Imagine for a moment that you are born in a country where you are a member of the majority group. Perhaps it is a country in Africa, Asia, or South America. You do well enough in your English studies that you decide you want to attend a university in the United States. Perhaps you are a Christian, and you want to attend a Christian university! You apply, you get accepted, save up for tuition and arrive on campus after your international flight from home and before long you realize that people here, well, they think because of the color of your skin that you are like some other people who you think you are not like at all. Or maybe there are some things in common, but not all that many things. But what you do have in common is learning about how American racism works.
If you are lucky, your school might have Diversity, Equity and Inclusion staff like Antioch Podcast Co-Host Jane Bruin. Jane shares today about what the experience of encountering American-style racism is like vs. racism in the global context. She shares some of her own story, and her wisdom gathered from years of walking alongside students who made this journey from first contact with American-style racism to knowledgeable navigators of it.