As a child growing up in a majority white environment (North Carolina), it was easy to make friends. We never judged each other on our social class or race, we didn't even understand what social class was or why race even mattered. As long as we were nice to each other and enjoyed the same playground games, we could be best friends for life. This is very different as an adult in a majority white environment. As adults, we are more aware of what social classes are and why race matters. We choose to either ignore our new awareness or face it. Attending a predominantly white institution, has shown me that people feel more comfortable ignoring these challenging identities causing the school, and other schools like it, to be very divided. You may now understand why having a black female professor means more to me than I realized.
I would like to say that growing up, I have actually had many black teachers: kindergarten, first through third grade, fourth grade, sixth grade, and now. Those are important years for children, and I think I'm pretty fortunate that I had so many teachers that looked like me. But, college is when being a minority and having a minority professor is more appreciated. This is my first and final semester at my college having a black and female professor, and I never knew how special it would be. Before this semester, I've had one black professor who was male. It was cool and I did not think that gender played a major role in how I would feel in the class. I thought as long as the professor was black, I would pretty much feel the same way: comfortable, welcome, and understood. But I was very wrong. Gender matters, and for the first time I sat in class and saw my mother in my professors' faces. I actually admire these women; it's a connection I have never felt before with any other professor, no matter how kind they were.
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You may now understand how frustrated I was when I realized that two European (international) students are in the class and I assume feel threatened not only by this being their first class about "different cultures" but also by the boldness and strength of my female professor. They snickered during class and when the time was up and everyone packed their bags to leave, they proceeded to laugh, literally LOL, at the fact that they were falling asleep during class. I was livid. I could understand well-intentioned white people taking the class, but white students who just needed a requirement to graduate and whose spots could be filled with black female students to learn and get the same experience I'm getting now is something I can't seem to get behind. They clearly don't understand how special this time is to me. I did not confront them, because that's not my personality. But I wish I had. I wish I could tell them how special this is and how other students would love this opportunity. But I feel there is no use. I can't let them ruin this very rare opportunity. My only hope is they will come to understand the importance of race. It’s important for minority students to feel validated; this wouldn’t be necessary if it was the norm, but unfortunately it is not. It is pretty rare to have a minority authority figure in a positive light; especially one that is accessible, unlike celebrities. I will not take this opportunity for granted and I'm so thankful I can end my semester with this realization.
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