It’s like no one wants to talk about it. Teachers, students, friends, the guy who works at your local supermarket — it’s all the same. But in order to get anything done, we’re going to have to talk about it. I’m not talking about the birds and the bees or sexuality. I’m talking about race and racism, and how we, as a society, need to talk about it a whole lot more than we currently do.

  To the less informed, racism “ended a long time ago when Martin Luther King Jr. ended segregation.” But the past isn’t even the past yet. 1964 was only 52 years ago, and just because we are no longer physically separated because of the color of our skin, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t clear distinctions between how people of color and whites are treated today. Racism is alive and well and we need to confront it in order to defeat it. You can’t fix a problem if you don’t talk about it.

  There’s this misconception that talking about race is racist. Well, it’s not. By initiating a conversation about race you are actually taking steps to fight against racism.Another reason people feel so uncomfortable talking about race openly is the concept of White Guilt. On one hand, white students may harbor some feelings of guilt thinking about the abysmal way people of color are treated today and were in the past. At the same time, some people of color may not want to make anyone uncomfortable. See the issue? What is important to understand from this situation is that understanding the privilege you have over others does not mean that you are to blame for it (thehumanist.com). “White people definitely owe it to everyone else to educate themselves on matters of race and racism,” said Senior Roisin Mackenzie.

  It’s a lesson that’s been taught to us since we were young children: You can’t fix a problem if you ignore it, if you walk away from it, if you pretend it’s not there. It will only get worse. We need to have honest and open conversations about race and racism if we as a society want to move forward. Choosing to ignore racism and race is the same as dismissing the issue and the struggles that many people face today because of it. “It’s necessary to talk about racism because people need to understand racial issues and how they affect many of the people and students around them,” said Senior Jackie Bermudez. “It’s just logic. You need to ask questions,” explained Senior Sarah Kousba.

  An excuse that people use to tiptoe around the sensitive subject of race is claiming to be “colorblind,” and while the intentions of the effort are aimed in the right direction, the effects are not. By choosing not to recognize race you are choosing not to recognize struggle, identity, culture, history and, more importantly, the system that is keeping people of color down.

  Another issue that arises from not talking about the hard-hitting topic is that people remain ignorant about it. Teaching students about race and racism helps students learn how to connect and understand people who may be living in different circumstances from themselves. It also teaches students how to recognize bigotry and work to prevent and eliminate it. You can’t shut down a program if you don’t know how the system works. The same goes with racism. By not fostering honest and productive conversations about race and racism we allow ignorance to prevail. Many students are simply unaware of the struggles and adversities that people of color have to face. Ignorance leads to complacency and complacency leads to the prolonged pervasiveness of racism.

  The conversation about race and racism is one that needs to be had everywhere.Sophomore Joan Arboleta said, “People are uncomfortable with it because they don’t know how to talk about it,” and that couldn’t be more true. It’s an uncomfortable and sensitive topic, but when it comes to speaking about racial issues, ignorance is only bliss for those who are ignoring the truth.