Race Forum at Union

Yesterday (Friday, 4/1), Union Theological Seminary's Student Senate convened a community forum on race, racism, and racialization with the theme "Speak, Listen, and Learn." This event capped a series of gatherings we've had this year to mobilize our community to identify and address problems related to race at UTS. Perhaps most interesting are the following questions / challenges put forth by people throughout the afternoon:

• How to become personal friends while acknowledging we are structural enemies.
  
• The dual dynamics of survival and liberation in Union's theological and institutional identity.
  
• Moving on the part of white people from the question "What is my relationship to people of color?" to the question "What is my relationship to white supremacy?"
  
• The proper role(s) and form(s) of anger in doing justice.
  
• Needing large amounts of money to operate a major institution vs. wanting support only from sources who are interested / involved in racial (and other dimensions of) justice.
  
• "Issues of forgiveness tend to be less important once you've been engaged in the struggle to survive together."
  
• Is forgiveness necessary?
  
• Racism as double-blindness: appreciating racial difference too little or seeing race too all too much.
  

Big questions for Union, big questions for our whole society.