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On Tuesday, we had a conversation with a really great person named Alaina Elgin at a phenomenal college called Birmingham Southern University. Alaina is the school’s admissions counselor and we got a bit of a tour around the campus. While conversing with her, a really important question came up about the racial interactions of the school. I expected the professional “Oh that never happens here!” answer but I got something completely different. She began by talking about how she grew up in Alabama and segregation, although not as severe as in the early 1900’s was still relevant. She attended the church across from 16th Street Baptist Church which had a prominent black presence. She spoke about how blacks and whites are economically segregated from the west and the east and how growing up, kids at her predominantly white school would question her for going to the other side. She also expressed unhappiness over the presence of the confederate flag in Alabama. This raised a question in my mind: why do those who still sympathize with white nationalistic views feel the way they feel, how did they develop their ideology, and what does it stand on today?
On Tuesday, we had a conversation with a really great person named Alaina Elgin at a phenomenal college called Birmingham Southern University. Alaina is the school’s admissions counselor and we got a bit of a tour around the campus. While conversing with her, a really important question came up about the racial interactions of the school. I expected the professional “Oh that never happens here!” answer but I got something completely different. She began by talking about how she grew up in Alabama and segregation, although not as severe as in the early 1900’s was still relevant. She attended the church across from 16th Street Baptist Church which had a prominent black presence. She spoke about how blacks and whites are economically segregated from the west and the east and how growing up, kids at her predominantly white school would question her for going to the other side. She also expressed unhappiness over the presence of the confederate flag in Alabama. This raised a question in my mind: why do those who still sympathize with white nationalistic views feel the way they feel, how did they develop their ideology, and what does it stand on today?
It's wonderful, Jonathan, that you are speaking with people on your journey, asking them questions, and listening to them and mulling over their answers. It is truly the best way to learn about our country and our history, during its best and worst chapters. Keep asking those great questions.
ReplyDeleteWith best regards -- Ms. MacPherson
Jonathan: the question you posed proposes a challenge to all of us: as Atticus Finch told his children, we must all try to 'live in the other person's skin' and understand people's motivation for why they do what they do, or why they feel the way they do. Some education experts have said that this is one of the steps toward tolerance of other's viewpoints, even when these viewpoints seem illogical to us. Tolerance can lead to dialogue. -- Lansang
ReplyDeleteJonathan, keep asking yourself these important questions. I can’t promise you the answers will always come out, but it’s important to raise them nonetheless. I think when people feel comfortable with other people, they tend to speak more openly. You bring that out in people with how you relate to them. Scan
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