High school students sound off on racism

By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

Society is nowhere near fully achieving Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of eradicating racism, say some students from Liberty and Youngstown.

Those same teens, who sat down this week with The Vindicator, say coming generations will do a little better job of reaching King’s dream of equality and harmony among the races.

Black and white students, both genders and even students of mixed heritage — teacher Janine Motley’s 11th-grade English class in Liberty is as diverse as anything King might have imagined.

The students think teens in their district have few problems when it comes to dealing with people of various backgrounds — but say the world outside of the classroom may not be so racially accepting.

Aisha Butler, a senior at East, said King would be happy with a lot of the changes in society, such as a black candidate making a real bid for president, but disappointed in how people treat one another on a daily basis.

Josh Hideg, a junior at Liberty, said he thinks there will always be some racial tension, and it goes far beyond the black/white issues often discussed in this country.

“Right now, if you go to any airport and see an Arab person, people are all looking at them — and that is not right,” he said. “Dr. King’s point really has not gotten across.”

Students said racism, while still present, is largely a problem of past generations.

Leeann Hartil, a Liberty junior, said some older people are so set in their beliefs that it may be too late to change. She said dealing with such individuals leads her to believe that change will only come with her generation.

“I honestly feel that old white people are always going to be old white people,” she said. “They are never going to put money in the bank. They are never going to throw food away, and they are never going to get over slavery,” she said. “Our generation is just more accepting. We want to learn about other cultures.”

Ariel Prosser, a junior at Liberty who is of mixed heritage, used her white maternal grandmother’s reaction to her birth as an example of generational differences.

Prosser, whose mother is white and father is black, said her grandmother initially wanted her put up for adoption.

When she went to live with her maternal grandmother, she said, the grandmother wanted her home-schooled in an effort to avoid issues with other kids in school. Ariel, however, said she eventually started public school at a predominately white school and had no problems concerning race.

The Liberty students agreed that the key to greater racial tolerance is an understanding of different races. They said it is important to place people in an environment with a diverse student population early in the educational process where they can meet various types of people — something they say they are grateful to have in Liberty.

At East High School, senior Gary Thornton, with nods of agreement from his peers, said he thinks people in positions of power tend to facilitate any racial divide in the country.

He said he thinks people become accepting of the racial status quo and stereotypes, then those stereotypes become evident in music, business and where people live.

The East students agree, just like their Liberty counterparts, that racial tolerance can be achieved through an understanding of other cultures early in the academic process.

East students, however, said their school, which has a predominately black student body, does not have a good mix of students with varying backgrounds — leaving them with an educational experience they believe is undervalued by people in power and leaving them with an overall disadvantage.

They said the idea that many people see schools with mostly black students as not as important as suburban schools is something that definitely goes against any dream King may have had.

The East group said the best way to curb racial issues is to create a diverse educational environment and make sure students at any school of any race receive the same level of education and materials as any predominately white school.

Tamarah Harris said each student will still have to make the effort to get to know those students around him if they are in the same building — or the school diversity effort may still be pointless.

Brittany Felder said she and other students understand that interacting with people of various backgrounds will be something they find on the collegiate level, and it is something she’s eager to experience.

Brittney Taylor said the whole idea to ending racial tension is proper teaching and socialization.

“The ignorance is a learned behavior. When you are used to something, you don’t change, you stick to the habits. That is why these things keep repeating,” she said.

jgoodwin@vindy.com