LET’S TALK ABOUT Iowa State alumni and faculty raise their voices in conversations about the Black Lives Matter movement
During a summer that saw peaceful protesters of all colors march for racial justice, and less-than-peaceful demonstrations in many cities in the U.S., it is abundantly clear that there is much work to be done. The place to start? Understanding. Followed by education and conversation. And then, at long last, change.
A message of ‘Hi’
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n light of the senseless killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others, painful reminders of the bigotry and injustices we wrestle with in our nation are upon us…again. These incidents have led to an incredible amount of public unrest. The public killing of Mr. Floyd, in broad daylight, by a Minneapolis policeman while his colleagues observed it, has left many of us frozen, shocked, and downright angry. All of this is happening simultaneously with the COVID-19 pandemic. The coupling of these two realities has led to peaceful and not-so-peaceful protests, additional loss of jobs, greater food insecurity issues, and further acknowledgment of known and unknown inequalities. It also has made it hard to ask a very common – and I feel at times – very narrow and hollow question: How are YOU doing? Really? Yes. How ARE you doing? This is now a BIG question. For many Cyclones, it can be taken personally, and can be answered simply. For some, it can be a very emotional question that might conjure up thoughts of stress related to COVID-19, loss of a loved one, jobs, finances, and protests.
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For others, it can be a question that conjures up a set of painful memories of feeling invisible, unheard, and disrespected because of one’s race, politics, religion, or sexual orientation. But many Cyclones may simply respond, “You don’t really want to know or truly care how I’m doing.” Some may say, “Since you asked, please know that I am tired, angry, exhausted, hurt, and in pain.” And others say, “While I am proud to have earned my degree from Iowa State, I have not yet resolved the experiences I had to endure as a student of color on campus.” Many of these Cyclones have told me that they are still trying to find their way back to Iowa State. Their pain is real, and so were their experiences. It’s time to lay it all out on the table and learn what it is really like to be Black in America and to have been an African American student at Iowa State. Have any of us really thought about this? Or are we just asking, blindly, “How are you doing?” For me, as a 21-year Cyclone, I remain hopeful, optimistic, and prayerful. The ISU Alumni Association Board of Directors and staff have been on an internal journey trying to find our way through these very tough and unpleasant questions. It’s been painful at times, but it’s
F A L L 2 0 2 0 W W W . I S U A LUM . ORG V I S I O N S
