As the country celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. day this week the topic of racism has been pushed to the forefront of discussion at Sinclair.
Last week there was a series of talks entitled MLK Speaks held around campus. At these talks many things were discussed, but the overall theme was racism and the civil rights movement.
Taylor Curtis, a psychology instructor, was joined by Jonathan Curtis, a history instructor to speak at the first talk in the series of MLK Speaks. They both were involved in the preparation of the week long event that led up to the MLK March on Monday.
“We wanted to be involved with discussions, talking about what’s going on in society right now, and talking about everything that we can do as a community and especially as a community college to make a change,” said Taylor Curtis. “We wanted people to recognize what racism is.”
The purpose of the series of talks was to raise awareness, and to get student feedback on the topic of racism and how it affects students here at Sinclair.
“I think one of the bigger impacts that’s going to come from MLK is revisiting his legacy, but just from a different perspective,” said Jonathan Curtis. “What are they going through in their communities and day to day lives? Where they can see civil rights action manifesting itself that we may not be aware of and needs to be addressed.”
Taylor and Jonathan discussed Dayton’s long history of racism and how Dayton remains to be somewhat segregated even after the desegregation of the schools in 1976.
Dayton’s desegregation plan gained national attention at the time for being one of the most successful in the country. In 1975 Charles Glatt, who headed up the plan for desegregation, was shot and killed in his office by an opponent of the plan to desegregate the public school system.
In 1966 riots broke out in Dayton after a car of white men were accused of shooting and killing Lester Mitchell, 49, a Dayton resident. Over 100 people were jailed during the riots, and more than 1000 National Guard manned the streets.
“The history of Dayton has had a serious issue with racism and Dayton has always been a very segregated city,” said Taylor Curtis.
The Dayton and surrounding area has recently gained national attention once again with the shooting of John Crawford III at a Beavercreek Walmart. Two Montgomery County Sheriff deputies were also placed on leave after a complaint was filed with Dayton unit of the NAACP that the deputies were exchanging racially charged text messages while on duty.
“We haven’t had necessarily a Detroit riot, but we had the occurrence at Walmart.
We’ve had a very dicey relationship with the inner city police,” said Jonathan Curtis. Racism isn’t always noticeable, and it happens in many ways according to Taylor Curtis. She discussed how racism could be big and small.
“A lot of places, a lot of organizations are now focusing on diversity and inclusion, but research shows that a lot of times this is something that is put into place as a mission statement or value but it’s not put into practice as heavily as suggested,” said Taylor Curtis.
They both expressed that Dayton has come a long way, but that there is more work to be done in the area.
“Those aren’t new issues, these are issues that have been in Dayton since the 40’s, 50’s and beyond, and this is 2015 and we are still dealing with them. Dayton is still very much a city that has a lot to deal with,” said Jonathan Curtis.
An issue that has continued to prompt questions by both members of the African
American community and those outside the community is how, if at all, should the “N” word be used. While many find the use of the word offensive in any context, others see it as an aspect of cultural identity.
Taylor Curtis explained her views on the use of the “N” word, and why it is for her viewed in a negative way.
“I think it is very much a double standard. A lot of people accept these double standards because they have been de sensitized to it,” said Taylor Curtis. “I think it will always have a negative connotation and will ultimately represent something negative. I don’t think that using it as a term of endearment is going to change the negative connotation that it has.”
Shamari Treadwell, 16, is a high school student in the Dayton area. Treadwell had somewhat of a different view on the topic.
“I feel like we can use it if we want to with friends when we’re not in public, but it shouldn’t be used blatantly out in public,” said Treadwell. “I don’t get too serious with it. I wouldn’t like people to say it and refer to me as that.”
Jonathan Curtis talked about the use of the word in popular culture and what many call the reclaiming of the word. He also talked about how the differences in background and community help shape a person’s views on the subject.
“You’ve seen different attempts to change it and reclaim it but all of that goes out the window when someone outside the African American community says it,” said Jonathan Curtis.
He also spoke to why he doesn’t use the word, and why he thinks the use of the “N” word has become so popular in American culture.
“On a personal stance I don’t like the word. Knowing what I know about it and where it comes from. The whole reclaiming of the word I understand because of popular culture and music and the easy accessibility of social media. It’s kind of gotten watered down, but that doesn’t change what it is,” said Jonathan Curtis.
He summed up his feelings on the word by stating, “The old saying goes, If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, well you know it can’t be a cow, it’s a duck. I think that’s what you’re looking at with that word as well.”
While racism is an uncomfortable topic for many to engage in, the hope of last week’s MLK Speaks series was to help students and community members recognize their differences and work toward a common goal of educating people about what racism is.
“The beginning step is to recognize your own biases, recognize your own experiences and then be able to say, ‘I know where I stand.’” said Taylor Curtis. “There is still this aspect, this feel of Dayton, a comfort here, and that gives me hope that there can be a continued dialogue and make things equitable,” said Jonathan Taylor. “I don’t want to paint the picture that it’s all doom and gloom, but to say we don’t have an issue would be a lie. That would e a falsehood.”
- Tue. Nov 5th, 2024