I woke up at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015 in Hiner 207. No, I didn’t pull an all-nighter grading papers or working on a publication. I woke up because two of my students saw me in the D-hall and handed me an invitation to a discussion hosted by the Black Student Association and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., called “Wake Up – Part Two.” I had no idea what would happen at this event. I just knew I respected and liked my students, and I wanted to show them I could at least show up and see what they were up to outside of class. It seemed important to them. I didn’t need a better reason than that to go.
I was the only faculty member in the room, so I found one of my students and sat next to her. For the next hour and half, a group of about 60 students were prompted by the discussion leaders to post anonymous comments through a web site onto the screen in the classroom. These comments were used to generate a discussion that lasted 90 minutes but felt more like 15. Students were prompted to share their experiences with race, ethnicity, prejudice, and diversity.
What I heard was a group of students who shared the most diverse set of life experiences, feelings, attitudes and desires imaginable. Students shared stories about how they felt they were treated as an outsider or “different” just because of the color of their skin. They shared these stories without anger or blame. They just described what happened. They talked about how they wrestled with the decision to attend an HBCU (Historically Black College or University) or a school like Longwood University. They talked about how other people, including people in their own ethnic group, made comments about how they acted white, or acted black, or how they sounded when they talked or how they dressed or fixed their hair. Many students described experiences in which other people, from different ethnic groups including their own, have treated them a certain way just because of the sound of their voice. They struggled with the complex issue of whether or not it is ever appropriate to use “the N-word.” Some students described experiences in Longwood University classes in which professors asked for their views on a topic, expecting them to speak for their entire ethnic group, as if every African-American student at any time, any place can stand up and tell others “this is what all people with my skin color believe, everywhere in the world, so you don’t have to bother getting to know anyone else with my skin color, because I speak for all of them.” It was clear they found it frustrating that other people judged them not for who they were as people, but rather based on characteristics that did not define them as a person.
They talked about how they hoped Longwood University would become more diverse. But no one said that meant more African-Americans. They mentioned people from all kinds of ethnic groups. They talked about how they were proud to be students at a university that seriously challenged them to work hard and earn their GPA and degree and that made them feel good about who they were. I interpreted their lack of negative comments and criticism about their Longwood experience to mean they generally felt comfortable and a part of our community. But they clearly expressed the hope that Longwood University, faculty, staff and students, could become even more diverse, accepting and color-blind than it already is.
I went to sleep last night being immensely grateful for this experience. I spent 90 minutes with a group of students who demonstrated that diversity is reflected by one’s thoughts and actions, not by skin color or the way one sounds. I encouraged the students to invite others, including their professors, to future discussions. It was the best learning experience I’ve had in quite some time. The maturity, openness and integrity I witnessed in these students were inspiring. I think it will take me some time to fully process the effect these students had on me, but I do know it will be a lasting one.