Campus Visited by White Supremacists
I found an article on how Michigan State University (MSU) is being visited by white supremacist Richard Spencer (link below). This unsettles me in that such an environment is being allowed at MSU. In class we have been discussing the role socialization takes on in youth development. This makes me wonder and worry about the messages we are allowing to be fostered in America and even our local areas. This is especially troublesome given the current climate at MSU after the Nasser situation. I worry that the political climate in our nation currently is further developing the issues of racism in our country.
Tatum describes racism, “racism is not just based on racial prejudice, but a SYSTEM involving cultural messages, institutional policies and practices, and the beliefs and actions of individuals” (Tatum, 1997 Defining Racism). Allowing Richard Spencer to speak on campus is perpetuating racism through the cultural messages and beliefs he instills and describes to the community. How are we to combat the institutional and systematic forms of racism while the socialization of society still points in the direction of white supremacy? This makes me think of when we talk in class about drawing an analogous picture including the elements of racism in society, and how you cannot take the whole system down easily. You can however choose to oppose and weaken the system. I wonder in what ways can we oppose this system that does not violate other people’s freedom of speech and right to thought.
References:
Tatum, B. D. (2000). Defining racism: Can we talk. In Adams et al. (Eds),
Readings for social justice and diversity (p. 79–82). New York: Routledge Press.
