{"id":1742,"date":"2020-06-07T18:36:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T01:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/?p=1742"},"modified":"2020-06-07T20:45:19","modified_gmt":"2020-06-08T03:45:19","slug":"the-time-is-now-speak-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/2020\/06\/the-time-is-now-speak-up\/","title":{"rendered":"The Time is Now, Speak Up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In winter of 2017, I studied abroad in Bangalore, India on a program called “Textiles, Weaving, and Feminism.” We questioned and discussed systems of race, capitalism, and patriarchy. This study abroad experience allowed me to question my identity and what it means to be a privileged white person in the United States. Two years after the trip, I am still learning how to navigate through my identity. It is a constant learning process, and there is so much I still don\u2019t know. What I do know for certain: fear of saying the wrong thing and fear of hurting peoples\u2019 feelings, is, to put it bluntly, murder. We live in a society today where white silence is only doing harm. Shame and guilt were blocking my potential to move forward and have the tough conversations that need to be had. I know now that speaking up and being wrong is where the learning happens, and I will never let fear, shame, or guilt get in the way of speaking up. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My project consists of a letter from my <\/em>current self written to my <\/em>pre-study-abroad self. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Dear Anna, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am so excited for you to embark on your study abroad trip to Bangalore, India in just a few days. You have not the slightest idea of what is in store, but I guarantee that you will leave India with great new perspective, experience, and wisdom. I challenge you to take a deep breath and go with wide open arms and a curious heart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your time in India will uncover hidden layers of yourself that you didn\u2019t know existed. Some mornings, you\u2019ll wake up at sunrise and see the misty sun engulfed by an ocean of  soft purples and golds. This sight will quiet your mind and give you a great appreciation for all that life is. Other days you\u2019ll lie in your dorm with a 103 degree fever while your classmates are all out exploring the city. Some days you\u2019ll meet the nicest locals you\u2019ve ever met in your life, and they will offer you sweets and a place to rest your feet. You\u2019ll share laughs and stories and you\u2019ll want to stay in India forever. On other days, you\u2019ll wish so badly to be home in the comfort of your own bed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most importantly, you will be stripped of identities you were so privileged to have in your comfortable life in Seattle. Great and necessary reflection will be due for its unfoldment. Anna, you will need<\/em> to make the space within your soul for the crucial and necessary unpacking that you have longed to undertake. Please, create this space. Sit through your uncomfortable feelings and emotions\u2014 analyze them, contemplate solutions, find the underlying core of your belief systems and take action within yourself to move past your biases and limitations in order for indispensable outside work to take place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will begin to question your white identity and all the responsibilities that come with it. Feelings of shame, guilt, and confusion will arise that you might not have felt before so intensely. You won\u2019t understand how there can be so much wealth in the world, yet so much inequality. You won\u2019t understand the racism and discrimination happening every day and every second. You will feel helpless and hopeless, you\u2019ll feel guilty for being just another white person who is taking up space while not doing anything to solve these gigantic issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will feel all of these things, and that is okay. Please, feel them. The world needs you and every other white person to feel all of this and face uncomfortable realities to move past white guilt and shame, which only serves to silence you, and then you really won\u2019t have the capacity to make change. Shame and guilt only add to the problem; those feelings will make you afraid to ever speak out or take action. White silence is just as powerfully harmful. Realize that your white guilt will not serve anyone. It will only hold you back from participating in discussions about race and identity and speaking up when you need to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this trip you will realize that it is your responsibility to deal with your white guilt. I encourage you to go home with courage and strength, to open up to your peers, family members, classmates, and friends to have discussions about whiteness. As a white person, you are in a position to discuss the advantages those of your race are granted by virtue of their skin color, and to have a conversation about this knowledge with other white people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know it can be challenging to face uncomfortable feelings, to be told you are wrong when you unknowingly say something that is racist or offensive. You cannot be silent out of fear of being wrong. Know that this is where your potential power lies\u2014power to step up in the world and make a positive change. I believe in you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In winter of 2017, I studied abroad in Bangalore, India on a program called “Textiles, Weaving, and Feminism.” We questioned and discussed systems of race, capitalism, and patriarchy. This study abroad experience allowed me to question my identity and what it means to be a privileged white person in the United States. Two years after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":697,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1742"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/697"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1742"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1794,"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1742\/revisions\/1794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/chidint\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}