SBC Hosts Teach-In On Tuesday, April 7, Sweet Briar held a “teach-in”, described by President Elisabeth Muhlenfeld as an “experiment” in exchanging facts and points of view on issues of diversity, particularly race. A panel of faculty, administration, and students were joined by a substantial audience of Sweet Briar community members for the discussion. Associate Professor of English Marcia Robertson spoke first, opening with an explanation of why she studies literature. Reading, she said, gives her a way of defining complex and ambiguous ideas in a manner not otherwise available. Through reading, she explained, she becomes increasingly aware of the ways that her ideas and opinions are shaped by particular forces. Trying to understand what these forces are is important, she went on, since we all are constructed by history, whether we are aware of that history or not, and knowing about what shapes us keeps us from having to repeat the actions of the past without knowing why. The importance of knowledge was reiterated many times throughout the evening by panel and audience members alike. It’s the pursuit of an education that unites all of the different kinds of people in Sweet Briar’s community, stressed one student. Specifically addressing the Junior Week blackface incident, Professor of Anthropology Deborah Durham raised the question of whether or not it represented a failure of education on the community’s behalf. The idea that we live in a time when race doesn’t matter just isn’t true, Durham said; studies show that African-Americans are still discriminated against socially and economically. Turning Point student Deborah Taylor ’09 added that pretending racism doesn’t exist isn’t a solution to it, as that’s the equivalent of sticking one’s head in the sand. As an African-American, Taylor described the blackface incident as being like “a sutured wound that was sliced open.” “Racism still exists,” she went on to say, “and it’s not going anywhere until we confront what is hurtful to other people.” Assistant Professor of English Dave Griffith supplied a brief history of blackface to clarify why it provokes such intense reactions. White performers began dressing in blackface in the 1800’s, putting on shows where they assumed exaggerated personas of supposedly black traits. It wasn’t simply that these performers were painting their skin black in order to portray a black person, Griffith explained, it was that they were creating a caricature of what they thought black people were like. Assistant Professor of English Tony Lilly expanded on this idea, discussing “the white privilege,” or the option that whites have – and are often unaware of – to interact only with other white people. Living in essential isolation from other races keeps many white people from ever needing to learn about any culture other than their own, Lilly explained. Jasmine Jones ’10 stressed the importance of proactive education about race and other cultures as opposed to reactive education. Lilly concurred, saying that the question we must ask ourselves is, “How can we go out of our way to make this a diverse community instead of just waiting for it to come to us?” Throughout the evening, panel and audience members listened to each other’s ideas on exactly how this education should come about. Dean of Co-Curricular Life Cheryl Steele proposed an orientation program on diversity that students themselves would be heavily involved in. ONYX club president Jasmine Toliver ’10 encouraged those in attendance to take advantage of ONYX. It isn’t just a club for African-Americans, Toliver said; we’re interested in promoting all kinds of diversity. The thing to keep in mind, Pia Cho ’09 explained, is that addressing diversity is a two-way street. We have to be willing to educate each other about our own cultures, and we also have to be open to the experience of learning new things about others. Before April 7, many said that the teach-in would end up only being an argument between two sides that couldn’t hope to reconcile their opinions. In reality, the teach-in proved to be an open forum for opinions, questions, and concerns to be expressed by all people in Sweet Briar’s community. This is another kind of privilege, Muhlenfeld said, it is the privilege to live in a place where we are free to learn and ask questions. The community’s dedication to the pursuit of knowledge, to the expansion of understanding, is what makes this, and an event like the teach-in, possible. The teach-in showed everyone in attendance that these issues do not need to be divisive and lead to a stalemate. As Lilly said as the evening came to a close, he had come to the teach-in expecting to have to defend his views in a fight. In reality, he had ended up having a conversation instead.
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