Racism’s shape shifted over the years to serve the purpose of those with privilege and power.  As the power of one group is exercised over another, the invisible mantra of “white is right” became ingrained. Racism did not disappear but remolded itself into to a new present-day context.

As America’s population demographics alter, there is a demand to revisit how people have looked at our past. 

At the seminar I attended on “Undocuqueer Art”, the researcher Aarón Aguilar-Ramírez (2015) provided a context of past restrictive legislation for those who identify as queer and immigrants. Aguilar-Ramírez’s (2015) findings demonstrated privileged society that relocated oppression from people who identify as queer to Middle Eastern and Arabic people due to America’s post 9/11 climates. 

The pattern that racism is often relocated correlates with chapter 10 from the Readings for Diversity and Social Justice textbook that talked about racism still existing today toward Native Americans because it is so “ingrained in the American consciousness that it is invisible (Roppolo, 2013, p. 73).” 

Ramírez (2015) in his Undocuqueer presentation defined this shifting attitude as homonationalization. Homonationalization is a term used to describe a rallying around our America’s sense of nationalism. The study represented that general attitudes toward people who identify as queer are lessening and mounting towards Arabic ethnicities.

For example, as the “War on Terror” narrative increases, the previously pursued heteronormative narrative decreases. These elements play into Undocuqueer art because of the intersectionality of those who identify as queer and are immigrants living in the United States. Although there are more judicial rights for people who identify as queer, immigrants are still facing various societal oppressions. 

My two takeaways from the class dialogue this week was first, seeing how I had “stood on the moving walkway” and passively accepted the benefits of privilege.  The second takeaway is an action step of helping further the social justice dialogue on racism. 

It is not enough to just provide space for others to share their experience.  Both of these I can apply to the field of higher education by intentionally creating an environment to educate and speak to student leaders on issues such as race. 

One way to change the perpetuated “white” narrative is to start a new narrative through the power of people’s stories.