Voices of Discovery

My experience in the Voices of Discovery program was eye-opening, but not in the ways that you might expect. I was placed in the "Race in America" group and attended all but one of the meetings (I had an interview the morning after the first meeting was scheduled). The thing that really surprised me was acceptance of certain types of racism that I observed in the meetings. Each meeting was basically an analysis on things that white people had done that were publicized. Now, by no means am I supporting what those people did. Instances of minorities being abused and disrespected by police officers, hate crimes, and stereotyping of different peoples are all example of things that are horrid and should not be allowed. However, there was pretty blatant racism on the other side of these issues that was supported by pretty much everyone in the meetings. Supporting a Native American's opinion that white people are all evil seems a little odd for a group that's goal is to encourage openness and understanding between the races. Also, encouraging others to be ignorant of aspects of other racial groups because of family beliefs in order to maintain family bonds is a tricky subject, but I would think that a group with the goals I stated would side on progress and dismissing old views as what they are: IGNORANT. Much of the class used this as an excuse for people of all cultures to continue their patterns of racism.
Racism is a problem, but all types of racism should be looked at as racism, not with some being acceptable. I know the history in this country can be pretty one-sided when it comes to racism, but that isn't an excuse for some types of racism to persist today. What is happening in this country with regards to a small portion of law enforcement profiling African Americans is unacceptable (even though not all police officers are a part of the problem). At the same token, I think condemning racist white people and supporting those who show hatred towards white people is equally wrong. Macklemore gets hated on because he's white in the hip-hop industry while talking about acceptance and inclusion, meanwhile Kanye West released a song titled "Black Skinhead" that was critically acclaimed. And remember the Chris Rock interview? He said he didn't want white people to come to his shows! Given, these examples take on different aspects when incorporating what we learned about blackface minstrelsy, but how is excluding a certain race from something not racism? The mark of a truly integrated culture to me is one that can share cultures, ideas, and customs without persecution or exclusion of certain groups. I thought that's what America stood for, a melting pot of cultures.
If this post offends anyone, I apologize, that is not my intention. All I'm saying is that all forms of racism are bad, and no forms of racism should be supported by anyone.