Issues of Diversity Contemporary America

BY BLACK ANTHOLOGY GROUP

Black Anthology, an annual student theater production focused on the experience of African-Americans, is titled this year  “Post-” and grapples with the question of whether or not we live in a “post-racial” America.  This year’s show is particularly relevant to our country and our campus as we continue to struggle with what it means to be inclusive. There are moments where events have entire communities talking, and and justifiably so: the verdict in the killing of Trayvon Martin and the gutting of the most important piece of civil rights legislation—the Voting Rights Act—are just two such moments. These events asked us to reflect on what it means to be historically marginalized and contemporarily victimized on a large scale.

Closer to home, we’ve come to refer to each of our challenges as the latest incident to occur.  In all of these cases, however, a greater acknowledgement of how individuals experience bias every day is necessary.  We heard (and some chose to listen) more about microaggressions–interactions that explicitly or implicitly remind individuals that their identity is not included, not worth being heard, not as valued, and/or not considered.  From women being constantly interrupted by men in a student group meeting, to remarks made on a freshman floor stereotyping religious minorities, it became clear in 2013 that these moments are not isolated.  Questions of how far we’ve come and how far we need to go remain with us.  2013 was the year of underlying issues of diversity in our country and world that need to be addressed.