While great strides have been made to combat racism in the current age, those who attended Delta Sigma Theta sorority’s “Confronting Racism and Promoting Respect” panel Monday night said while much has been accomplished, racism is still a problem.
Delta Sigma Theta, the first predominately black sorority founded at the University, hosted the event as a way to continue bringing light to racial issues like stereotyping.
Throughout the discussion, the students in attendance and members of the panel said racism has affected each of their lives in some way.
Herman Kelly Jr., panelist at the event and adjunct instructor of African and African American Studies at the University, expressed special concern about changes to the Voting Rights Act.
The Voting Rights Act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 and guaranteed voting rights for all Americans. Recently, a Supreme Court decision struck down parts of the law that required certain areas of the country, deemed to have historical problems with racism — most notably southern states — to have the federal government oversee the election process.
The court ruled that enough has changed in the last 60 years and that part of the law is no longer necessary. Kelly said this change makes him uncomfortable.
“We need to be careful with changing the act,” Kelly said. “People died for those changes and taking away from that is dangerous.”
Angeletta Gourdine, English associate professor, said racism is not something that ever will be eradicated completely and society can’t pretend the subject is easy to solve.
The panel also discussed the problems of prejudices and stereotypes that have been passed from generation to generation.
“Stereotypes are dangerous,” she said. “But how you use stereotypes can make them even more dangerous. … Sometimes we are unknowingly complicit in the creation of stereotypes and how those stereotypes affect our lives.”
Ultimately the members of the panel and the student audience agreed racism is an issue that cannot be eradicated. Confronting the issue with discussion and respect is the only way to make positive changes.