The Office of Multicultural Affairs, Africana Studies Program and the Department of Student Involvement celebrated Black History Month by sponsoring the film “13th” and an educational panel discussion. Included in the panel discussion were two University of Idaho professors and a graduate student that addressed the topics of mass incarceration and injustices within the Black and African American communities.
Bringing awareness to race issues and having conversations was an important idea to the panel.
UI graduate student, Kahshan Greene, said he experienced a culture shock after moving from California to Idaho.
“People would say ignorant things to me, and I would think, ‘Man that is racist’ because it was so foreign,” Greene said. “But as I started learning more, I started to realize that some people just don’t know. Some people grew up in school systems or environments where they haven’t spoken to a black person or a person of color.”
Richard Pathomsiri | Argonaut
Individuals should be willing to have uncomfortable conversations because things have not gotten better, Greene said.
Dr. Kristin Haltinner, an Africana studies professor, said the United States was built on racism.
“It took hundreds of years to create the racist system that we are interacting with now,” Haltinner said. “It’s not going to be fixed quickly, but there are things we can do now, like knowing things and learning things so we can see what is happening.”
Racism can be invisible and white people have the privilege to ignore it. When someone says something racist it is important to call them out, Haltinner said.
The institutionalized imprisonment of black men is a notable theme portrayed in the film and discussion.
With a background in law, Dr. Aman McLeod, a political science professor spoke about mass incarceration.
“Jurors, judges, police
officers all have the same propensity that all of us have for biases, that can
influence your decision to charge or think someone is guilty,” McLeod said.
“Which has resulted in higher conviction rates for people of color for various
crimes than white people.”
Richard Pathomsiri | Argonaut
One in three black men face a lifetime likelihood of imprisonment compared to the one in 17 white men, according to the film “13th”.
It is important to be educated on these issues because everybody benefits when everyone feels like they are being treated fairly, McLeod said.
During the panel, Greene asked the audience what they imagine when they hear the words criminals, thugs and gangsters. He said everything they have seen in the past and today depicts the same concepts covered in the film.
“In order for the public to know what is going on we have to have these conversations,” Greene said. “It starts and ends with us. We don’t need to have two professors and a black guy to have these conversations. You guys can have these conversations.”
The “13th” refers to the 13th amendment, which states, “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
Evelyn Avitia can be reached at [email protected]
*This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Dr. Kristin Haltinner’s name.