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Given global and national contexts of prejudice and discrimination, including the hate which traumatized our campus community during the very recent past, there should be no tolerance for acts of bias. 

Anti-Asian hate crimes are rising in New York City, San Francisco, and cities around the world. People are being killed because of biases others hold. The past year has shown that discrimination is routinely fatal and destroys the lives of so many people. Such acts should be forcefully condemned to demonstrate that we have lost patience with bigotry.

The student who posted a symbol representing white supremacy misused her tremendous influence as a college athlete at an elite university. Young people who look up to her may think that if she advocates hate, then hate is acceptable. They become more tolerant of hateful acts.

In the future, this young woman may hold a position of professional authority. Unknowingly, will she wield her position and power to contribute to the perpetuation of microaggressions? Unknowingly, will she make harmful prejudicial decisions that curtail possibilities for others to succeed?

Our current environment is an echo chamber that feeds into prejudices. Our actions reverberate around the world through social media. We cannot ignore any acts of bias, whether physical attacks or microaggressions that accumulate into one thousand paper cuts. Those with ingrained patterns of prejudice can seek counseling to understand and remedy the underlying issues. 

It is right to demand personal accountability and consequences from those who commit acts of bias. And yet, it is wrong to allow a young person’s character to be judged by one mistake. No person is defined by a single act. We should be considered in our totality, with our strengths and our lapses of judgment. Ultimately, with our infinite capacity to do better. 

Let us continue to teach our students to do better. It is the human thing to do.

Dr. Danielle Taana Smith

Professor, Department of African American Studies and Director, Renée Crown University Honors Program

Published on March 2, 2021 at 8:56 pm