Black, White D.C. Students Discuss Race on Campus

BY DEONTAY MORRIS

11/15/07
Howard Hilltop


Carver Hall in conjunction with the Georgetown chapter of the NAACP, hosted "Face to Face, an Open Forum Confronting Race" on Wednesday evening.

The mediator of the event was Carver Hall resident assistant, sophomore Malik Washington.

The panel consisted of three students--Ellie Gunderson, president of the NAACP chapter at Georgetown; Amato Nocera, a junior Afro-American studies major, who is a white student attending Howard; and sophomore political science major Ryan Jeter.

No topic was left untouched. Panelists and audience members discussed the Jena "6", the Michael Vick case, the Duke- Lacrosse case, O.J. Simpson, interracial dating, gentrification and being convicted in the court of public opinion.

At the beginning, the mediator asked the panelists to discuss the scenario of people of opposites races walking down the street toward each other and thoughts in a person's mind.

"In general, people of color specifically have to prove that they are non-threatening when they are around white people," Nocera said. "They are constantly faced with situations where white people just avoid them and that eventually affects their psyche. It's strange that I never have to prove that I am not a threat."

Even though George Washington, Howard and Georgetown are all in the Northwest quadrant of Washington D.C, they all seem light years apart in culture and community.

"Last year we had a joke in Carver that we only saw white people if they were walking their dogs or walking with their babies," Jeter said. "The segregation in D.C. is crazy."

An interesting point brought up was how you cannot force someone to learn about something that does is not of interest.

Gunderson said that the Rally they held for the Jena "6" on Sept. 20 caused a lot of problems because it escalated racial tensions on the campus of Georgetown.

The audience for the forum was very interactive. It consisted of Howard students and various students from Georgetown.

"I enjoyed the forum, I wish it could've had a higher turnout," said Jummy Obayanju, a freshman print journalism major. "We all subconsciously think about race, and this was an opportunity to clear your mind."

Although all of the issues discussed are very serious and have intricate problems, some people feel that the solution to most of them are simple.

"My parents instilled in me never to judge a book by its cover," said Steven Thompson, a freshman business management major. "Also you should treat people how you want to be treated, that would solve a large amount of our problems."

quote:

Gunderson said that the Rally they held for the Jena "6" on Sept. 20 caused a lot of problems because it escalated racial tensions on the campus of Georgetown.

Under Her Skin
Ebony & Ivory Tower: Gunderson is the white person for G-town’s NAACP.
(Darrow Montgomery)



Ellie Gunderson talks about her involvement in Georgetown's NAACP chapter and her reaction to being nominated to be chapter president.


Ellie talks about how she became interested in civil rights issues.


Ellie responds to the question of whether, as a white person, she has ever felt inhibited talking about race.




By Mike DeBonis
Under Her Skin: A flap with The Hoya tests the leadership of Georgetown's white NAACP

E-Mail the Writer
Send a Letter to the Editor Share: A flap with The Hoya tests the leadership of Georgetown's white NAACP President
By Ruth Samuelson
Posted: November 14, 2007


Sept. 20 was a huge day for Georgetown’s black community.

More than 100 people turned out for an all-day Jena Six rally and candlelight vigil on campus. Students wore black T-shirts to show solidarity. And best of all, the media were everywhere: Local ABC and NBC correspondents reported from campus. People were hopeful the student newspaper, The Hoya, which, according to many students, rarely covered black issues, was writing a sizable story.

The high would soon dissipate. But it showed Georgetown’s NAACP chapter, which organized the event, was back. For years, the group was alternately inactive, disappointing, and even sort-of defunct. Now with President Ellie Gunderson in charge, things were starting to happen.

This fall, the sophomore has gained quite the reputation, and anyone who knows a little about her story—and many people on campus do—understands why.

A few highlights from the bio: Gunderson’s from a predominantly black working-class suburb of Detroit; she aspires to be a civil rights lawyer, either at the Southern Poverty Law Center or the NAACP; she never planned to be the group’s president this year, but someone nominated her, and she cared about the issues. She figured, Why not?

One last thing: Gunderson is white. Listen to her speak, and you might never know. Her vocal inflection is unmistakably “urban.”

She knows this and is not looking to change it. “I bet if I lived in a white neighborhood and only talked to white people for the next 20 years, my voice would probably sound different. But it’s not something I could intentionally do.”

Gunderson has always thrown people a bit. When she arrived on campus, black people immediately wondered if her voice, her mannerisms, and her natural inclination to have black friends were the calling cards of a phony. It didn’t take long to convince people they weren’t. Whites, she says, are usually far more confused by her demeanor..

As for personal identity issues, she says she got over them a long time ago.

“It was hard when you’re trying to find yourself in middle school. I didn’t realize I was always known as the white girl. By the time I got to high school, it was normal,” she says.

Now black students generally regard Gunderson as she regards herself: the sum of her parts. She has civil rights experiences—both participating in diversity-related groups in high school and in watching her many black friends endure prejudice. And, most important, she understands what it feels like to look around and only see people who don’t look like you. After all, that was her experience up until last year.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=34102

Where were the black kids on GU's campus? This is a failure on their part.

Anyway, bet you five bucks that she attends Howard Law.