TO THE EDITOR:
In a recent editorial about responding to activism with public action, the lagging graduation rate for men of color was referenced.
As underrepresented men of color, we applaud the increased attention our demographic has received in the past few years, as support from the entire University community is still much needed. However, we want to state that issues facing underrepresented women of color are inextricably bound with ours.
One issue cannot be recognized while simultaneously ignoring another issue, because it implicitly washes out the presence of women of color while placating the seriousness of their needs as a collective.
Women of color have to deal with continued racial assaults and microaggressions at this predominately white institution while simultaneously dealing with misogynistic interactions and gendered exclusionary practices from male-dominated enclaves.
Women of color have been at the forefront of campuswide protests against institutionalized racism.
In a recent (Raleigh) News & Observer opinion piece, professor Reginald Hildebrand asserts that, “Someday, inspiring, inclusive monuments to the ideals of Emancipation will become as ubiquitous in the South as monuments to the Confederate war effort are today.”
Let us hope that maybe one day this will be so, but at the same time maintain awareness that this ideal was brought forward by a very diverse and eclectic coalition made of both men and women of color; cis, trans and gender non-conforming individuals; the socially aware; and the young and old alike.
Marty Davidson
