inequality. Therefore, if white people do not choose to confront and address racism, nothing will change significantly. We want our club to be a place where white students can learn about racial issues, challenge themselves, grow, and take action.
We want to provide a place for white students to develop racial awareness, which entails inviting white students into the conversation about race, enabling them to lean into discomfort in order to grow, and generating a shared language about racial issues. It also entails having conversations where white students can be open and honest about miscommunication, discomfort, and confusion they experienced related to race.
Unfortunately, providing an open, honest space is not always simple. Talking about whiteness, privilege and racism can be a scary thing for white people to do in front of people of color. White students may not be as honest about what they struggle with when students of color are present, ultimately limiting the white students’ development. So, in most of our club meetings, we will focus on the development of white students who choose to face and combat racism. We hope that instead of being passive, white students will actively take ownership of their development as allies.
We recognize that students of color have a stake in the development of white allies. That is why we plan on having joint meetings/dialogues with other cultural clubs on campus. This club is not intended to divide us. It is intended to help white students get tools in order to work with students of color to make a change on this campus.
Please come to our “Panel on White Allies” on September 28 during lunch in the Quad. Speakers will include Professor Wade (Sociology), Professor Heldman (Politics), and Professor Mora (Sociology), as well as student leaders Janelle Porter (President of Black Student Alliance), Mike Adams (President of First Nations), and Ryan Bowen (President of ASOC). Also, join us at our next general meeting on Sunday, September 30, at 8 p.m. in Johnson 101. We hope to see you there.
Students of color should not be the only ones working hard for racial equity. As white students, we can be a valuable part of that work as well. With that, know that White Students for Racial Equity wants to help develop strong allies.
This article has been archived, for more requests please contact us via the support system.
