Iowa City locals are reacting to national controversy.
By Faradis Lindblom
Members of the Iowa City community are using national events to continue the conversation at home about racial inequality and injustice.
Following recent shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana that sparked national controversy about police brutality, a protest was organized July 14 on the Pentacrest. Locals discussed the effect of these events as well as how the University of Iowa can work to be more understanding and supportive of the black community.
Taylor Davis, a UI graphic-design student and one of the organizers of the event, said it was a good way for members of the black community to present their perspectives in a city “primarily dominated by ‘Caucasians.’ ”
“We held this event for one, to bring awareness to the issue, and two, to prevent it from happening here,” he said.
Davis and other members of the UI community said that last week’s rally should just be the starting point when it comes to bringing more awareness to racial injustice in Iowa City and beyond.
“As much as going up there and talking evokes emotion, at the end of the day, it’s not going to necessarily make a change unless there is actions that follow,” Davis said.
He hopes to see more interaction from college-age students through social media, he said, given that it has become one of the largest sources for news and opinion for the younger generation.
“It’s definitely important to keep talking about it,” he said.
UI Dean of Students Lyn Redington, who attended the event last week, said having conversations about the topics of social injustice in regards to the black community is an important place to start.
“I think we need to start having conversations, and I think we need to have those conversations everywhere we are,” she said. “We should be talking about what this means on this campus and on this world.”
Redington stressed the importance for members of the UI community to be willing to ask questions, to listen to answers, and to create an environment in which concerns can be heard.
“I have the ability to walk around and drive around and feel pretty safe. I also know that not everybody does,” she said. “It’s not a fix, it’s not one thing … I think some of [the solution] is creating opportunities for conversation, being willing to be uncomfortable in those conversations, and then being willing to come together figure out where we go from there.”
Brian Leal, the University of Iowa Student Government diversity liaison who also was in attendance at the July 14 event, said events such as rallies are a peaceful way for community members to share what they believe.
“It gives you a platform for folks from your community who are like you, who may not look like you, who have similar experiences, [or] who may not have similar experiences, to listen,” he said. “It’s a beautiful way for the community to come together and share.”
Leal also said stepping out of one’s comfort zone is key to beginning to understand and appreciate other cultures and the key to solving these kinds of problems.
“Hang out with folks who do not have similar identities, who do not have your same faith,” he said. “If we start there, I think we can break down a lot of barriers.”
One of UISG’s initiatives for the 2016-17 academic year is to increase cultural competency among professors through the expansion of diversity training. Leal said many institutions require professors to have diversity training, and this is one way the UI can become more understanding and inclusive.
“I think that a lot of scholars in the humanities would say that institutions like [the UI] are catalysts for change,” he said.
Redington said students, faculty, and staff should focus on making conversations about, and engagement in, issues such as racial injustice a part of their everyday lives.
“It’s a part of the lives of our black students every day,” she said. “They don’t get to turn it on and off. It needs to be a part of who are and what we do.”
Venson Curington II, who spoke at the rally last week, made this point as well.
“My expectation is when we are talking about winning something, it’s great to be out here for an hour and a half … but these types of campaigns will take a lot of work,” he said.