Brenna: Hey everyone! My name is Brenna and these are my co hosts Kiya and Courtney and we are going to be talking about the topic of racism and a little bit about intersectionality. We’re going to start out saying about where we are from, what the social climate was like there, what we’ve grown up knowing, and sorta just about where we come from. Kiya do you want to go ahead and start?
Kiya: Yeah, sure, Hey guys my name is Kiya. So to start this off I was kind of thinking of my background and where I grew up it was predominantly white especially the school. It was just very different and I was basically the only black person at my school. Growing up there compared to the city is very different; it’s just a rural area where everyone knows each other. I eventually got used to the way of living there and felt like I started to blend in since I was there for many years. Then I ended up moving to Columbus and went to a school where it was predominantly black. I didn’t really feel like I blended in, in either place. So basically involving my identity and how there can be racism in both parties and how I see people and their race. Courtney, did you want to add anything?
Courtney: Yeah, sure, so I have a similar background. What you said definitely resonates with me a lot, as a woman and as a person of color as well. Just like you, grew up in a pretty rural area in Northwest Ohio, a predominantly white area. I also went to Catholic school most of my life, so that was also pretty predominantly white. I was a lot of times the only person of color other than, like, my siblings in the entire school. So, yeah, I definitely struggled, I guess, with some aspects of my identity: fully recognizing that I am a person of color that has lived pretty much my whole life in a community that is predominantly white. So, yeah, I, when you said that you kind of don’t really know where you fit in with, like, white people or black people either, definitely the same thing for me in that other people have commented on-
Kiya: Same here as well, this happened the other day, my boyfriend was like “do you like the color of your skin? And i said “honestly yeah because like that’s who I am.”
Courtney: Right, how do you answer that question, oh my gosh!
Kiya: I was like I don’t know. Such a weird question. I was like Yeah of course I like the color of my skin I can’t change it. I mean this is how I’ve grown up, this is what I’ve known, there’s just no side I can take um just in the middle.
Courtney: Yes, so, yeah. That’s exactly it. I have black friends, I have white friends, but, like, a lot of times it just feels like I’m not black enough for my black friends, not really white enough for my white friends, so I don’t really fit in there either. So, yeah, where do I, where do I fit in? That’s something I’d just always thought about growing up and especially in this class with the topics we’ve covered this semester, as we’ve thought a lot about identity and fitting in, so-
Kiya: It actually made me think more about like ohh who really am I with all these different topics about fitting in and intersectional identity along with some others we’ve talked about in this class.
Brenna: Do you guys feel like that since you’ve moved to a more not predominantly white area that you’ve been able to introduce yourselves more into black culture and getting involved in different things or do you feel like you’ve held back and still a part of your white community that you grew up in?
Kiya: Yeah, some parts I would say the white sided culture has stayed with me like when I moved to Columbus from a schooling perspective. There had just been different things that have stayed and come along with me during my journey.
Courtney: Yeah, I agree. I definitely feel like I’ve had the opportunity to embrace that part of me a lot more once I got out of that small rural town and, at the same time, I don’t know if that’s the flip side of that, I am more aware on this campus that I’m not, and maybe this is more personal, that I’m not fully black, and that’s something I’ve always been aware of, but I am still black, and I recognize that other people look at me in that way. So that’s something I think I’ve become more aware of here, if that makes sense.
Kiya: Yeah I would say I could agree on that too. Brenna like you said like the university things that have been going on, not necessarily like the shootings, but more so about the protests that have been going on. I feel like I’m a little more aware of myself and how others see me even like the cops.
Brenna: Yeah, going off of that we all come from a similar area. I’m from a very white area in Tennessee, so I’m from the South, we all know how that goes, but at my high school and all years in school I could probably count on one hand how many times I had an African American teacher or African American kids in my class. So I feel like I have the same perspective as you all, but I’ve never been around diversity and since I’ve been here it’s been an eye opening part of my life. I’ve been missing this for so long and I’ve been getting involved in classes like this class where I can look into these things more and develop my own ideas that aren’t from my parents or from my teachers. It’s been really nice to see this part of the country because I’ve never left Tennessee so I really like that part. Like what you said, one of my systemic injustices was about the public safety notice that we got in the early parts of November, and it was talking about a racial slur that was being yelled by white students, but they never gave the races of the victims. So people were very concerned thinking “am I going to be the next one to be assaulted or yelled at”, so I was taken back by that because if that were to happen in my hometown, we wouldn’t have thought anything of it. It would have been something being thrown around in the hallways.
Brenna: Yeah, it was like a normal thing that people would say in the hallway and it would be normal so coming here I am able to see that this stuff actually matters and what you say has a history that is very important to people. It’s been very cool, I guess you could say, to learn about and to experience from where I’m from where it’s totally different.
Courtney: Yeah, I remember when that email came in, and I just remember how I felt when I read it and how vague it was, and I think they sent out a clarifying email a little bit later that identified the races of the people involved and I just remember, this is why I felt so ill at ease about that email because if it were reversed this would be, I think, a completely different situation.
Kiya: Yeah for sure!
Brenna: Some were saying that if it would have been white victims it would have been addressed more quickly and it would have been investigated more; it would have been taken very differently.
The university always talks about how they are very diverse and inclusive, so when stuff like this happens, it’s like “are we really though?” Is it really so much better here than other places or is it just the same.
I guess we can go ahead; our next topic is about intersectionality, so Kiya do you want to go ahead and start with that if you want to?
Kiya: Sure so my systemic injustice was basically about intersectional identities and how I’ve been seen as a woman, mixed girl, especially at my job. Some examples that I found were these 4 neurological residents that are women and usually there’s not many women that go into that field. The place that I work at, in that service it’s predominantly men or foreigners in that residency. Some examples of why these women don’t continue is because they don’t have a role model to look up to. It’s just different when you are a guy. You’re more expected to set that example and women can follow but it usually doesn’t happen. For women were more pressured about certain things. The other example I found was that the training programs that they do are very extensive and not flexible. “What if you plan on having a family?” Then it’s either you have to choose family or work. LIke in today’s society you can choose what you want to do and be able to balance that.
Brenna: Yeah, I feel like we are raised to “go to college, get a job”, but then in reality once you get out of college and you get married, you are looked at as having children and it’s so hard to do both, but we’ve been told all this time to get a job, and get a successful job, so you can make a lot of money…
Brenna: In reality, we can’t do both. We could and probably can if we wanted to, but society tells you one thing and then once you get to the actual point it gets reversed. So I feel like our generation is definitely going to do a better job of that just from what our parents and grandparents have done, but it’s still the norm from everyone.
Kiya: Yeah I would definitely agree Courtney what do you think?
Courtney: Yeah, I think especially in the medical field or really a lot of science-related fields that’s especially a problem there for women because those are just always traditionally male-dominated fields. You know, when you’re in a position of power basically for so long being the only voice in those kinds of professions and then someone new comes in, an outsider, a woman, I feel like, whether it’s intentional or not, you kind of resist that and you either talk other them or you really go out of your way to make jobs inflexible and you make women choose between having a family and having a career. I actually wrote about a similar situation in one of my systemic injustice diaries about a woman who was a grad student. She was a white woman, but still I think women across the board experience this and it’s probably even more so for women of color but, nonetheless, she was a woman in a grad program for a science and business dual program. She was doing a group project over Zoom with her male group partners and she recorded herself trying to contribute to this conversation and every time she spoke, at least one of the other men would immediately speak over her or would take credit for her idea and say he already knew that. And to watch this video, it’s so frustrating and I feel like a lot of women, I know I have, have experienced that, where you’re qualified to contribute just as much as the male in the room, but your presence just isn’t valued in the same way and that’s frustrating.
Brenna: And it’s sad that no matter what race we are, just because we’re women I feel like we’re going to face that at least one point in our life. Whenever we’re in a room with all males we say “well I’m going to be dominated over”, “I’m not going to get my ideas out there”, “I’m not going to be able to do anything”.
Kiya: Especially like what I do I could be in a room full of all these males. And sometimes in that situation I’ve asked for something but it’s just like I’m not being heard.
Brenna: Alright well I think that is all the time we have for today, so thank you all for listening!