Black Lives Matter discussions highlight campus race relations
Someone shouts a racial slur at you while you’re walking with your 3-year-old; you are held at gunpoint by police officers, even though you’re unarmed; your uncle was beaten to death because he didn’t call an officer “sir” — these are experiences many of us could never imagine.
But for participants at an African American panel at the SUB last week, these vivid memories were personal realities, leaving Rev. Dr. Charles Becknell Sr. asking, “When is it going to stop?”
“Black Lives Matter at UNM: Campus Climate in the Age of Colorblind Politics” is a series of monthly panel discussions that aim to address issues facing African Americans, and how solutions can be applied on campus.
The first panel was composed of Becknell Sr., Gary Allison, Kathy Powers, and Suyent Rodriguez, representing the Baby Boomer, Generation X, and Millennial viewpoints on race relations in America.
This discussion’s focal point, “context and grounding,” highlighted the idea of a post-racial society, racial inequities as well as black staff, faculty, and student acquisition and retention.
Africana Studies faculty member Charles Becknell Jr. is a special assistant to the vice president for the UNM Division for Equity and Inclusion, which was among other community organizations that helped create the series.
He said external reviewers interviewed black staff, faculty, and students in 2011 and 2013 to formulate a Campus Climate report, which indicated that recruitment and retention for the group was weak.
This prompted the creation of “Black Lives Matter at UNM” and other efforts, and Becknell Jr. said he hopes these discussions can “transform institutional spaces to provide more equitable spaces for, in this case, African American students,” and eventually benefit all students.
Becknell Jr.’s goal for these events is to bring people together from a “broad-based, multi-generational coalition” to improve not only the retention of black faculty, staff, and students, but also to help them feel a greater sense of belonging.
According to panelists, many are under the false impression that we are living in a “post-racial” society, which can create colorblind politics. A post-racial society indicates that racism is no longer prevalent.
For Allison, the results of this sort of thinking can be compared to students enrolling in UNM with different education levels.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“Attempting to treat them all the same is not the way to help them all reach their goals and be successful. People need differentiated support in order to reach the same outcome,” Allison said. “I think colorblind politics suggests that, just like educational background doesn’t matter, that different people’s experiences that are impacted by their race, or by the community they come from, or by the school they went to (also don’t matter). It’s a fallacy that it’s just about whether or not you’re putting enough effort into it. That’s why colorblind politics suggest that race and racial backgrounds have no impact on your chances for success.”
Colorblind politics are also formed through movements like Blue Lives Matter or All Lives Matter, he said, and are a typical technique to deflect from the issue being raised.
“It’s a clear indicator that it’s an issue that someone doesn’t want to look at,” Allison said. “Clearly all lives matter, but since we’re talking about if certain people’s lives are less valued, then that’s what we’re trying to bring attention to.”
Although Rodriguez, a senior psychology and Africana studies major, said she hopes more topics will be addressed during future discussions, she feels this initial stepping stone will help shape overall understanding of what Black Lives Matter is about.
Becknell also feels the series, which he hopes will unite the UNM and Albuquerque communities, has greater impact across different genders, ethnicities, and races, he said.
“We’re educating a broader base of people who are educated to make decisions. That’s where the real potential is. That’s where the real potential must lie. That’s where the real solutions must begin,” he said.
Becknell Jr. said spring sessions will be planned once more data has been collected.
“Race in America today is what it’s always been. It moves and operates in the climate that is constructed, in the era that it exists. There’s still more work to be done,” Becknell Jr. said.
To learn more about “Black Lives Matter at UNM,” visit: diverse.unm.edu. The next session will be held on Oct. 4.
Elizabeth Sanchez is a staff reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Beth_A_Sanchez.
