While racism is very apparent in the world today, many don’t realize how prevalent it is within academia as well. Not only have I experienced this myself, but I have many friends with countless stories of their own.
The reality is that I have experienced and witnessed racism and discrimination at almost every single school I have attended. It’s always a matter of exterior judgement. Does that student look professional? Does this student look “college ready?" Does that student look like they could be in higher classes?
Throughout my public school experience I was classified as "gifted" and although anyone could technically take the tests to be in these "gifted" programs, the demographic was completely discriminatory. Not only was I literally the only black person, I was one of very few females. Because there was no representation of black people in these types of classes, I felt like an outsider, and was seen this way as well.
“I remember in my class, we were discussing the event of Tuskegee and my professor dismissed it as being a "race thing", which is absolutely not true. I can only imagine what other things were dismissed by this professor, if something like the racism in Tuskegee was dismissed. STEM already is not including people of color, and completely ignoring the racism in certain key events like Tuskegee is counter-intuitive for any mission or goals ASU has to be more inclusive in STEM.”
“Thankfully I cannot think of any racist experiences occurring in a classroom or learning situation. However, I have experienced microaggressions on campus in general. Mainly having people look at me as if I don't belong or as if I am lost when I enter an engineering building or lab even though I have been entering those spaces every day for several years. This feeling of not belonging added a lot of pressure for me to succeed because I felt that any mistakes I made would prove that Black students don’t belong in STEM.”
Today is #ShutDownSTEM, but the issue of racism has been around for
centuries. It is a time today, to not just start thinking about being anti-racist and anti-discriminatory in academia, but take action to make the change.
Post author:
Ciarra Downing is a sophomore at Barrett, the Honors College majoring in Architecture and minoring in Sustainability. She is also a video intern/TA for the Teaching Innovation Center in the School of Life Sciences.
Throughout my public school experience I was classified as "gifted" and although anyone could technically take the tests to be in these "gifted" programs, the demographic was completely discriminatory. Not only was I literally the only black person, I was one of very few females. Because there was no representation of black people in these types of classes, I felt like an outsider, and was seen this way as well.
- At a volunteer event outside of school that many students participated at, I was standing next to a tall white kid with glasses that I’ve never met and an adult turned to him and said “you look like you’re in Peggy Payne (the gifted program at my school), are you?” Meanwhile, I was standing there wondering why he didn’t ask me the same question.
- During my junior year of high school there grew a huge divide between students and administration because they suspended a black kid for wearing a durag to school. For black people, a durag is a protective hairstyle that men and women like to use. It is also used to keep hairstyles like waves or braids intact; I have some myself. The mistake our assistant principal made was classifying it as “unprofessional”, comparing it to bandanas, which are gang affiliated, and furthermore telling him that wearing it didn't make him look “college ready”. Students protested and took to social media to speak out, which helped get a focus group created at our school to discuss the dress code. However, in the end, durags were unjustly banned on campus.
"My best friend whose family is African-Jamaican, was once taken to the office and had her back pack searched because a teacher thought she smelled like marijuana. She tried to explain that it was just coconut oil, and her hair products but she was still humiliated."
“I remember in my class, we were discussing the event of Tuskegee and my professor dismissed it as being a "race thing", which is absolutely not true. I can only imagine what other things were dismissed by this professor, if something like the racism in Tuskegee was dismissed. STEM already is not including people of color, and completely ignoring the racism in certain key events like Tuskegee is counter-intuitive for any mission or goals ASU has to be more inclusive in STEM.”
“Thankfully I cannot think of any racist experiences occurring in a classroom or learning situation. However, I have experienced microaggressions on campus in general. Mainly having people look at me as if I don't belong or as if I am lost when I enter an engineering building or lab even though I have been entering those spaces every day for several years. This feeling of not belonging added a lot of pressure for me to succeed because I felt that any mistakes I made would prove that Black students don’t belong in STEM.”
“One time I was talking to my friend at the MU in Spanish, and a woman came up to me and said, “Can you stop speaking Mexican?”
It is obvious to me that all students are struggling to find their place at ASU. Many black students of all ages are having to fight for equal opportunity and more representation amongst many other issues they face in school. It should not be the norm to expect black and brown students to have experienced racism, but when asked if I wanted to write this blog, it was assumed that I had an example to contribute.Today is #ShutDownSTEM, but the issue of racism has been around for
Post author:
Thank you for always speaking up and with such intelligence and strength. Awesome words and inspirational.
ReplyDeleteThis is a genius's statement. A warrior's statement. A Black woman's statement. The future has never been in more capable hands.
ReplyDelete