A historian, criminologist, psychologist and a political scientist gathered for a rousing discussion about prejudice and racism in the American society.
On Nov. 10, students and faculty members met in University Center, room 127.
The event was so crowded more chairs had to be brought in for additional seating. Even then, many were still left standing.
The four speakers included James Beeby, assistant professor of history, Bernadette Olson, assistant professor of criminal justice, Todd Mason, assistant professor of psychology and Jean Abshire, associate professor of political science.
Beeby was first to speak, giving many examples of how racism goes back hundreds of years in European history and in U.S. history.
He spoke of religious superiority, exemplifying Christianity as a religious movement in Europe that once defined white people as being good and pure, but black people as being evil and unclean.
Beeby said black people were viewed by most Europeans as poor, savage and below their standards. They also thought the black people were not Christian because of this, which then led to racism.
He said in the late 1800s, race became known as a person’s biological type and it could not be changed.
“Those who defined race were those who had power, and the whites were those with power,” Beeby said.
The second speaker was Olson, who focused on the criminal justice system and prejudice in the United States.
“All the little disparities and discrimination lead to greater disparities and discrimination,” Olson said.
She said racial disparities persist to this day in the criminal justice system and poor Americans and minorities are immensely affected by this.
She also said there are many myths and illusions about racial disparities in the criminal justice system and they are not accurate.
Manson, who spoke next, said prejudice is a negative attitude and perception of people that is everywhere, including our recent presidential election.
He said prejudice is not just about race. It can be about a person’s gender, their sexual preference or even obesity.
Mason said prejudice is an attitude we learn from our parents and our peers and it becomes reinforced by them for us to discriminate against certain types of people.
He said people like to group others into certain categories and stereotypes, which pushes them toward racism and prejudice.
“We seemed to be wired to think in these ways,” Mason said.
Abshire concluded the discussion. She said issues of minority representation at all levels of government are underexposed.
She said white people in Congress outweigh all minorities. 94 out of 100 people are white in the Senate, and 368 out of 435 people are white in the House of Representatives.
Abshire said president-elect Barack Obama came from a broad ethnic electorate and a surprising amount of them were white.
“This election represented that some racial barriers have been overcome,” she said.
Victoria Clifford, nursing freshman, attended the event. She said many valid points were made by the professors.
“I thought that the discussion gave a wide variety of views on racism and prejudice,” Clifford said.
Clifford said she agreed with Abshire when she said some racial boundaries have been defeated in politics since we have our first black president in Obama.
“The discussion also gave different views on how racism is not only against African-Americans but against Asian people and those from other countries in the Middle East,” Clifford said.
After the speakers presented their views, they answered questions and commented on opinions and statements made by the audience.
One popular topic was the recent presidential election.
Beeby said we would have never seen a black president if certain events in history didn’t happen.
“We wouldn’t have a Barack Obama in office if there wasn’t a civil rights movement,” he said. “This election has the potential to be transformative.”
By NATALIE DEDAS
Staff Writer
natdedas@ius.edu
