Voices of ASL: confronting systemic racism

As we approach the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall uprising – a series of riots led by the gay community in response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village – we must take this time to reflect on the links between the black and LGBTQ+ communities and their importance today. Marsha P. Johnson, a prevalent black, trans activist from the 1960s to the 1980s, once said, “No...

Why now? Why did it take another black man to die? Why did it take George’s sacrifice for you to start caring? Where were you? WHERE WERE YOU   How am I meant to believe that you will stay,  with me,  with us,  when you chose to just watch 10 deaths before. 100 deaths before. As simple as it is - I don’t trust you. Because I cannot risk the pain, ...

The brutal murder of George Floyd May 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota was the powerful catalyst for massive and fervent protests in all 50 states in the U.S. and 18 countries worldwide. Driven by the Black Lives Matter movement, these protests have the ultimate aim of equality and justice for black people. However, peaceful protests have turned violent, which has created a figurative and literal war-li...

The avenue to institutional change could take several forms In 2014, Eric Garner was killed by the NYPD in a frighteningly similar fashion to how Minneapolis PD ended George Floyd’s life just weeks ago. The likeness of these incidents, separated by six years of struggle, has begged the question as to whether any prejudice embedded within law enforcement has been rooted out, or that anti-racist v...

Racism.  The word is not as simple as some may think. Though it is often called out after a slur or a comment made about someone’s race, racism goes deeper than mindless remarks or racial slurs.  Racism is systemic, it has been institutionalized, and, because of this, white people can never experience racism. Systemic racism is racism displayed in both social and political environments...

The murder of George Floyd was a wake-up call. It shouldn’t have been, but it was.  His death was a personal reminder that I should be doing more. I realized, much too late, that I’ve been staying quiet on an issue that shouldn’t even be prevalent in the 21st century. While I’ve spoken with family members and have personally reflected on my own privilege, I recognize that I need to do more. Why...

As soon as I open my Instagram, I am faced with countless posts on racism awareness, police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement. As I continue to scroll through my feed, I can’t even obtain a single glimpse of the content I used to see before: candid selfies, aesthetically-pleasing food (often ordered for the picture, rather than the taste) and cute puppies.  The recent brutal and unjustifiable murder o...

Let’s talk about white privilege. For some reason, this topic still seems to be a source of debate. But, to me, it seems so simple. White privilege shouldn’t be the source of a fallible argument. White privilege is just a fact. The phrase “white privilege” has become colloquial in these past few weeks. And, yet, for some reason, there are still individuals who believe that white privilege is...

Right now, a reckoning is long overdue towards systemic racism. However, as I do not know what it is like to face these injustices, I am not the one you should go to. Equally, it is not the responsibility of the few black students in our community to teach us about the prevailing inequalities. This is a time where we must use our voice, but we also must know when to listen and try to educate ourse...

Protests have erupted worldwide following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old, who was a blue-collar worker, mentor at his church, and a contributor to the hip-hop scene in Houston, was suffocated to death by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chuavin and three others May 25. Floyd’s death was, as Ruby Read (’23) said, the “breaking point,” and the latest in a line of thousands of Afr...