Student Activists Combat Racism From Home During COVID-19
Social media is a popular mode of communication for young activists – graphic courtesy of insider.com
In the wake of George Floyd’s death and countless other instances of police brutality, many in our nation have undergone a continued reckoning with the roles that we play in contributing to the systems of racism that flow through the veins of our society. From the rubble and chaos that has descended upon our country have risen select student activists who have found ways to push back against those who have tried to silence them.
As a result of the risks of physical protesting due to the pandemic, many members of the younger generations have chiefly used social media to provide resources for anti-racist education, share petitions to sign, and more generally spread awareness. Others have founded organizations which combat discrimination within Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) and create curricular reforms for implementation within their schools. Student activism amidst such an intensely divisive political climate is a testament to the fortitude and wisdom of today’s bright youth as well as Riverdale’s talented student body.
For instance, junior Christelle Katalay’s passion for change shines through the phone screen, as she uses her social media platforms to speak up and educate others. Her courage and intellect can be easily identified in each post on Instagram and Snapchat, as she deftly works to productively call out her own peers. Katalay often posts her personal thoughts and opinions about student racism and allyship at Riverdale and created a running list of educational documentaries about marginalized groups for students to watch.
Katalay, however, recognizes that authentic activism on social media is not enough: “It goes beyond social media. I have a lot of conversations with people about things they’ve done or ways they can help. I deal with this by educating myself, most importantly, and then educating others who I feel like need to work on themselves in that area. I feel like education is the best way to start to understand, because obviously some people will never fully understand but it’s the best way to come as close as possible.” Katalay recommends that students watch documentaries to educate themselves because they are grounding and informative while still entertaining.
Katalay is a model student activist who uses the resources she can to create visibility for her cause. For those who are looking to avoid performance activism, she has some advice: “Start with yourself and how you interact with people. Fix your implicit biases and hold people accountable for the things they say and do. Start small and make sure that when you post on social media it’s for education, for helping other people understand definitions and the things they are doing. Beyond that, don’t just identify and define what you’re doing but then work on it and improve.”
Unable to physically participate in the protests due to personal health risks, junior Gia Burgher-George finds similar ways to be a changemaker from home. Burgher-George uses www.change.org on a daily basis as a resource to stay informed with the latest news on racial justice developments and to support causes that matter to her, like donating to bail funds and singing petitions for arrests. She has spent time phone banking and regularly spreads awareness on her online platforms.
Burgher-George stresses the importance of keeping up with current events and invest- ing in one’s own anti-racist education as the first steps for enacting change. She said, “It’s really easy to become ignorant and blind to everything that’s happening when it doesn’t affect you. We have so many resources to become educated, so educating oneself and then changing our personal biases are the real first steps. Protesting is great to participate in once you figure out that personal standpoint.” As we transition into fall and the country begins to reopen, the posts on social media and the number and size of nationwide protests have begun to dwindle. Yet, Burgher-George is not willing to let the momentum die out: “It’s really easy to forget what’s going on in the outside world when school starts because there’s this extra pressure and distraction. But I think in order to do our parts to keep the movement alive we need to stay aware about the things that are going on so that we don’t fall into this pattern of blindness because of the fact that you don’t necessarily have to focus on it now that school has restarted.” Burgher-George is dedicated to the intense and authentic commitment that it will take to sustain the movement as we work to reveal systemic issues that have plagued this country.
Sophomore Madisyn Cunningham has gone above and beyond in the past couple of months to speak out against the injustices that preside in private schools around the country. Along with sophomore Mariam Fofana and freshman Bethany Jarett, Cunningham is part of an organization called Black Students Demanding Change (BSDC). Cunningham disclosed that the group of representatives for BSDC has been working to create change within the Riverdale community: “We sent demands to the school and met with the board who accepted all of them for implementation. We’ve been talking to a lot of people to get our message out, including the head of NYSAIS, to foster a space where Black students at PWIs can feel safe and accepted.”
Cunningham’s determination and grit is inspiring, and she is well aware that the fight isn’t ending anytime soon. “People have to realize that activism doesn’t end when it gets hard or after a while, because this is a lifelong commitment. People need to realize that these things that happened over quarantine still happen every day,” she said.
Riverdale is filled with student activists eager to put in the work to make our community more inclusive and equitable. They know that nobody’s going to fix it for them, and they are ready for things to change. Katalay said it best: “It’s critical that we speak up because that’s the only way we’re gonna get heard.”
