students of color interacting with white faculty/tutors

[alkedemik]

an email i wrote recently about a student reacting/interacting with white faculty. a good justification for why we need more educators of color and down white allies who understand wsup.

"sometimes i feel uncomfortable approaching the white
tutors because i feel that they might not understand
what im trying to say or that they will disagree with
my point, so my friends and i just wait for you to
come in so that we can talk to you freely".

-a kababayan student talking about her comfort level
in approaching other tutors about her perspectives on
history.

M, i just want to share a deep thought that one of
our student's has shared with me. She also mentioned
that she is reluctant to speak up in her speech class
because her white instructor and classmates minimize
her innate speaking abilities. anyway, just wanted to
open this up for informal discussion and see what your
thoughts are on this and if you experienced/heard
similar sentiment from our students. it was a good
conversation and i want to continue the dialogue and
explore if this is a common feeling for our students.
whatcha think? thanks.