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For close to two hours last week, Boston College administrators, faculty and students gathered to listen to, and share, views about race. There was some tension and discomfort during the discussion, but also candor, empathy, and most of all, expressed hopes for more conversations.
And that was the idea behind “Race in the USA: Expectations, Concerns and Hopes in 2015,” which took place Jan. 21 in Fulton 511. Sponsored by the Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculties and the Jesuit Institute, the forum was described by Provost David Quigley – in his welcome to the overflow audience in the auditorium and adjacent room – as “the first in what we hope to be a semester-long conversation about issues of race in the US,” prompted by the controversies in Ferguson, Mo., Staten Island, NY, and Cleveland, among other flashpoints.
The forum, moderated by Jesuit Institute Director James Keenan, SJ, featured five faculty members who each offered both personal and academic perspectives about race: Law School Dean Vincent Rougeau, Associate Professor of History Martin Summers, Professor of English Min Song, School of Theology and Ministry Associate Professor Nancy Pineda-Madrid and Assistant Professor of Sociology Gustavo Morello, SJ.
After the panelists spoke, the remainder of the event was given over to audience members’ questions and comments, which covered a wide range of subjects. Most speakers were undergraduates: Some talked about race and diversity matters at Boston College, or in more general terms; others shared their own specific experiences, observations and concerns – and in a few instances, responded to other students’ questions or comments.
Early on in the discussion period, Ashlie Pruitt, a senior from Boston, introduced herself and spoke about the distress incidents such as those in Ferguson and Staten Island have had on her and other African-Americans at BC. She said she felt fortunate to have peers and allies to help her deal with emotions.
“I challenge you all to stop being comfortable,” Pruitt said. “There is so much silence around this issue of racism. You need to step out of your comfort zone, and ask a person of color what their experience is.
“And if you don’t know a person of color, that’s a problem,” added Pruitt, repeating her name as the audience applauded and cheered.
Interviewed the day after the forum, Fr. Keenan and the panelists cited the presence, and participation, of the students as one of the event’s high points.
“It was wonderful to see them asking each other questions, and replying to one another,” said Fr. Keenan. “That was a vital part of the evening.”
“The conversations the students had, with one another and all of us, were very real and without any pretension,” said Pineda-Madrid, vice president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States. “There was enough trust in the room where they could put things out there, even some that were difficult.”
“I’d been concerned that the forum would be dominated by the panelists, or ‘expert’ commentary,” said Summers, director of the African and African Diaspora Studies Program. “But what we saw were articulate young people of all backgrounds expressing frustrations, concerns, hopes – and above all a desire to have an authentic conversation about race on the BC campus, and in the US as a whole.”
In a fairly brief span of time, the Q&A session touched on short and long-term responses – at BC and elsewhere – to the incidents of the past several months, to more general views on race issues, and how these are perceived from person to person.
Mary Yuengert ’16 told the audience that she faced a dilemma: She wanted to join in the struggle to end racial, social and economic injustice in the US, but wondered how she would be received by those who have suffered inequality – while she, as a white person, has benefited from the system.
“I want to know how we can be good allies and join the fight for justice,” she said. “I can’t empathize because I’ve never been treated the way many black people have.”
In reply, an African-American student recounted how much it meant to him when a white friend stood by him during a protest about the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson. “Educate yourself, empathizing as much as possible,” he said. “Be a voice with us.”
Interviewed a few days after the forum, Yuengert said she had felt “extremely sad and hurt” by the events in Ferguson and elsewhere, and discouraged by conversations on race issues these generated. At the “Race in the USA” forum, she’d hoped to see evidence that the University was aware of students’ concerns about race, and willing to provide a means for them to express their views.
“I hoped that in addition to the panelists offering insight, the event would be a forum for students to communicate their personal feelings about race and the fight for racial equality in wake of last semester’s events, especially since one of the biggest obstacles to progress so far has been a lack of student dialogue about issues of race,” said Yuengert, an English and economics major from Carlisle, Pa.
“These conversations typically don’t happen in casual settings, which has only led to further divide and misunderstanding. Both of these hopes were met by the event; it was very well run. I felt support from the faculty and the question and answer session proved to be civil and constructive. I think we the students really accomplished something there.”
Reflecting on the event afterwards, Rougeau praised the students for “their engagement, which was articulate, respectful and passionate. They raised some hard questions but it felt very important to them to ask those questions.”
Song, the director of Asian-American Studies, said the forum revealed “a large, interested community who wants to talk about these issues.”
Fr. Morello, who as a native Argentinean offered his perspective at the forum as a self-described “outsider,” said later that he was happy to see “the students able to talk among themselves, without even addressing the panel.” These opportunities are a way for people “to verbalize their pain,” but also their uncertainty about race – “a very important part of this dialogue.”
As pleased as they were with the forum, all of the panelists emphasized the need for more such opportunities for discourse; Quigley, in announcing the forum earlier this month, noted that academic departments and programs were planning other events for the semester. The Jesuit Institute is in the midst of helping organize several events, said Fr. Keenan, who added that news and updates would be available via the institute website.
(A panel discussion scheduled for Tuesday night, “After Ferguson: Race and Social Justice in a Post-Obama America,” sponsored by the African and African Diaspora Studies and Asian-American Studies programs, the History and English departments and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Committee, was postponed by the blizzard.)