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December 7, 2001
Fellow youth reveal truths at forum on racial justice
Photos by A.E.Araiza / Staff
The smaller groups, looking like independent nations, met in the cavernous setting of the Tucson Convention Center.
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What happens when 526 middle- and high-school students get together to talk about race and diversity?
By Jaclyn Abbuehl
I went to the YWCA "It's Time to Talk" Youth Forum not really expecting to learn much. I thought we'd hear things we've been taught so many times before: Racism and discrimination are bad and hurtful.
The facilitators did teach those things, but most of what I learned came from my fellow youth.
The forum, organized by the YWCA's racial justice program, was held at the Tucson Convention Center on Nov. 1.
We started the day by listening to an inspirational speech by Matt Kelley, founder of Mavin magazine, which is devoted to viewpoints of multiracial people.
Kelley grew up as a multiracial child, and he knows what it's like when people assume things about you just because of the appearance of your skin.
Matt Kelley, the founder of Mavin, a magazine dealing with racial issues, goes over a workshop in which students complete a face from clippings.
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He discussed the idea of conscious and unconscious "profiling" that occurs every day. It's human nature to automatically place a person in a box based on first impressions. I hadn't realized this before, but I know that I do it a lot.
I always assume things by the way a person dresses or whom they hang out with and how they act.
The "Wall of Expression" was where students wrote their thoughts at the inaugural YWCA "It's Time to Talk" Youth Forum.
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Next we separated into groups of six to seven people.
I sat down next to a guy I assumed was from Africa because of his skin color and his heavy accent.
I then noticed that his name wasn't African but rather French.
Once everyone in our group arrived, Pierre Tetroute, who is studying auto mechanics at the Fred G. Acosta Job Corps Center, told us about a time that he had been discriminated against. He handled his situation really well and I felt a lot of respect for him afterward. He was a very intelligent person and he taught me more than he will ever know.
In the "Culture Walk" exercise, students and some teachers lined up along a wall in a rainbow-like display of ethnicity.
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He said that on forms he always fills in the bubble for "other." He said it bothers him that people assume so many things about him before they know him at all.
Out of all the stories I heard that day, his taught me the most. Now, whenever I look at someone, I'm curious to find out more about their background. I try my hardest not to assume things, but that's hard for humans to do.
Reynita Main of Mountain View High School takes part in one of the many small group discussions.
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For example, our facilitator told us that when he first saw Pierre he assumed he was from Haiti. He's actually from Paris.
As other people in our group spoke, I learned that insensitive comments really hurt more than I had realized. Even when people make stupid racist jokes, if it concerns them, they take it to heart and feel really bad about who they are.
Later, during an exercise called the Culture Walk, students were asked to step to the middle if the leaders named a group that included them. For example, "adopted child" was one group. Another group was bisexual, gay or lesbian. Later I found out how much courage it had taken one girl to enter that circle group. It felt so good for her to finally accept something about herself.
Monet Valenzuela of Mountain View High School takes part in a discussion during the Nov. 1 forum, which attracted several hundred students.
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It brought tears to her eyes as she told us how much hope this forum had given her.
I was happy to hear that this forum may even have changed some lives. And I learned to always remember that there is nothing odd about you, that you are not alone and that there is always someone in the world who feels or perhaps looks the same way you do.
The YWCA will hold its second annual "It's Time to Talk" Youth Forum next fall. Contact the YWCA for more information.
Also attending the forum were middle school students, who gave their views on diversity and racial issues.
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