My blog has been about the News makers, shakers, and bakers; I have spotlighted the usual "suspects" and heroes, most of whom were middle-aged or older. I did post about a six year old that had an impact with governmental authorities regarding Chinese development on Cancun. Today's blog is about another young person that has completely "wowed" me. Her name is Julia Schemmer, an 18 year old student at the University of California. Schemmer is a member of the USA TODAY College contributor network.
Schemmer's article on the USA Today website, that caught my attention, was entitled "Voices: 6 things white allies need to know." She wrote about her thoughts regarding the annual Students of Color Conference, the 27th of which was held last month by the University of California Student Association (UCSA) at UC Berkeley. Her article was about discussions at the conference on what it means to be a white ally. Schemmer wrote, “The student protests over racism on campuses that spread nationwide this fall makes the topic more important than ever. And if you’re white and think you know how to reach out and work with students of color, well, I thought I did, too. But at the conference, I learned six things about allying I hadn’t fully understood.”
All six of Schemmer’s points were thought provoking and her closing point was one that we all must do, not only for persons of color, but all – especially in light of the attacks on Muslim residents of the United States after the recent mass shooting. Schemmer’s point number 6:
Be aware of what happens in
your own space. Racism is alive and well. To help fight it, be
pro-active. When your friend makes a racist joke, call him or her out. When
someone makes fun of someone else’s accent, speak up.
The article can
be found at: http://college.usatoday.com/2015/12/08/6-things-white-allies-need-to-know/
and I encourage you to take a few minutes to read her article. The sad thing,
for me, is some of the comments posted in response to her six points. Point 5
was about recognizing white privilege for what it is. She included a couple
words that just infuriated commenters about not being able to get a bandage to
match skin color. Maybe she could have used another example, but I think it was
fine. Schemmer was just providing some small illustrations of what it means to
be a person of color in places of business and home. My wife has a co-worker who
moved here from Tanzania. He and his
wife purchased a home in a rather exclusive, mostly white neighborhood. He has
been stopped by police multiple times as he approaches his home and been asked “what
are you doing in this neighborhood?”
Eighteen year
old Julia Schemmer closes with words for all generations: “It takes a village
to raise a child, but to combat institutional racism and irrational prejudice;
it’s going to take all of us.”
