In the world today, there has been emphasis placed on the idea of making sure that everyone feels included in all situations. However, we don’t realize that our actions can have an impact that’s different than what was intended. Some of these actions have different meanings to people depending on their background. Knowing the unintentional effect that our actions can have, Dr. Shannon Haley-Mize and the Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking (CGUP) brought in Dr. Christena Cleveland to talk about “The Living Ghosts of Anti-Blackness,” a presentation on white supremacy and how it still affects us all today.
Cleveland’s presentation took place in Gibble Auditorium and discussed how white supremacy isn’t just a belief, but a way of thinking. The event, which took place on Oct. 3, is a part of CGUP’s Forum on White Supremacy and Global Colonization. “Dr. Cleveland’s work fit really nicely into the priorities that we have for that forum, which is really just bringing dialogue and difficult conversations to campus around things like racial and social justice,” CGUP director Haley-Mize said. One of the goals of the presentation was to inform students and other attendees that ehite supremacy thinking can be unintentional, yet hurtful. According to Cleveland, if we address the way we think, act and speak, we can help end white supremacy and change our society for the better.
While Cleveland’s presentation allowed those in attendance to listen and ask questions, it was important for Haley-Mize to share the importance of talking about such difficult topics. “It’s essential,” Haley-Mize said. “Peace and peace building cannot be accomplished until we sort of wrestle with some of the deeply entrenched implicit biases and systemic racism that we have within this country.” Realizing that many students haven’t had the opportunity to have these difficult conversations, Haley-Mize and CGUP have worked to bring events to Etown that allows its community to discuss topics such as implicit biases and racism that still exists within our society. While she knows that having the conversation is an important first step, Haley-Mize understands that more must be done in order to have an impact beyond these discussions.
Haley-Mize said, “I would like to see us move beyond just having the conversation to actually advocacy and what does it look like to do individual work around implicit biases, white privilege and all of those types of ideas and then actually go out into our communities and start to advocate for change.”
The Forum on White Supremacy and Global Colonization is in its second year. However, CGUP has been working tirelessly to improve the forum as well as what it offers. While Cleveland’s presentation on “The Living Ghosts of Anti-Blackness” was the highlight of the forum for this fall semester, there are many exciting events that have yet to take place.
On Oct. 20, CGUP will be hosting an event titled “Policing and the Black Experience in America,” which involves members of the Etown college community as well as the Etown community. The presentation will focus on the proper steps in order to help fix police brutality. Another event that is being offered throughout the fall semester is discussion groups on both a podcast and a book. These discussion groups will meet and talk about certain parts of the media they read or listened to. By doing this, CGUP hopes to accomplish their goal of being able to talk about difficult topics while doing them in environments that are much more casual and not as intimidating.
