Shirley Ann Tate Ted Talk
In Tate’s Ted (Tate, 2019) talk she mentions her own lived experience as a ‘BPOC’ student and mentions she was made to feel marginalised and othered by the higher education environment. I found this an incredibly insightful as both a reflection and a comment on systemic racism. However there was also something that somehow wound me up about this piece. I’ve since watched this back many times, analysing both what she is saying and what I am feeling to explore this further and to expose any white fragility (DiAngelo, 2018) that I may be experiencing.
On my first viewing I agreed with Tate in almost all she says, however I struggled to find it helpful. It felt as though she was simply stating the problems and highlighting how they both have been and currently are being perpetuated within universities. I agree and understand that this is a systemic level of racism which is most definitely built into our society within the UK and all our major organisations. On further research, DiAngelo covers this concept as she explains how racism is a system and not an event (DiAngelo, 2018) stating that it is a deep-seated issue within society, and Tate practically contextualises this from her own and her student’s experiences within universities.
My feeling of frustration at Tate’s words in this video I believe stems from a sensation of helplessness. I am aware that I am part of this problem within society, yet I would like things to be different. I was hoping that Tate may give me some answers of things to do and ways to change my own attitude and movements to deal with these issues and felt frustrated when I was faced with more problems than answers.
Being completely transparent when I am faced with such a huge problem, I feel much more inclined to bury my head in the sand than anything else as the sheer scale of this feels entirely overwhelming. I know however that this is not an option, that to do so would be perpetuating the issues and to further complicate my thoughts my own feelings of white fragility came through as Tate mentioned the Racist Myth 2 of “Unconscious Bias causes inequality” (Tate, 2019) where she addressed how bias is not in fact unconscious. I found this incredibly challenging as this module has highlighted to me examples of my own behaviour where I have used my own white privilege and therefore enacted racism, however I was unaware of doing so at the time. I will address this further in my intervention plan.
On my last re-watch of this piece however I realised I had completely missed the answer. Tate (2019) opens by saying “I had Teachers who saw me, they looked past the stereotypes of what black women could become, they saw more… They saw me. Shirley Ann Tate. An Individual” This answers all of my previous questions about what I should do so simply. I should care for each student as an individual, to help them feel seen and heard and known in my classroom. It is so simple, but this is my answer and my plan to act, I plan to truly SEE each of my students going forward.
Bibliography:
DiAngelo, R. (2018) White Fragility. Penguin Books Ltd.
Dr Robin DiAngelo discusses ‘White Fragility’ [Video] (Seattle Channel, 2018)
Tacking the ‘BPOC’ Attainment Gap in UK Universities | Shirley Ann Tate [Video] (TEDx Talks, 2019)
Kira you’ve covered something that to me definitely felt like the elephant in the room. When faced with the facts and lived experiences of so many people articulating daily systemic challenges and discrimination – as you note at the start without an answer – it has likewise really left me feeling in that same way… wanting to stick your head in the sand. Quite rightly this reveals to us the privilege we possess, and likewise white fragility which of course is incredibly uncomfortable to acknowledge but also vitally important. I love how you bring this post back to the power of education and think the quote you have chosen shows how education is rightly much more than the passing of facts and skills but is also the passing of experiences – and it is our job to make sure those experiences are as beneficial and constructive to our students as they can possibly be.
Thank you for your response Elliott, your acknowledgement and sharing of your own experiences of similar feelings helps me not to get bogged down that I might be a “bad person” for feeling this way and that there are others who experience these responses too so thank you for sharing this. I also appreciate you picking up on the positives that can come from this overwhelm and how we can actually make a change. It is refreshing to hear this viewpoint when surrounded by many negatives
Kira, I really commend you for the time you spent with the resource to fully absorb and understand the multiple factors at play—both the complexity of the subject matter and the complexity of your own experiences and feelings. I’m glad you found an answer within the video, and that it was a simple one! With issues as complex as racism and the many changes involved in addressing it, alongside the demands of your job, having a straightforward method to fall back on can be incredibly helpful. Hopefully it goes a long way in helping you connect with your students!