Prejudice and the Importance of Student Activism

[Danyelle] Hello everybody. Welcome to Comets Discuss, part of the UT Dallas CometCast network, where we provide discussions on big trending, topics. For this series we’re talking about prejudice. While a lot has been happening in the past few weeks in regards to prejudice, racism, and police brutality, this is not a short-term issue. So we are talking with UT Dallas experts — while practicing social distancing — to provide you with various perspectives on this important topic. I’m Danyelle. Today we’re talking about the importance of student activism with recent UT Dallas graduate Annette Addo-Yobo. During her time at UTD, Annette served as the president and co-founder of Black Congress, a student-led organization that discusses controversial issues related to underrepresented minority communities and provides tangible solutions in the community. She was also involved in the Undergraduate Success Scholars program, which provides mentorship and leadership opportunities to incoming freshmen and sophomores. In the fall Annette will begin a master’s program in clinical psychology at Sam Houston State. Thanks for joining us today, Annette. We really appreciate having you here to talk to us.

[Annette] Anytime. Thank you.

[Danyelle] First off, let’s get to know a little bit about you. Can you tell us about your background and how it played a part in your own personal experiences with prejudice?

[Annette] Sure. I am Ghanian by ethnicity but I’ve also lived in Canada for about half my life. I’ve also lived in Maryland and I’ve also lived in Texas. And so a big part of my identity was trying to figure out which one to identify as. When I would visit the Ghanian side of my family I was too whitewashed or too American, but when I would hang with some of my friends here I would be, you know, too Black or I would talk too white for my Black friends. And so it was always this difficulty of trying to figure out what my identity is. And then the real difficulty was when people would ask me where I’m from because citizenship-wise I’m not from the United States. But by ethnicity I’m Ghanian and by citizenship I’m Canadian. So people never know how to react when I would say I’m Canadian but I’m Ghanaian and I live in Texas. ‘Cause then they would be very confused. And so it just kind of got difficult to figure out — and still is difficult to figure out — how to answer people when they ask.

[Danyelle] Yeah those are some pretty invasive questions a lot of people bring to some people that they perceive as other. So I feel you on having a hard time determining what the appropriate answer is. With all of your background in consideration, why did you choose to come to UT Dallas?

[Annette] So at the time I had actually decided to go to Baylor but FAFSA, she can be a little hurtful sometimes and so in the end UTD became the much more affordable option. But I also really liked the modern look of the campus compared to other schools I had been to. There was just this modern look and feel. Although it is listed as a PWI I do notice that there’s a lot of people who are of different skin tones, who are from different countries. So I always felt like I was not always the minority but there were other people of color that were there. It was just a very diverse campus. PWI stands for predominantly white institution. And just also the fact that there were so many unique programs available at the time when I enrolled in psychology there was a course available called psychology of prejudice, and that’s such an interesting class to take to realize there’s a psychology behind prejudice. Like there’s so many different classes like that. So i just felt like UTD was just a very unique school there with the times.

[Danyelle] How did you end up landing on your majors? I know you mentioned that some psych courses — like the psychology of prejudice — were really interesting for you, but did you already decide to do psychology before you came to UTD?

[Annette] No, actually. So i started off as bio pre-med. I don’t know why to this day but that’s what I started off doing. And then second semester of my freshman year I took lifespan development and that class changed everything for me and that was when I decided out of the whim, I’m gonna become a psychology major. My parents were kind of like, did you think this through or did you just take a class and go with the major? And I was like, you know, we’re not going to talk about that. But um it was a great decision. And then beginning of my junior year was when I added the child development double major and then right before my senior year started I added the criminology minor. It’s a weird combination but it all worked out really well and I was still able to graduate on time somehow. I never knew I wanted to go into psychology, ever. It just kind of happened but I’m really glad I stuck through it.

[Danyelle] Yeah, because you’re starting your master’s this upcoming fall. So what career path do you see for yourself with a master’s in psychology and the various degrees of child development psychology and criminology that you have from your BA?

[Annette] So my eventual goal is to get a PhD in clinical psychology. With that I want to be a child and adolescent psychologist and specifically work with children and adolescents in underserved communities but also work with children who have been incarcerated or have been affected by the school-to-prison pipeline, just because there’s not a lot of psychologists who tend to these children. A lot of the time they’re taken out of the juvenile detention centers and told: figure out life. And a lot of them don’t have the resources or the tools or even the funding to get out of where they’ve been and so just to be able to provide for them with the privileges that I do have is something that I’ve definitely wanted to do. And just overall dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline because I just don’t think it’s fair for children to be going to prison for something that could be easily handled in the classroom.

[Danyelle] What has been the driving force behind your involvement on campus? Because you’ve done more than just study your behind off. You’ve been involved in a lot of student organizations. So what has driven you to do that?

[Annette] For me it kind of took some pushing from some very important people on campus: the former director of student success and outreach at the MC. Her name was Monica Williamson. She really pushed me towards activism. And even the rest of the staff at the MC — so Arthur Greg, Mr. Bruce — like they’ve been very integral in pushing me towards student activism. They all saw some potential in me that I just didn’t see. Freshman, sophomore year I pretty much stayed in my dorm and never left but they saw that I could be more than just someone who studies and stays in her dorm. The MC, which is the Multicultural Center, is just a really great office. It’s in the second floor of the SSB, and they provide a lot of different resources for students of color and also just bring awareness to the different cultures and different aspects of diversity that we have on campus. Attending the Southwestern Black Student Leadership Conference at A&M in 2017 and 18 was also very powerful because I could finally see that there were students like me — my age and even, you know, of my race — who were making change not only on their campus but even in their communities. They were setting up businesses, they were creating scholarships, and I was like, wow, I didn’t know that at that age I could do something like that. And so it really made me realize like it doesn’t matter that I don’t have a legislative post or that I have some massive celebrity power. I as a student have the privilege and the honor to be able to assist other students in my community as well.

[Danyelle] So what advice would you give to other college students like yourself who may be in the shoes you were in before — that think that there’s not a lot they can do or they don’t have a lot in their power — to make a difference in their own communities?

[Annette] I think the most important thing is to just dismantle that idea — that you can’t do anything. We often think you have to have a large amount of privilege or you have to have a large amount of money or be involved in the legislature and that’s not true. Already if you’re a citizen of this country you have a really big power, which is to vote in state, local and national elections, and that can change a lot of things. We also have the ability to donate to different city and national and local organizations who are already committed to making change. And just on your campus there’s so many different student organizations that appeal to what you’re looking for and if there isn’t one, do what I did and start one. And you know, there’s a lot of people out there who want to make a change. And there’s usually an organization — if not you can make one — that will be targeted towards that. And just also finding a mentor, whether it be a teacher or a staff member, who’s also dedicated to the same thing because at the end of the day it’s hard to push yourself to do something when you don’t have people behind you motivating you and supporting you and so having mentors and having that older or more experienced person behind you will definitely push you towards things you didn’t even know that you could accomplish.

[Danyelle] So when we talked previously you mentioned some of the changes that you had made on campus. Can you tell us a little bit specifically about the change you had getting your professor to amend their attendance policy?

[Annette] Yeah. So I was given an opportunity with a few other students from the Undergraduate Success Scholars to go and speak on a student panel to other professors about the detriment of requiring attendance. On my behalf I just spoke of the fact that I have an autistic brother and a dad that works full-time and a mom that’s struggling with a few things health-wise and so there were times where I would have to skip class because my dad was not home and I would have to get my brother and I would always worry that, okay, I’m having to go and take care of a family member but I’m going to get penalized because I’m helping a family member. That doesn’t make any sense. But there were other students who were mentioning that, you know, they have a work schedule that sometimes doesn’t care about their school schedule. Or there are young parents or even just parents in general who have kids at home who may have an accident in daycare or they’re not feeling well at home. And so having to choose between your grades and your life should never be a choice that any student would have to make. You know, a lot of students do want to come to class but life circumstances sometimes prevent that so I think it’s just important for some professors to understand that not every student who skips class is skipping because they don’t care. Some of us we have other things going on in our lives and so we have to make the choice and sometimes our mental health or our families is just a little bit more important.

[Danyelle] Thank you for sharing your personal story. You didn’t have to do that, but we appreciate it. What does it feel like to live through such a historic time for political involvement of young people worldwide?

[Annette] It’s a whirlwind, I think is the best word to describe it. Someone like me who struggles already with mental health — I personally have been battling depression and anxiety for a couple of years now — so sometimes it gets very overwhelming to watch the news. Just the political disaster that’s going on in elections right now. The violence, the prejudice and just even having to deal with people who don’t really seem to get it and are trying to force their opinions down instead of just sitting and listening, can be very, very overwhelming. And I think one thing that we need to really push out is the importance of guarding your peace and guarding your mental health. That’s something I’ve had to learn during quarantine. It’s already frustrating enough to be quarantined and so to already be shut in and have to stare at the news all day it can be tough. And I know a lot of people want to hear everybody else’s voices, they want to hear other people’s opinion, but they have to remember that there’s people like me who already have 20,000 thoughts spiraling in their head and sometimes I have to take a step back, even if it’s for three or four days.

[Danyelle] Does it inspire you seeing that young people who are your age — maybe even younger — making headway in this political time and then you know on a global scale?

[Annette] Oh, it’s definitely inspiring just because it’s a new thing. You know, we always read in history books of like, you know, the Martin Luther Kings, the Coretta Scott Kings, the Malcolm Xs. And they’re always these older people but we’re now seeing this new shift and where my generation and, you know, gen z are finally saying, you know, we’re not going to wait for older people to tell us what to do now. Like we’re tired of it and we want to get going. I went to a protest recently and a bunch of the students there were high school and middle school students and I was like, wow, these are 12- and 13-year-olds who are being aware of everything that’s going on and are saying I’m not going to stand for this, I’m going to make a change. It just goes to show that times are not what they used to be. We’re in a place now where because we have a voice, because we have social media, because we have our various forms of privilege, we can do something. We don’t have to be in office to do it anymore. We have the freedom to do that.

[Danyelle] Yeah, absolutely, and I know another one of your passions is voter education, which doesn’t always apply to the younger folks — the middle school and high schoolers — but it applies to people who are your age and even just slightly younger than you and I know that’s one of your big points even though you can’t vote in this country because you’re Canadian. What do you want to tell your fellow college students and even the younger students who are coming up and will be coming voting age sometime soon about the importance of voting?

[Annette] Just to let people know that voting is not a fad. It’s not a trend. It’s not something that you just go post your little sticker on Instagram and call it a day. It’s more than that. Even though it seems like, oh, I’m just filling out a little piece of paper, it has the power to change the entire scope of this country. I mean we’re already seeing what the 2016 and 2018 elections are doing today and so it’s just very important to really keep yourself educated. And I know recently I’ve seen a lot of my friends go on Instagram and wonder like, where are the little voting summaries of all the different candidates? And although those are great resources, it’s not the whole picture and so I think it’s just as important to spend — even if it’s 20 minutes a day or even 10 minutes a day — just looking up your candidates and wondering what it is their platform is because at the end of the day, who you vote for is who gets in office and who makes the laws. It’s more important to vote — especially now 2020 — because it’s going to set the precedent for the next 10 years. And so we have access to the internet — if you do have access to the internet; that is a privilege — use it! Please look up your candidates.Every single one of them on either side because a lot of people will like to stereotype certain political parties and although quite a few do fit the stereotype, there’s some that aren’t. They may not be the party you align with but they align with your morals and so it’s important to give each side a chance. But also don’t just vote for yourself. Vote for other communities that you’re apart of. So if you’re Black but you also know people who are being affected by DACA or affected by immigration policy or you know somebody who’s been or is currently incarcerated or you know teachers who are not getting any funding or you know of somebody who lives in a low socio-economic neighborhood — factor their lifestyles into your voter decision.

[Danyelle] Earlier in the conversation you mentioned attending the A &M Southwestern Black Student Leadership Conference and you won the first place at the oratorical contest there, too, and I know that your speech was about how college leaders can make the step to bridge the educational gap among underrepresented minority communities. How do you think collegiate leaders can take that step to bridge that gap?

[Annette] So the first thing that I would say is just to check your own privileges. That’s actually one of the questions I got after the contest before the judging took place. But just to understand that if you are able to go to college or you were able to finish high school or you were never sent to juvie or put in detention or that you could afford to go to school and take out loans or not even take loans or got a scholarship. All of those are privileges and there are people out there who don’t have that privilege. And so that’s the first step, is just seeing where your privilege is. From that you can make contributions. And then the second thing is just to vote wisely. There are a lot of people out there who are making budget cuts to special education. There are people who are making budget cuts for HBCU funding. There are people making budget cuts to even teacher pay. And in some of these low socio-economic neighborhoods and schools that teacher pay is keeping a lot of teachers there and so if their pay gets cut those kids don’t have anybody to teach them and a lot of them don’t have both parents at home — if they’re working or something happened within the family — to teach them in place of a teacher. And so when we’re voting we also have to figure out which candidates are looking towards expanding funding for education, which candidates are taking in all the different facets and intersectionalities and complexities of education and working to narrow those gaps and provide equal access to education in the first place because education is unfortunately not a right. It’s a privilege and we need to work to dismantle that.

[Danyelle] What would you like to see take place to bridge that gap in higher education?

[Annette] I think one of the most important things is having diversity in the faculty and staff and even diversity in the people who control the funding. Because right now it’s just the higher, more popular institutions receiving the bulk of the money. But you know lesser-known institutions are not getting the funding that they need to even have students attend. That’s just very important. And then also diversity in faculty and staff will just allow for different experiences and different aspects of diversity to be put in the classrooms. I went through all four years of college with no Black professor and actually my whole education I’ve never had a Black professor. And so for those who are looking to do academia, not seeing themselves represented can be a little bit discouraging. And then another thing, too, is just to incorporate courses that highlight diversity and intersectionality in all the different majors and programs that are there. If we’re going out into the real world and don’t know how to interact with different people we’re setting ourselves up for continuing institutional bias, continuing institutional racism, continuing institutional prejudice. Those are all things that we keep allowing when we don’t educate students on the importance of analyzing and understanding and working towards diversity. Definitely also more scholarships. I just feel like there can be more. There’s just not enough and a lot of people will say that there are enough, people aren’t looking. But why should we have to look? You know, not everybody has the access to look up these different scholarships. Not everybody even has scholarships available for their specific needs. There are many times where I’ve tried to look for scholarships and they’ll say, you have to be a US citizen or you can’t receive it. And as someone who’s not a citizen, that’s discouraging because you’re basically telling me that based on my citizenship I cannot afford to go to school here and I’ve lived here for almost 10 years now. That should not be the case. And so more scholarships and more diverse audiences for scholarships are also very important. And then with school events — whether they be for students or whether they’re geared towards faculty and staff — just incorporating diversity in there. When we’re talking about mental health don’t just talk about mental health as a whole. How a Black woman experiences mental health and how a Black man experiences mental health are totally different. Yes, they are both Black but because of that gender disparity there are differences. And even if their gender can also play a role. So even though I’m a Black heterosexual woman, a Black trans woman does not have the same mental health experiences as I do. So we can’t just talk about mental health as a holistic, one-size-fits-all thing. There’s so many spectrums and that goes with other things. That can include education, that can include sexual health, that can include voter education. Because some people are educated on some things but not educated on others. So just focusing on diversity every time we do things in higher ed because then we’re allowing for different voices and different perspectives to be heard. So then when certain measures get passed and certain legislation gets passed, it’s addressing as many people in the room as possible without necessarily leaving one or the other out of that conversation.

[Danyelle] That was a really great message. I really love how you discussed diversity outside of just who’s in the room but also about what topics are being covered in that room. And I think that that is a really good point of how folks can try and be more inclusive and not just, we have x number of a certain type of people here, but we’re providing content and we’re providing support for those folks as well. Did you have one final thought you’d like to leave our listeners with?

[Annette] Yes. Activism is not a feel-good, temporary trend. It is a dedicated lifestyle that involves humility, sacrifice, learning — which can be lifelong — and collaboration but ultimately all of that is worth it. It can be discouraging, especially in these times, to be protesting every day. To vote and not see your vote being reflected. To vote and even have it systematically oppressed. To watch the news and see that people are just not understanding what’s going on and not taking in the totality of the situation. It can be discouraging but the beauty of activism is that it’s not a one-time thing. It keeps going and every day we’re learning something new. I don’t even have all the answers and I’ve been doing student activism for three years now. Doesn’t seem like it’s a long time but it’s so worth the experience. It’s so worth the time and it doesn’t have to be a full-time job. It could even be just reposting on social media something that you find interesting and just starting a conversation. It could easily be inviting your friends over, watching a Netflix movie about something related to activism or history and just having that conversation. Because when we educate ourselves further, when we take those steps and say what I know is not enough, what can i do to be more educated or what can i do to help out next. What are my next steps? You’ll notice that because there’s power in people, there’s power in change, too. And so just don’t be discouraged if you don’t feel like your change is enough. It’s one step in the right direction. So one step forward is better than no steps at all.

[Danyelle] Thank you so much. You’ve given us a lot to think about and I feel like you’ve given some really great advice for other students who may be in your shoes and may have the same types of abilities that you have to know what to do and to know how to go forward and try and make some change so thank you so, so much for all the personal information that you shared, all of the heartfelt thoughts you’ve given us, and just for taking the time to talk to us today. We really appreciate you.

[Annette] Yeah, no problem. This was a lot of fun.

[Danyelle] Thanks again to Annette for joining us today. You can find some related links in our show notes. Thanks for joining us. Comets Discuss is brought to you by the UT Dallas Office of Communications. A special thanks to senior lecturer Roxanne Minnish for our music. Be sure to check out our other shows at utdallas.edu/cometcast. For the most up-to-date news at UT Dallas visit the University’s News Center page at utdallas.edu/news. Take care of yourselves, Comets.