Southeast students discuss racism and stereotypes during Black History Month program

EDITOR'S NOTE: The spelling of a name in this story has been corrected.

As part of Black History Month, a focus group of Southeast Missouri State University students and area leaders in education discussed myths and stereotypes in the black community Thursday in the campus program lounge.

As an aid for the group's discussion, Southeast coordinator of tutorial services Valdis Zalite presented a book by Helen Fox titled "When Race Breaks Out," in which the author discusses race and racism in college classrooms.

Zalite asked the participants in the roundtable discussion to reveal how race is significant in their daily lives.

Southeast student Ashley Powell said while she treats everyone similarly, it is her own race that gives her the most trouble. Waiting for a campus bus to pick her up one day, a group of black girls, she said, ridiculed her hair.

"I know I'm from Chicago and stuff, I'm different from most people around here, but the most trouble I've gotten racially is from my own race. It's pretty ridiculous," Powell said. "But I'm happy with myself."

Zalite, leading the group's discussion, said race is a major issue in his life. His oldest daughter, who is Hispanic, is going through kindergarten. When enrolling her, he said, he had to chose between two boxes in determining her race.

"I feel like I put my daughter in a box," he said. "I mark two, and they tell me to mark one."

Zalite says race also plays a part in his life because he reads a lot about diversity in a college environment.

He said what Powell went through with her own race should not be taking place.

For Robert White III, a Boys and Girls Club mentor, race is another limitation he chooses not to buy into. White said he doesn't play into the stereotypes associated with the black community.

"Black people, they're known for never showing up on time. I show up early at any case possible," White said. "Whatever the stereotype, to me, it comes back to the individual and his or her desire to rise above their circumstance and not be boxed in."

Jane Koppenaal, a teacher in the Cape Girardeau School District, said race plays a part in her daily life more so at the beginning of the school year. In order to create a structured classroom setting, she has to pull all cultures together, she said, and get all her students "on the same page."

"There's a lot of testing of the waters, but I set pretty strict parameters so that we can operate in an appropriate manner, so we can all think, listen and learn," said Koppenaud, who is completing her dissertation to receive her professional teaching degree.

She's most interested in focusing her thesis on the high disciplinary rate in public schools, which is two to three times higher, she said, for black students.

Wrapping up the discussion, the group focused on how the community could address stereotypes in a positive way. The group agreed changing myths and perceptions about the race starts with building a rapport with one another, like in Thursday's discussion, and engaging others respectfully.

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