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