Social Justice and Personal Safety

On Saturday, at the Teacher’s College conference during the lunch break, two of my colleagues and I (also members of this class) decided to take a walk around the city. We wanted to explore and see where we might eat lunch on Sunday. While walking, one of my colleagues began urging us to go back. Oblivious as I sometimes am, I simply told her not to worry, we still have twenty minutes. She continued to urge us to go back, obviously feeling uncomfortable. Then, she quietly mentioned the fact that Harlem is only three blocks from Teacher’s College. I realized that the atmosphere I was in was not one I was used to. We quickly turned around and walked back to the conference.

After this experience, my other colleague mentioned that she noticed the street “getting darker”, referring to the skin color of the people around us. There we were, three young white girls, dressed in expensive dress clothes, surrounded by underprivileged “minorities”. I find it extremely ironic that this situation happened in the context of a conference on social justice. My colleagues and I were obviously practicing racism. However, I believe that that racism was stemmed from fear for our own personal safety. At the conference, the idea of underprivileged schools receiving less qualified teachers was discussed. However, maybe the reason the underprivileged schools do not receive the more qualified teachers is the teacher’s fear of their own personal safety. I believe strongly in social justice. However, I do not want to teach in a neighborhood where I do not feel safe walking to my car at night. How do we combat racism when the fight threatens our safety? I’d like to know your thoughts.