Day 1: Racism at UC Irvine
These past few weeks have been full of tragedy and conflict, but an incident that took place at UC Irvine (the university I attend) had the most direct impact on my life. A fraternity created an event promotion video that involved one of the brothers with blackface.
I will not go into the history of blackface, the media frenzy that followed the incident on campus, or the student and administration reactions; all would involve videos, testimonials, etc. that each contain a certain amount of bias. Individual research is advised for those who wish to know more. (Private message me if you have questions)
My personal opinion: anything that could prove to be racist to another individual should be avoided. And, should the racist act have already taken place, the anger and frustration that those involved experience should
1. be used to open discussions between the involved parties, and
2. be used to find ways to prevent the racist act from taking place again.
Racism is a problem everywhere. Overcoming it requires the effort of every human being on this planet.