Kathryn Destin is familiar with two different kinds of pictures at Boston College. The first is overtly racist—anti-Black slurs plastered in sharpie in a residence hall and a racist snapchat that spread across campus. The second cuts in a subtler way: social media posts of beautiful white women, which remind her she doesn’t look like the typical BC student.
The talk was presented by BC’s chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America, Climate Justice at BC, the GLBTQ+ Leadership Council, FACES, and Students for Justice in Palestine .
Members of the FACES Council gave a presentation on Tuesday about the importance of having challenging conversation on race and racism on campus, as well as the strategies and practices the organization uses as it goes about facilitating these conversations.
In a survey, many students said that colorblindness was enough, because it leads to equality, while others said it is ignorant, dismantling people’s stories by removing a key part of their identities.
Students learned about the cultural roots of dreadlocks, afros, and bantu knots at the event.
BC students, faculty, and staff weigh in on the University’s social climate after recent events on campus and in the city.
“This week’s tragedies once again remind us that racism is deeply engraved in our society, and cannot be isolated or separated from any community. As an anti-racist organization, we find it essential that everyone engage in open, compassionate, and uncomfortable conversations about the state of race in the United States.”
While there are many ways to enact change, facing differences and embracing them in our own lives proves to be the most powerful, as the ‘Speak For Your Change’ event suggests.
The FACES Council, along with the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center, Black Student Forum, and UGBC’s AHANA Leadership Council and GLBTQ Leadership Council, presents Embrace Week, a new initiative to celebrate BC’s racial diversity.
UGBC and the Faces council addressed issues of race at the fifth BC Ignites series.
