Purdue currently has a series called: Pursuing Racial Justice Together. This is a series made up of a diverse group of speakers, all highly honorable people. While I think every student at Purdue should be required to attend these events, I am aware that is not the case.
As a student in the College of Agriculture, I was required to take a class covering diversity and its importance. Again, I think every student at Purdue should be required to take one of these, but that is not a current requirement.
Ben Crump is an extremely accomplished person and lawyer. He was one of the speakers during the diversity series. He used the line “killing us slowly” a lot throughout his presentation, and that really stuck with me.
I wholeheartedly believe that every single student not just at Purdue but everywhere should have to attend events like this. The amount of education, knowledge and eye-opening moments provided from this one speaker were unbelievable. Much of which, I will personally continue to build on going forward.
I think it is a very naive thought to think just because you grew up in a diverse community, (racially, socioeconomically, religiously, etc.) you do not need to continue educating yourself to do and be a better member of the community. I think I am guilty of being that naive. Now, I try to spend at least a bit of time each week doing better and being better, especially trying to educate myself outside of current hot topics. I try to do this using real and credible sources.
This educational series provides a lot of resources beyond just the speaking event that can help us all do better. The first two speakers have absolutely opened my eyes and given me a lot of things to think about and consider moving forward.
Now I am aware, this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it should be. Human rights should not be up for discussion. It’s not political. It’s the basic human rights that non people of color take for granted every single day.
And if this makes you angry, please take a moment just to consider, if you had a person of color family member. What if you had to worry that your kid might not come home after a night out, not because of normal parental worries, but because the people who were supposed to protect them were scared of your child? But it is so much more than that.
The digital divide. The economic divide. Community divides. Voting divides. These are all so real. As students and as women (shout out to Her Campus for giving me a group of strong, diverse women to lead this year), we need to continue to work together so that we can do better.
Bottom line, please check out this series. They are educational and so thought- provoking. My family and I sit and watch them together at dinner and it creates a great discussion.
Check the series out here: https://www.purdue.edu/diversity-inclusion/racial-justice-series/