Three things I learned at the Privilege Race Conference

Ledger staff reporter Kim Tan reflects on her experience at Seattle University's undergraduate race conference.

By: Kim Tan

Posted: 3/9/10

Eight UW Tacoma students travelled up to Seattle to attend the Privilege Race Conference on Feb. 27. Hosted by Seattle University, it was the second biannual regional undergraduate conference dedicated to exploring diverse experiences with race and gender.
The two-day conference gathered students from Puget Sound institutions such as University of Washington Seattle campus and Pacific Lutheran University. During this conference, eighty-seven participants shared their ideas and gained valuable skills to address diversity challenges on their campuses and in their communities.
Highlights of the conference included a race and gender caucus where students from various institutions discussed how race and gender inequalities affected them, three parallel breakout sessions dedicated to learning more about diversity, and a "Soup with Substance: Lunch with Community Activists" in which students had a chance to talk with activists from the local community.
As an attendee of this conference, I would like to share a few things I took away from it:

1.

From the breakout session called "Disrupting Silence: How to Effectively Speak Out about Racist Comments and Actions," I realized that it takes courage to speak out against racism when it occurs. Most people choose to simply not do anything and just ignore it. However, we must realize that racism and racist comments will not go away simply by being ignored. When one hears a racist comment, one needs to bravely speak out against it. It is good to ask open-ended questions such as "What did you mean by that?" or "I'm curious why you would say that?" Comments like these are less aggressive and can open a line of communication. A good thing to keep in mind is that if you do not inform the person that the comment made was offensive, who else is going to? As activist and poet Andre Lorde aptly comments, "When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak."

2.

From this session, I also learned that when addressing an uncomfortable comment it is best to focus only on what the person did or said. Avoid using generalizations such as "I think you are…" (i.e., I think you are a racist). When using this statement one can only make assumptions if that is true. Also, people become easily offended and can simply insist that they are not racist. By focusing on the actions and words used, one can better hold the person accountable for its impact. For more info on this there is a helpful video on YouTube called "How to Tell People They Sound Racist" (www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Ti-gkJiXc).

3.

The keynote speaker at the conference dinner, Dr. Caprice D. Hollins discussed that it is important to recognize people's differences and to embrace them. It is okay and good to see someone as a person of color because that is a part of his/her identity. That is part of who one is and denying that is denying a part of that person. We should not be color blind, but see differences and embrace them.

From the entire conference, the underlying message was that our words have impact. Our words can harm or heal. Even if unintentionally said, your words have the power to hurt someone.
So be conscious of the fact that what you say can affect someone else in a negative or positive way. After you say something you should not have said, you may feel regret or feel bad, but feeling bad will not solve anything. Unfortunately, the damage is already done.
It seems like a simple concept, but we often do not realize the impact our words have. With these things in mind, may we choose to take a stand against indifference and work towards embracing diversity, at the same time realizing that we are all a work in progress.