Personal Lens Response

Growing up I moved all around the country for my dad’s job. He is a Law Professor focusing in civil rights at Gonzaga University, and in order to get to that place, my family went with him to schools around the country. I recently talked about this with my mom, but moving around throughout my childhood has made it difficult for me to have lasting lifelong friends because after a while, it is hard to stay in touch with different people. This being said, I have met many different people throughout my life, and I have made friends with people who have lived through a whole range of different life experiences than myself.

I am also bi-racial. My mom is black, and my dad is white. One thing I will always thank my parents for is the fact that they made sure to emphasize I should be proud of my race. I have experienced a lot of interesting minor racial injustices because of the color of my skin. For example, when I lived in Texas I had to pick whether I was black or white for standardized tests. I circled both, but on paper I was white and my brother was black, which not only confused me, but my ten-year-old friends did not get it either. Luckily enough, despite the school district trying to dictate my identity, when I got home my parents made sure I was proud to be bi-racial.

Growing up I was lucky to live in a very accepting household. It was not until coming to college that I understood how people could be so close-minded about different races, religions, and sexual orientations. It was not until after election of our new president and the classes I took in Geography and American Ethnic Studies that I realized the problems my parents taught me about race and diversity still have a huge impact on the way the world works today. It shocks me because before I took these classes, I did not even realize the extent at which people still continued to be oppressed, and the fact that many people who consider themselves to be liberal and open-minded still do not understand the basis behind the struggles that minority groups experience. 

            Listening to my grandmother share her experience growing up as a black woman in the 1950’s and 60’s, information from my classes, and lived experiences have encouraged me to pursue a career that will allow me to be a voice for oppressed groups in our country. I am looking forward to Berlin because I will get to learn ways to help people as an outsider. I want to learn skills to speak for people whose voice is not heard, and continue this area of work in my future career.