Race conversations have been growing in prevalence and fervor in the past number of years. Though it would be unfair to say that there was ever a period in which race relations were peaceful, it can be said there were periods in which it was more civilized, at least for the larger part. Though there are many things to be said about both sides, there is truly no winning in saying anything on the matter. With the heated conversation surrounding Colin Kaepernick’s silent protest of sitting down while the national anthem played, currently pervading throughout current news, as well with the recent re-classification of the #WhiteLivesMatter as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, tensions between races are currently growing exponentially. So in this, I believe it is much easier to point to those doing something about the problem.
It is about time that white American’s face the fact that organizations and the people groups they represent, such as #BlackLivesMatter, have reason to be upset and it is about time that those concerns are addressed. It is not just the fact that systematic racism is still present in society, but also that the effects of racism in the past are ever-present and stifling. My opinion has always been that we need to directly root out those past racial injustices before we can move on towards equality. For us to do this, the historical institutions, organizations, and white Americans must first own these injustices as a whole. I know it’s tough, because we must first say that we are part of the problem and nobody wants to do this, and then we must recognize our privilege in truly all aspects of society.
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Georgetown University is doing just this. In 1838, the prestigious college, sold 272 people to stave off financial ruin. In response, now 178 years later, they have announced plans to offer descendants of theses slaves the same preferential consideration as they do children of alumni. They also plan to re-name two buildings on campus, one after a slave and a free woman of color, as well as constructing a memorial for the slaves who helped build the college as well as those who were sold.
The college admits that this is merely a first step to restitution, and many are deriding the act as cheap and tacky, yet it is still an attempt. No one truly knows where the effort comes from, whether it is for publicity or for true apology for the pain and destruction on the people and their culture that the institution served to perpetuate, but it will offer an opportunity to these descendants, that they otherwise might not have been able to have.
This is a step that many historical institutions that were steeped in these same practices, would benefit from taking. Though they may come under fire for digging up their corpses, it is this unrecognized graveyard of millions who died enslaved that is keeping society from moving forward.
