A couple weeks ago we were asked to respond to the incident where Jussie Smollett was attacked by homophobic racists. We were prompted to offer ways we, as student affairs professionals, could support students after an incident like this. Initially, it was hard for me to think about how an event that did not happen on the school’s campus would even affect students at all. I think the perceptions and experiences of the universities racial climate can go beyond just the students, faculty, and staff though. If there is a significant event that occurs that threatens a particular group of people, I can see how that could translate to the student population. They might fear that a similar experience could happen to them on their own campus.
As it turned out though, this whole situation turned out to be a hoax. This story did catch a lot of people’s attention though because of the intersecting issues. It was an attack on a gay black man. The issue I see with this Smollett story is that it might make it harder for victims or students of hate crimes to see justice in the future. This is a challenge that we have to face as student affairs professionals. It is our responsibility to balance sensitivity and skepticism and resist the temptation to make everything the narrative of black victim vs. white oppressor. We can’t be afraid to question a student’s claim of victimization while not completely dismissing it. Smollett saw an environment worth exploiting. He took advantage of pain and racism to promote his own career. I think it is our job to have a real dialogue that is open to hearing student’s sides and acknowledge the complexity of the situation. If not, we might run the risk of another hate-filled hoax and real victims might suffer from it.
The occurrence of this event and learning about the real issues that people of color face has prompted me to dig a little deeper in myself and try to identify with the suffering that these people face on a daily basis. Not the fake stuff we see on social media and popular culture to either slander someone’s name or promote others. I’m talking about the real examples of racism and oppression that happen in people’s day-to-day life. I’m especially interested in student’s personal accounts now and I think that is also the result of taking a multicultural issues class.
