How St. Joe’s can be intentional about racial diversity
Like most Americans, I have had considerable experiences with race and racism, and I bring them with me. Growing up in almost all white suburbs throughout the East Coast of America shaped me to see white people in positions of authority as natural.
My entrance at Morehouse College, the largest all-male liberal arts institution and a historically black college, in the summer of 1998 reversed my expectations of what authority looks like in profound ways through the fact that just about every position of authority was filled by black males, who performed their jobs in a superb manner.
Seeing them during my matriculation at the school transformed my conceptions of the potential of black excellence. I began in this manner, in order to underscore the importance of structures, perceptions and expectations in maintaining a racial hierarchy.
The vast majority of the racism that I have experienced at St. Joe’s has been a result of these three things. When I speak about race at St. Joe’s, I speak specifically as a black person, with the understanding that some may have similar experiences. Finally, I do not attempt to speak for all people of color or black people on campus.
On the first day of classes, students may be surprised to see a person of color in a position of authority, but the “niceness” of the St. Joe’s community keeps a great deal of the racism at bay.
This “niceness” changes quickly when some students perceive anything that threatens their understanding of the naturalness of white authority, such as not “getting” the grade they feel they deserve, “excessive” difficulty or course content that is “offensive” because it does not reinforce the importance of Western society.
Often the structures that protect academic freedom are utilized in protecting faculty of color and/or women, but the significance is not in the response, but rather the constant challenge of the authority of people of color, not because they are not qualified, but rather the threat we pose to the racial hierarchy.
Perceptions also shape my experiences at St. Joe’s.
On this campus, the higher you go in the hierarchy, the more homogenous it becomes. If a black student is a rare sight, black faculty and administrators are seemingly non-existent. These realities shape campus life in a myriad of ways. It separates this campus from the communities (Philadelphia is nearly 44% black) that it resides in, as opposed to reflecting them.
Often the structures that protect academic freedom are utilized in protecting faculty of color and/or women, but the significance is not in the response, but rather the constant challenge of the authority of people of color, not because they are not qualified, but rather the threat we pose to the racial hierarchy.
This reality reinforces racial hierarchies as opposed to challenging them. Instead of inspiring all members of the community to reach beyond the stars, it reminds them of the limitations brought about by American society.
I was a sophomore in high school before I had a black male teacher, three years later, black male professors were natural, eight years after that, I was a black male professor.
Expectations are also a key part of my experiences. When you walk on campus and see yourself in all aspects of that campus, you cannot help but see everything as a possibility, as well as the structures to make those possibilities a reality.
I remember when I was in high school, my mother had to come in to school to advocate for my entrance into an AP History class. Even though I had earned As in the class, the teacher assumed that I did not want to be in the AP class.
Without my mother’s intervention, the structures in place would have limited my possibilities, due to the low expectations of me from an authority figure. Not everyone has someone in their corner pushing them to succeed despite structures that work against their interests, nor should they have to.
I conclude with solutions because, in my opinion, complaints or criticism without a way to address them are ineffective and unproductive. My solution is to turn the structures, perceptions and expectations on their heads. If people of color are not seen in positions of authority on campus, put some there.
Not only there, but in a large number of classrooms, as students and faculty. If the curriculum is only reinforcing one group’s identity, recreate it so it reinforces everyone’s identities, histories and cultures.
This process does not mean separate courses, offices or departments, but rather integrating the experience so that all can see themselves in every aspect of St. Joe’s.
In other words, the same machinations that produce exclusive privileged spaces can be reversed to produce opposite results, but only if these structures are fundamentally augmented.