Coming into this program I really wanted to be intentional about getting out and meeting new people. I think there is a lot to learn from being surrounded by a diverse group of new people and I really wanted to make it a point to take advantage of that this summer. I know during the school year I am definitely guilty of unintentionally surrounding myself with people who look like me, partially because that’s just what is most comfortable to me and partially because oftentimes I just don’t feel welcomed in spaces where people who don’t look like me. Putting myself out there and taking the time to get to know new people has been something I have challenged myself to do. It has often been super uncomfortable at first but I feel that I have had the most beautiful experiences this summer because of it.
I know a lot of people at the beginning of the program were feeling like there was a big divide in terms of race, which I think was only partially true. I think the divide could have partially been on the basis of interest, which is totally fine as long as we’re all open to exploring activities that we’re not necessarily the most comfortable doing or interested in initally. One interest that I know for the most part we all share is social justice. On the Friday of the protest in response to the recent killings of Black men due to police brutality, I saw many in our group come together and attend the event because of our mutual interest in social justice. I thought it was amazing seeing many of the group members, despite our differences, come together that day in support of one the most pressing underlying issues in Detroit: racism. At Campus Martius I got chills standing next to my fellow group members in solidarity for the cause.
After the event an even larger group of us got together afterward to debrief. This was the first time that I really got a chance to hear the experiences and perspectives of a diverse group of people on the issue on race. I feel like the feelings and sentiments that we all shared were from the heart and I feel as though we really got to learn about each other, dispel myths, and touch on the root of the problem of racism in America. I feel like our conversation was eye opening and productive. One of my group members noted that he felt that the protest was the first one he had gone to where he felt that we were all in it together, regardless of race or color.
This experience was so significant to me because I got to learn so much in a setting where I never would have thought. I think I will always remember that night as one of the highlights of this program because I really felt we were carrying out the purpose of the program by standing together and engaging with one another for the betterment of ourselves, for the betterment of our DCBRP community, for the betterment of Detroit, and for the betterment of America on a whole.
