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After the shooting in Charlottesville, philosophy professor Bryan Register decided it was time for Austin to step away from hosting vigils and break the silence. Having never organ<\/p>\n
ized an event like this, he quickly gathered politicians and educators to speak at the Rally Against White Supremacy this past August. Register\u2019s intention was to start the conversation about ending hate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason that people are supposed to work to overcome racism isn\u2019t because they are personally responsible for it. We\u2019re supposed to work for a better world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Living in the \u2018Make America Great Again\u2019 era, the nation is seeing a backlash from many groups. Feminists took to the Internet with #MeToo. The LGBTQIA community pushed against the Texas legislator passing the \u2018bathroom bill\u2019 (Senate Bill 6). Many ethnic and racial minorities flooded the streets during the Day Without Immigrants protest. Fists were raised during NFL games against racial injustice and police brutality.<\/p>\n
In the current political climate it\u2019s almost difficult to ignore the amount of controversy the Republican Party receives for backing candidates with bad behavior, like Roy Moore. To address these issues local voter turnouts are changing, calls are being made to government officials and protests are happening.<\/p>\n
Patricia Hatcher, humanities associate professor, spoke at the Rally Against White Supremacy. \u201cOne of our speakers earlier said we are not born with hate. That\u2019s true. Hate is a learned behavior. It\u2019s time we unlearn it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The theme of the protest was to speak out against hate of any sort. Speakers ranged from various areas in the Austin community from Reverent John MacIver Gage to Mayor Steve Adler.<\/p>\n
\u201cAustin city council has its heart in the right place when it comes to issues about race,\u201d Register says. \u201cThey are concerned about gentrification in East Austin. But whether their concern is translated into actual action is a separate question and we\u2019ll be seeing what they do with CodeNEXT.\u201d<\/p>\n
CodeNEXT is a project designed to re-shape the city. This document contains over 1,000 pages, explaining a Land Development Code structured to make Austin a more livable city. The city council is set to publish the third draft of the code in February. So, as the cost of living in Austin continues to rise, so does the price of higher education.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a lot of our processes are geared towards students that have come from privilege, who do have parents that went through the process or went to school,\u201d says Black Student Association (BSA) advisor Latisha Marion. \u201cGentrification is happening, but it\u2019s our responsibility to acknowledge that and try to adjust to fit those cultures or people trying to come [to ACC].\u201d<\/p>\n
In recent years, ACC has experienced a decline of enrollment from minority students. With organizations such as Black Student Success Committee, ACC is focused on recruiting and retaining students of color and\/ lower income. Encouraging students to become members of these organizations is one of the strategies ACC is using to increase the number of students\u2019 enrollment to completion. As members they are expected to act as peer mentors for other and incoming students.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe feedback we\u2019ve been getting from students is that they don\u2019t feel comfortable,\u201d Marion says. \u201cStudents that are in classes are saying, \u2018hey when I came, I was uncomfortable as well. I didn\u2019t know that I was going to be welcomed. Nobody looks like me or gave me attention I think I deserved.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Another way ACC works to combat these feelings is through their partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for the Big Read. Claudia Rankine\u2019s Citizen: An American Lyric is the chosen book for Spring 2018. Citizen is a book-length poem about micro aggressions. This project is meant to spark conversation among students, faculty and the community about being a person of color in a country with a legacy of white supremacy. The main intention is to provide insights growing from these discussions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe key is to keep the dialogue going about tolerance and anti racism,\u201d says Hatcher. \u201cThat is how we will command change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many put up a guard when topics about racism and inequality enter a discussion. However, at the rally, congressman Lloyd Doggett did not shy away from speaking against President Donald Trump empowering racist and white supremacists. Doggett\u2019s speech started with, \u201cin Austin, we don\u2019t all have to agree on everything as long as we respect our differences. We need everyone in this community to turn up the heat on hate.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, people of minority groups have a tendency to adapt in heated political climates. Racial and ethnic differences have been in America since it was founded. The differences that have grown are showing from the majority.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I hear about it more from our counterparts that are more distraught and upset about it,\u201d Marion says. \u201cEven the students that aren\u2019t black and in BSA, want to do this [to speak out]\u2026they\u2019re enthusiastic about making the change and making voices be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Contrary to those students benefiting from white supremacy, Register says there is a difference for feeling personal guilt and taking responsibility for overcoming the consequences of these crimes. \u201cThere are many white people who become defensive when there is a question about their benefitting from white supremacy. And the fact is, I am not responsible for white supremacy. I did not own slaves. Also, I benefit from that history. It\u2019s because I have this benefit from that history that I have some responsibility for overcoming these problems – not because I created the problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
As students work to turn up the heat on hate, some mentors suggest becoming involved through campus organizations, like BSA.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn a smaller scale, I think that\u2019s exactly how we bring about awareness,\u201d says Marion. \u201cThat\u2019s how we change things, how we make people change their minds about social situations and I think it has a larger impact than any protest can ever have, when you\u2019re getting the people one on one and you\u2019re teaching them something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conversations about understanding people of color, the transgender community and everywhere in between can be seen in the media, but how do we act on them individually? One on one or in protests, the first plan of action towards ending hate is gathering together and speaking out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the next step is to move [conversations] onto our college campuses and get the student body involved,\u201d says Hatcher. \u201cDuring the 60\u2019s the college community were the biggest voices and we need to have that happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n