|
Dear Aletheia College,
When I received my acceptance letter from Aletheia College, I was ecstatic to be attending a prestigious higher learning institution that had a small campus size yet maintained a culture of intellect, diversity, and vigorousness. I thought that I could finally be appreciated and accepted for who I am - a biracial vocal woman who believes in equity and truth. I thought that I was going to be able to have deep discussions with my fellow schoolmates about race, politics, and religion in and out of the classroom without prejudice and pretenses. In the current state of America, I feel saddened, angry, and fearful because after centuries of slavery and harsh treatment, black people are not free to be themselves without harassment and discrimination. I thought that the people attending this liberal and prestigious school would understand the hurt that the black students feel and would sympathize with us. But every time a black student voices his or her opinion about the injustices of blacks in America, we are called "uneducated, racist, and hate-filled". We are none of those things. For a college whose motto is "vincit omnia veritas" which means truth conquers all, it is sad that some of the attendees of Aletheia choose not be open-minded towards the truth of racism in America. Without seeing and understanding this truth, a blind eye will be turned and the problem will continue to exist. The killer of solving a problem is denial, for if one is in denial, then one can not create change. Aletheia, how can we conquer this world if we turn a blind eye to its truth? While I am not asking you make my reality yours, I want you to empathize with me and blacks everywhere and speak the truth when you see injustice being displayed or hear about it. I also want you to allow us to go through our emotional process and not dismiss our feelings by including your "struggles" in with ours. Saying "All Lives Matter" undermines us when we say "Black Lives Matter". Justice is not equal in this country when its law enforcement agents gives Burger King to a boy who killed 9 people inside a South Carolina church but restrains, suffocates, and kills a man who was selling loosies on a New York street corner. While I agree that all lives matter and NO ONE should be subjected to any act of unjust violence, the truth is that unless the senseless harassment and killings of blacks are important to you, all lives can not matter. If we do not have open-minded conversations with others, we are going to repeat the cycle of injustice in America so I implore the students, faculty, and staff of Aletheia to have dialogues with your families, friends, and colleagues in regards to racism in America and ways in which all parties can help alleviate the problem. Truthfully and unapologetically yours, Olivia Solomon Why the hell am I here? Black people don't go to counseling!
If it wasn't for my mentor suggesting that my fiancé and I go to premartial counseling, my ass would be getting my wine and snacks together for Shondaland Thursday. But I'm here, because I respect my mentor and her point-of-view and I know that it is best for my fiancé and me to be equipped for marriage by learning healthy problem solving skills and efficient ways of communicating. This session is not like the rest because I'm here by myself. The counselor thought it would be a good idea for us to have individual sessions as well... #EYEROLL! So I'm sitting on this plush brown leather couch trying to talk myself into showing interest and "unvailing myself" to the therapist; so far it's not working... |
 The Beautiful Brown Blogger ™
The Beautiful Brown Blogger ™(B.B.B.) is Ny Qunaa, a black woman who is helping to debunk the myths of black women through four fictional characters.
Archives
October 2017
Categories |
RSS Feed