Dear Black girl,

You have battled with yourself for quite some time now. This battle started senior year of high school. You fought yourself day in and day out with regrets . . . regrets for choking . . . for not accepting the expedition to the Mecca that is Howard University. Do you remember the CPE “Trip to Mecca” tour in 14’? Walking on the yard, seeing the Alphas and Q’s do their thing, feeling like a future Bison as the red and blue ran through your veins. I, the part of you that still yearns to walk Georgia Ave in the wee hours to get an order of wings from “Ho-Chi” after a long night of probates and parties, tried hard to figure out why you would turn down your own utopia. This was the same place you did not want to let go of after only a week of being there.

After the tour, you went home, and on social media, all that you could hashtag search was “#HowardUniversity, #HUYouKnow, and #BisonPride.” Not surprised at what you saw, you began to admire the melanin that filled your screen, the photos of afro’ wearin’, no relaxer havin’, dashiki sportin’, cultured black women. You came across a meme, on one side of the photo was a girl with straight hair, and it read “Before you go to an HBCU,” and the other had a girl dressed in a dashiki, and read “When you come back home after one semester at an HBCU.” It made a great laugh for many users on social media, but it was your desired truth. You wanted to become that. You wanted to be transformed by whatever it was that Howard University had to offer. You wanted to be transformed into this black woman who had knowledge of herself and the motherland, a knowledge sweeter than any other kind. A knowledge that you can receive only at The Mecca.

I wondered why you had let a world full of black culture, educated black minds, a black paradise, slip from the palm of your hand and through your fingertips. But ya’ know, I came to the conclusion that you still had battles to fight here in this living hell known today as white America. You have been on this quest to dismantle a racist system that is over 300 years old. You have seen black people stand in solidarity with one another to face this issue of racism and inequality. Nevertheless, like most black people, you knew your people; their struggles, plight, feelings, thoughts, and emotions.

Unfortunately, without the knowledge of the other side--white people's thoughts, feelings, and emotions--there is no effective way to bring change and advancement to Black Communities. Your logic was that in order to reclaim the land that “white America” sits on and to reclaim equality and justice you would have to do so from the inside on out. You needed to live, interact, communicate with, and understand the other side: the group of individuals who have little to no struggles, white people. That other side holds the privilege . . . the privilege to change things for the better if one had the right state of mind. In your mind, it was almost like you were that other crowd’s prophet, like it was your moral duty to enlighten them about the power of communication, compassion, and empathy.

The problem in the world today is that because of history, many people are hesitant to connect with and seek understanding of one another. Some people do not even care or attempt to seek understanding of one another. History, slavery, and racism has built this tall brick between almost each and every racial/ethnic group. When encountering a person of a different race or ethnicity, one’s guard is up. As a result of this wall, or guard, individuals fail to make themselves vulnerable enough to connect and empathize with one another. Many people’s perceptions of one another are built on false judgments and assumptions. What better place to start the demolition of this wall than a Historically White College? There is no better place.

You decided to go to Northfield, Minnesota and attend St.Olaf in order to drop knowledge that exposes the holders of privilege and forces them to see race beyond the realms of their own identity. It was through action, speech, and writing how you planned to educate the people around you. Educate them on compassion and empathy, and how to use those things to connect with other individuals despite their differences. Lacking diversity and a thorough understanding of Black people’s sentiments, most of the students on campus needed to not only hear you, but LISTEN to your beliefs and ideas. People’s ignorance of the sentiments that defines who we are as individuals and members of different ethnic groups is what maintains the status quo(white supremacy and a very polarized country). This manifestation of new enlightenment(compassion, empathy, and understanding) would be the first phase of the first step to destroying the system that oppresses you and the people around you everyday. Before anyone can solve ANY problem, one must have a thorough understanding of what the problem is . . . the keyword here is UNDERSTANDING! You could not go on to destroy a system without understanding all of it's parts.

The greatness of humanity is that us humans can learn from one another. Therefore, as you have broadened the eyes and hearts of many Oles, they have also broadened yours. Now, use that clearer vision and bigger heart to someday make the idea of this country actually being great a reality. (It was never great, ever!)

And while St.Olaf can not do for you what The Mecca can, it most certainly has awakened you in areas of race where you did not even know you were sleeping.

Yours truly,

An open-minded, Black, young woman