I first heard the term contact zone in my Theories and Strategies of Teaching course. We were assigned an article by Mary Louise Pratt that defined contact zone as a social space where people from various cultures meet and have dialogue around some of the most difficult sociopolitical topics. Academia is discussed as one of those zones, and we were asked as teachers in training to examine ways that we could expand upon the "C.Z." in our own classrooms.

We took this assignment lightly, jotting down gentle ways to establish a safe space that encourages conversation, but something splintered me, I was stuck between wanting my classroom to be a safe space, but also knowing that triggers and uncomfortable moments should neither be avoided nor ignored.

Too often in academic spaces safety means that topics are watered down, and feedback is limited by PC commentary that buries some of the visceral sentiments one might hide or be unaware of having. These thoughts, when uncensored by transparent conversation, can uncover biases that need to be addressed .Transparent dialogue can also allow ideologies that deviate from the cultural norm of that specific institution the chance to be recognized and evaluated.

But won't transparent dialogue offend, silence, and agitate the class? YES! but hopefully if the teacher is deliberate and vocal in their approach, and able to establish clear discussion guidelines the conversation will create a true C.Z. One where real issues are addressed. Silence means critical thinking, and agitation equates to exciting the mind or disturbing feelings in a way that is transformative. As far as being offended, I am offended by the canon and Eurocentric values daily, it makes me work harder. As adults there is no space in the world where you won't feel offended at some point or another. It is the teachers job to state the purpose of the class on the first day so students can decide if they are ready to participate.

Example,my friend who is receiving her PhD in Educational Leadership asked me to weigh in on utilizing the game Cards Against Humanity in her teaching demo. The assignment specifically asked her to create a curriculum that breaks down social barriers. She watched as other classmates facilitated the "step up step back" game that visualizes privilege by asking the participants to step up, or step back if the question pertains to them.In the end the less privileged are left standing towards the back making the social gap evident. To her and I both this game is never enough. Often we as Black women are far behind white males and slightly(this varies) behind white women, but this basic acknowledgement of inequality is demeaning and useless. The game does not represent the full story;the why and how behind the positioning of bodies, nor does it examine the complexity of intersectionality and how each identity views those ahead and behind them.

I encouraged her to GO FOR IT! Using a game like Cards Against Humanity as a fun yet important tool that can get folks to let their guard down and say what they feel without the political correctness that hides their biases is what breaking barriers looks like to me. Today we see the effects of hiding biases, how burying or blurring racism, sexism, classism gives us a false sense of equality. A falseness that has created an insidious illness with social implications that have driven us right into the hands of a leader who calls the home for all humankind a "shithole", and who has undressed progress exposing all the cracks we left unattended.

These cracks are all the undercover racist, homophobic, sexist, classist, et al, people who not only work in the White House, day cares, hospitals, farms, churches, etc etc, but the unsuspected people who are students and educators of liberal arts colleges, or CEO's of nonprofits, social activists, and more, who secretly view the world in isms that negatively affect the trajectory of change. Think of the percentage of college educated white women who voted for Trump . Or evaluate how a multicultural approach to learning replaced some Women's Studies programs with Gender Studies, or Black Studies with Ethnic Studies without understanding the implications of the umbrella effect on these identities.

There are varying levels to how limiting the productivity of contact zones can impact progress. By only inviting in PC dialogue we are often left with question marks when we reflect on how far leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr righteously marched, and how much has changed and still remains the same from when they took those first step towards justice. As an intellect himself, I know MLK believed in the progressive nature of education, lets not shame his efforts towards equality by fooling ourselves into believing that intellectual spaces are completely living up to standards. Much too often these spaces are more concerned with trigger warnings than the actual triggers themselves.

(No one wants to hear slurs thrown at them during class, but I am here to remind you that being PC A. doesn't mean that your classmate does think of you as equal/ doesn't express biases outside of the shared space, and B. abolishing the PC criteria doesn't mean you have a license to be rude, it simply means you are welcoming dialogue absent of a political view point that mandates tolerance in place of true understanding. Personally I will never settle for just being tolerated, I strive for acceptance, and PC gives a false sense of security that I don't want to fall victim to.)

With that being said, today, and all days following, I want to honor MLK and the women and men who weathered the storm before me by taking on the challenge!

~I challenge myself as a student and future educator with the task of contributing to a community of thinkers who can sit with their desk in the famous feminist U shape, look at each other in the eye, and say what it is they believe while receiving criticism, praise, and forward direction.

~I challenge myself to be respectful of different wounds that will need mending there after, and to be mindful that being uncomfortable is growth, and working through uncomfortable moments to produce a positive outcome is growing.

~I challenge myself to know when to take a break, but to always come back and resume.

~I challenge myself to honor the role of the contact zone and be willing to play my cards face up, for humanities sake.