An Open Letter to My Oppressors in Academia

[Applause]

dear white people

my experience as a black latinx woman

and student on my college campus

is similar to that of many other black

students experiences on their college

campuses throughout history

i do not see professors that look like

me

and i don’t see many students that do

either i’m

constantly in a world where i have to

fight

for my right to be here in higher

education and

academia professors tend to challenge

students of color black women in

particular

are constantly challenged and graded

more mercilessly by professors

many professors give the narrative that

if you we work hard enough

we can be an equal level playing field

as our white counterpart

counterparts this is the lesson that we

are often reminded of

through systematic racism and we are

left with finding different ways to cope

with the many inequalities we face

throughout our daily lives

my colleagues and i have dealt with the

pains of being a black woman

in higher education a friend of mine

has dealt with this very blatant form of

racism when she was directly targeted by

a professor

she had a biology assignment and spoke

to her professor

and teaching assistants several times a

day to make sure that her work was

excellent

after days of hard work she did not

receive the grade

that she deserved she went to office

hours to speak to the professor about it

and she was told she did not get a

higher grade a grade that the professor

admitted that she deserved because she

needed to be taught

a lesson this lesson that the professor

was alluding to

was as a black woman in an institution

that did not accept her

she would have to work harder to be

successful in life

she had to work harder to achieve her

goals

not in her eyes but in the eyes of a

system

that was built against her

as a psychology major i often debate

what i’m really learning we learn

theories in history

through the eyes of our oppressor the

master narrative

a concept created by derald wing su is

the idea

that all aspects that make up our

society have underlying dialogues of

white supremacy which further causes

inequalities in education

the master narrative is clearly seen

through the teachings of our white

cisgendered professors many give the

impression

that if you work hard enough you can be

equal

as any other student while disposing

of the racial and socio-economic

hardships

students face furthermore denouncing the

existence of racism

in education

my university binghamton university is a

predominantly white

institution with 56.6

of white students 11.5

hispanic students and a mere 5.1

of black students although my university

has worked hard

for inclusivity and diversity we cannot

forget the history of the city of

binghamton

the city of binghamton was known to have

exceptionally

racist and oppressive ideals towards

black people

in the newspaper article the broom

republican during the late

1800s black people were seen as menacing

savaging people that were a threat

to the white community if this does not

show

the racist history of binghamton

consider this

during the 1920s binghamton

was the new york state headquarters for

the kkk

so what does this mean to me as a black

woman

and student the place that i’m supposed

to feel safe

and comfortable in is the very same

place that has

oppressive ideals and

still today oppresses and discriminates

against me on

and off campus the place that i’m

supposed to call home

as a student has harmed abused

and exploited black people

and just like my people before were

oppressed and

discriminated against i’m going through

the same

but in a very different environment let

me tell you about

an experience that often troubles me

when i’m off campus especially shopping

i see the racism ingrained within the

town that i reside in

i was at a self-checkout at walmart

with my ulta shopping bag all i wanted

to do was buy some sugar cookies and

leave

and while i was on the phone my my

mother

a white woman who worked there came up

to me and accused me

of stealing to immediately assume

that i was stealing is a direct

reflection

of what black people previously and now

currently go through in america

my perception of myself is that i’m

simply a student

on and off campus but others may not see

me that way

this is significance because when i walk

outside

i don’t have the luxury of just being a

student i’m seen as a threat

a black threat in a town that protects

whiteness and immediately rejects

blackness even though the city

is no longer the headquarters for the

kkk

nor is explicitly targeting black people

in its newspapers

the racism and discrimination still

stays the same

it shows itself in the way that

binghamton university refuses

refuses to condemn violent acts of

racism

on campus and protects white students

while threatening and undermining the

safety of his black students

as a black and latinx woman i constantly

have to deal with the fact

that people see me as that angry spicy

black person

on campus and in the classrooms as well

i’ve had friends tell me that they were

intimidated by me

or too scared to approach me i’ve even

had a friend on this campus tell me

that they didn’t know they could be my

friend because they thought black people

only stuck together

or that i may have been ghetto or

ratched

i felt like that brown stain on a white

shirt

that brought an egg that turned brown in

a basket

and not because i saw myself that way

but because i stood out amongst my

counterparts

as a black and latinx woman

my first experience at my university

where i felt unprotected

was when i was a sophomore and a

resident assistant for binghamton

university

my residents were saying the n-word

several times to rap music

i have asked them multiple times to

please stop

because i was the only black woman on my

wing

as well as it made me extremely

uncomfortable

after multiple recordings reports

and interventions nothing was done i was

even asked if i

was willing to move the administration i

deal with

is like many colleges in america they do

not understand

the financial social and physical

struggles students of color have to

endure

as an educational opportunity program

student we constantly have to fight for

our funding

every year to keep the programs alive

students like me would have not been

able to go to college

if it wasn’t for programs like this

black people

18.8 percent according to the united

states census bureau

are below the poverty line which is the

highest amount than

any other race therefore

making higher education a luxury

even a bachelor’s degree is not enough i

have to drown myself in debt

there have been eop alumni that have

fought for their rights and spaces here

on campus

always protesting for funding financial

aid and equality in the classrooms as

well

we take classes such as social

construction of whiteness

which address capitalism and racism

and white supremacy and exploitation of

the working class

but make us pay hundreds for books that

we need

our education system is flawed and has

become a

capitalistic business opportunity

higher education now has become

just another obstacle that further

hinders black people

from succeeding if these experiences

are not enough let me tell you of

another

exhausting obstacle i go through as a

black woman in a predominantly white

institution

i’m constantly seen as whitewashed

or an oriole because of the way that i

carry myself

and speak people draw conclusions about

me

based off of if i’m black enough and

denounce my experience

and try to categorize me in a box

many white people cannot see beyond the

perceptions

of black people they see on social media

and the news

and what they do not know is that we are

intersectional beings

and we cannot be categorized by western

cognizance of race they do not see that

i’m an

educated black latinx woman and just

because i speak with poise

and i speak with vernacular it does not

bring me closer to whiteness being

educated

and being white is not interchangeable

i have to say it again being educated

and being white is not interchangeable

when i speak in a classroom and

challenge others i don’t only speak for

myself

i speak with passion and assertiveness

for my ancestors

who are beaten abused and even raped

for me to be able to come and speak to

you guys today

i will no longer silence myself to

comfort white students

i actually want them to be uncomfortable

because i want them to know that i am

here

and i’m here for good i’m here to stay

and i’m here to make a difference

my experiences as black women although

challenging

has shaped the way that i’ve seen others

in the way

that i see myself i have learned what it

is truly like

to fight for an equitable experience an

experience

that was never meant to be in my

favor as a black woman in the higher

education

i constantly have to fight against

systems of white supremacy

and racism and as dehumanizing

as it may be i hope that anyone that

looks like me

knows that they are not alone when i

walk into a lecture hall and classroom

and i don’t see barely any students that

look like me it is

not uncommon

i want everyone here to listen and

remember this

even though higher education and

academic systems

continue to hinder people of color’s

progress

i will not stop and many other black and

latinx students that i go

to school with will not stop to make

sure that we will be successful

in our higher education experience we

will not falter

however we will rise like a phoenix from

the ashes of our ancestors

that have fought for my right to be able

to have education

and to not be segregated we will

be victorious sincerely

a proud passionate

phenomenal black latinx woman

and student