Here's the scenario: I'm out, about town, maybe at Walmart or a restaurant with a couple of my black friends. A fellow patron or a cashier, always older and white, will ask "so you guys go to school here?" We respond "yes". Then they ask "at illinois state?". We say "no, we go to illinois wesleyan".
When I go out, I usually wear a iwu hat and my friend CJ always wears iwu gear. So why is it assumed that we attend isu? I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist but is it cuz I'm black? And why is it automatically assumed that I'm an athlete? It could very well be because of my physical stature. But in the back of mind I feel like people think that I owe my collegiate career to athletics rather than academics.
This harkens back to my comment in class tuesday. Am I extra sensitive to race? Do I racialize events/people that are innocent? Is it as bad as I think it is?
This is where I need feedback, especially from my nonBlack colleagues. Are you all mistaken for isu students? Are media portrayals of nonWhites majority positive or negative?
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Personally, I do get asked if I'm an ISU student pretty often, which I've always chalked up to the fact that ISU is substantially bigger and so people like Old White Dude probably sees a lot of ISU kids around... but it doesn't happen all THAT often, and honestly if I were you I'd probably have the same suspicions.
ReplyDeleteI also personally feel like most other people (especially at IWU) are extra INsensitive to race, so any sensitivity that you have, besides being a personal experience for you, also stands out in contrast to most people who don't even think to see it. I know that since I've started this class I've gone from one of those mostly-oblivious people to someone who actually does take notice, and even though I'm sure that, as a formerly mostly-oblivious white person, I don't notice everything, suddenly I feel like I'm extra sensitive too.
I have heard a number of stories of Black male students who attend IWU having to "defend" their status. I've heard one story in particular, when the Black male would always where his IWU hat or keep it in the car in case of being stopped by police- it had happened enough and the affiliation seemed to have enough power to get him "off of the hook."
ReplyDeleteYou're not making things up.
dude, i get asked if i go to school at isu while wearing things that blatantly state that i am affiliated with iwu as well... but in response to what dr. banks said with the power to "get off the hook", ive definitely gotten that special treatment a time or two jus cuz i go to iwu. i also am always assumed to have money and.. i duno, 'class' that makes me 'uppity' because of the reputation that the school has buuut last i checked im neither. its all bout the stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteDr. Banks is always reminding us that now that we are educated about racism we are more aware of racism and can easily think everything is racist because we are trained to look for it; however, I think as long as you’re aware of your bias to notice racism more easily than you just have to trust your instincts. I remember last year in my gateway class, a guy who was on the football team was talking about how people always think the only reason he got into IWU was because he on the football team. He said it made him angry because he was also smart did not want people to think the only reason he got in was because he was on the football team. So, obviously you are not alone in thinking people are stereotyping you. However, like Linda and Kristen said, I too, get asked if I go to ISU a lot because IWU is so small especially compared to ISU so it could also be just because there are more kids that go to ISU than IWU that people ask you that more often. So, the question is still: are you imagining it or are people really stereotyping you? Its debatable but I think you have to trust your instincts!
ReplyDeleteYes. I do get labeled as an ISU student, and like Linda, I've always attributed it to the fact that ISU is much larger and more prominent within the community. However, sometimes people ask me if I go to Heartland, which is a bit offensive. Sometimes I think people assume I'm not IWU material because of my peircings (it was worse freshman year when I had pink hair and wore a lot more black).
ReplyDeleteI don't think you're too sensitive, Kindred. Otherwise I'd get annoyed when we hang out :)
But seriously, I think you're just watching out. It makes sense. I don't know what it feels like exactly, but I would imagine it sucks. And I think it's perfectly natural to assume people are judging you rather than making a normal assumption. I do it all the time. It might go back to insecurity as well. Not necessarily about race, but in general. No matter how confident we are, everyone has their own insecurities.
I would go on the limb and say that because Black deal with the negatives of race, we may be more attuned to racial prejudices. Every time I go somewhere, people always ask me if I go to I-State. I do believe it is because I am black. I don't fault them for assuming that. Maybe in their time, it was all white students at Wesleyan. Maybe because the black population is so few, people don't see black people on Wesleyan on campus. Or maybe they are just ignorant beyond comprehension to the fact that black people can go to a school like Wesleyan. It's not that black persons job to reply ignorantly, because that would get no where. I just told the older lady that yes, I do go to Illinois Wesleyan and am doing quite well.
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