The Word Black as a Modifier…

HC Anti Racist Group
Notes from September 8th Discussion

“In all the places in the world that I have traveled, I learned that America is the only place where BLACK is a modifier that is tacked on. Every place else, I am just an American. Here, I am referred to as a Black American. Racism is not a Black people issue, it is an American issue. There are Americans who are getting stripped of their Constitutional rights. It’s not a poverty problem, it’s not a color problem, it’s not a listening problem. It is an American problem.”

We all have different opportunities in our lives to make a difference.  Below are the highlights of what was discussed last Tuesday in our group call.

• As HC alum, where do we focus our energy to make an impact, from small changes to addressing larger, systemic issues?

  • Dire need for “institutional reckoning”

    • Institution needs to understand who they are and how to be better

  • HC Black Student Union (BSU)

    • a list of proposed changes has been shared

    • Can our group offer support to help push for these changes? How can we be most helpful?

At Marquette University, another Jesuit institution, students recently made demands of the school by protests and marches. More info on that can be found here:

https://today.marquette.edu/2020/09/addressing-racial-injustice-at-marquette-with-president-lovell-and-black-student-council-is-tomorrow-marquette-community-invited-to-tune-in-via-livestream/ and here:  https://today.marquette.edu/2020/06/musg-releases-statement-on-black-lives-matter-and-racial-injustice/

• Explore targeted donations

• Identify and create mentorship and internship opportunities for black alumni

• Need to examine HC history and acknowledgement of the Healys – black students are looking for acknowledgement and change on campus

• Examine hiring practices on campus

• As alums, explore individually and collectively what “lights our fire”, where we have the most power, and what support is needed to make change

• Use the strength of the group to make change at our alma mater with a strong voice

• Shared commonality, shared purpose

  • Let’s grab more of us and reconvene

  • Connect with recent alums and support them

• There’s an urgency to it

• On a more personal level:

As Jesuit educated individuals, we can look to the 9th commandment: thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor. And when we keep witnessing a false narrative against Black Americans, we are complicit. This commandment is a call to action. 

• It’s not a black issue, it’s a human issue, it’s a people issue.

• If we, as white people do not speak up, we are complicit and part of the problem

  • We need to acknowledge the reality of what is happening in the world

    • How do we not repeat the cycle?

  • To create change we need to be honest and authentic, which for most of us means being ok with being uncomfortable in order to move forward and activate change

Make bravery more important than fragility. Speak out and amplify voices of color. 

• We need to ask the hard questions…of ourselves and those around us

“I can’t make you feel good when some people are being dehumanized daily.” We are now experiencing matters that reveal different ways that individuals live. 

• What rubric do you use, what are our guiding principles for change?

• Dealing with a white dominant society – “the more I censor my own complicity, the less difficult it is for me”

  • People reflect the society that they grew up in

  • If we want to change, we have to be willing to give up comfort or power

Sometimes I feel that the 1-2 people I may reach in a day in my community are not enough. But maybe it reaches further than you think.  Be cognizant of how your message can be broadcast in your community, the institutions where you work, etc. 

• On an educational front:

  • Teachers in the group asking about how to best prepare the youth of our society to be better than the generation before

  • Would like a discussion on how to advance these issues on the HS level

  • Are they only reading books written by white authors? Only learning the long-taught white-washed version of history?

This group has power at Holy Cross. But people in this group will have different personal mandates. What part of this work feels authentic to you?

Initial suggestions for next month’s conversation:

• Some people will shut down when told they are saying something racist, but perhaps we have come to a tipping point where zero tolerance is the answer, where we shut down racism with statements like “we don’t talk like that here”, “I’m not okay with how you’re speaking”, “That joke was racist”….because there aren’t degrees of racism that are okay. This isn’t something that it’s okay for some people to agree with and some to disagree with, like whether you like ketchup or mustard on a hot dog.

• All whites aren’t racist, unless they are not speaking up on this issue, which makes them complicit.

• I want to keep my foot on the gas with challenging people on their beliefs.  But the pre-existing dynamics run deep. Do we challenge people and risk that they will shut us out and stop listening?

• Pay attention to micro-aggressions- then educate and explain to people what they are. Some people are oblivious to them.