Respect. Listen. Mindful Body Language. Use “I” Language. Ask Questions. Balance Discussion. Avoid Spin. The goal is not necessarily to agree, but to listen, discuss, and leave the room feeling inspired.
The eight “ground rules” for the ACE Thursday evening event “Issues in Society: Racism and White Privilege on College Campuses” help set the tone for the next two hours.
“How are you St. Lawrence? I mean these are terrible times.” Chris Crass, an American social justice activist and writer, begins his speech to the half-filled room. He lists a series of “disasters” including hurricanes, gender rights, politics, DACA, and climate change. Crass covers seemingly every topic that may have drawn someone to the event tonight while maintaining a light-hearted tone. He emphasizes how tonight is about the struggle for inclusion as well as how to find inspiration (inspiration for what?) through both his lecture and a series of activities.
He encourages the audience to “think of someone who inspires you to persevere in everyday moments, even when it’s depressing.” He divides the room based off of the first letter of the first name of the person (A-K on one side, L-Z, the other). Next, he tells the audience to find a partner on the other side of the room and tell them how this one person inspires us. The room hums for a few minutes, while everyone shares. After the crowd settles, Crass asks for some examples; fathers, friends, founder of one’s country, Barack Obama, and Angela Davis are all listed. It is clear that inspiration is drawn from a personal level. Crass then shares his own story of how his mother inspired him to question “what is true” amidst his own family’s underlying racism.
Crass, a California native, has written several books on American social justice, including “Towards the ‘Other America’: Anti-Racist Resources for White People Taking Action for Black Lives Matter” and “Towards Collective Liberation: Anti-Racist Organizing, Feminist Praxis and Movement Building Strategy.” His website reads, “my work is dedicated to building powerful working class-based, feminist, multiracial movements for collective liberation.” Needless to say, Crass’s message is clear. However, in the millennial age of disaster after seemingly unsolvable disaster, Crass’s direct connection to students and approachaility makes the audience feel less like the “other” and more like a team, or a “choir.” “Sometimes that means awkward conversations…the choir helps to build the community,” he says in between asking students about why racism and white privilege are often difficult points of cross-cultural communication.
Many students cite how at St. Lawrence, as the minority student in a class, they often feel professors or their peers avoid bringing up conversations about racism or even turn to them for the “other” point of view. On a campus made up of 79.3 percent white undergraduates from the U.S. and 8.5 percent non-residents, according to St. Lawrence’s diversity page for the Fall 2016 student demographics, St. Lawrence is struggling to bring students into this “gateway activism.” Crass describes this activism as one that leads to emotion, knowledge, connections, and, ultimately, a life dedicated to social justice.
“How is it that I can build up this team and campus,” Crass continues, “we live in times of despair… we also live in times of multi-racial democracy…let’s cultivate some courage.” Ten audience members then stand and share what gives them courage and the ability to love people: “My mom,” “being able to speak up for other’s who can’t,” “my little sister, friends, and women,” “getting pissed,” “looking in the mirror,” “the small things you post on facebook.” One sophomore says, “when I see people like you, and that makes me smile and excited.” Themes of self-love, community, family, and inspiration shine through.
On this note of inspiration, Crass encourages the audience to write a love letter to someone who inspires them, and express gratitude. “We need to cultivate our understanding, our courage, our support… There’s a fight for the soul of this country.”
At St. Lawrence, opportunities for greater diversity exist at every turn, with clubs like the Black Student Union, the African Student Union, the Arabic Club, Asian Students Intercultural Association, la Sociedad Hispana, as well as many others. Classes are specifically designed to question and challenge one’s positionality, helping each student to cultivate one’s own courage.