HOUSTON – Members of ACPA-College Student Educators International are examining their roles in social justice work and race equality within the ranks of higher education as they gather for their annual convention this week.
Some of the nearly 2,000 attendees spent part of the day Monday caucusing to get a sense of what it means to be themselves as they work with students.
“Caucusing is where folks of similar racial identities get together to talk about their experiences and understanding their own race,” said Chris Moody, acting executive director of ACPA. “For me to be a White male, it helps for me to understand how my White maleness shows up in my relationships with people, my leadership style and my work setting… How I navigate issues of difference through race.”
Moody, who works in higher education administration at American University, said the national political and social climate in U.S. has grown more volatile in recent years. He said the goal is to “have people be more aware of how race shows up.”
“I think we believe the world is colorblind…as much as we want to pretend that we are in a post-racial society,” he said. “Barack Obama was president, people have rights, but it still isn’t. We are trying to create space to name it, understand it, so that we can be more mindful and be better citizens together.”
The heightened awareness and breakout sessions on self-awareness come at the right time for the Arab-Middle Eastern, Black, African, Asian, biracial and multiracial students and others attending the conference.
“College campuses can be a frightening place. Living here (in America) can be frightening at times,” said Malik Abdul-Nasir, a 24-year-old senior business major attending an East Coast school. “Those of us who seek to be educated and serve humanity are often viewed with suspicion. This should not happen where we attend school.”
