I still have vivid memories of being accepted to the University of Virginia. After visiting, I saw first-hand just how beautiful our Grounds is in the Spring, and I immediately knew this was the place I wanted to spend the next four years of my life learning and maturing. Fast-forward two years, and I am no longer certain that I feel the same way.
Being a Wahoo should be a sacred feeling. After all, it’s not a title everyone can say they possess. You would think that would unite us as a community – and it does on occasions – however we have, skillfully molded a façade of perpetual unity when faced with criticism from outsiders. But the reality of the situation is that whenever our wahoo community is forced to have discussions on race relations and racial tensions, it becomes evident just how united we are not. Unfortunately, Martese’s case is just one of many instances in which UVA’s black population has been made to feel as we will never be accepted at this university. Recently, we have as black students had to come to terms with the reality that, to some people, it does not matter how educated we are or how well-spoken we are or how often we bite our tongues because it is never enough. Can you bring yourself to understand how infuriating it is to be made to feel that your worth is somehow less than that of your white peers at a university that was literally built by black people? Perhaps, you have taken a moment to recognize that you are walking across the unmarked graves of slaves with every visit to Gooch/Dillard and what that experience means for some of us. Or maybe you can empathize with my confusion at being told that there is no such thing as institutionalized racism at an institution founded by a slave-owner, who vehemently asserted the inferiority of black people in several publications, but especially in “Notes on the State of Virginia.”
Now, I know that for some it’s hard to imagine that racism is still alive and well because as a nation we seem to have come a long way, but our journey isn’t over. The reality of the situation is that for black students at this university racism is not a dated concept. Yik Yak at UVA, for the past few weeks, has been bombarded with racist rhetoric – ironically much of which intended to serve as denunciations of racism and racial tensions in our community. It is beyond frustrating to speak on the black experience at UVA, only to be told that black people are “playing the race card.” But if that is true, I would like us to consider who is dealing out those cards to be played. There is a serious problem with non-black students being unwilling to accept a truth that is being presented to them, simply because it is not a truth of their own. To this end, I ask that our non-black peers be cautious when speaking on the black experience at the University because our experiences differ sharply. Furthermore, it is not the place of non-black people to tell black people how we should feel about or react to race relations, as they are experienced by black people, because the experiences that you are speaking on are not your own. It is important to remember that just because something does not occur in your version of reality, does not make it any less real for someone else.