- Hey, everyone. - Hi, I'm Maya.
- Hi, I'm Ayo. - Hi, I'm David.
- Hi, I'm Imani. - Hi, I'm Francelia.
- Hi, I'm Jeremy. - Hi, I'm Meenakshi.
- Hi, everyone, I'm Jeanyna. - I'm Allen.
- In the last 12 months, what was a challenge for you
around race, justice and injustice?
- It's been very difficult, I think,
to find the space to grieve
when we've become so desensitized to so much of this.
And that's really disheartening, I think,
because for some of us, none of this is new
and none of this is revolutionary.
The last year has just been exhausting
but hopefully, there is progress on the other side
of all of that work and all of that exhaustion.
And so maybe that makes it worth it.
- I think a struggle for me has been feeling
like I need to do a lot of budgeting,
budgeting my frustration, budgeting anger,
budgeting my expectations, and budgeting my words
regarding race and injustice.
I'm experiencing frustration
with not wanting to take on the identity of an activist.
I just like to have conversations about race.
And I think that we need to normalize
having conversations about race.
- These last couple of months have been really difficult
in bearing the weight of having to educate people,
trying to stay educated yourself.
It's a lot.
And one thing that I have learned is self care,
really taking the time to step back if you need to
from these events.
- One thing that I think I've struggled with
is questions of solidarity
and what does solidarity look like in times like this.
What I've seen myself in the South Asian American
and Asian American community more broadly
is a desire to be in solidarity
with the movements that are happening right now.
A lot of our families are here because of laws
that were passed directly as a result
of the civil rights movement.
- Another thing that I've been kind of asking myself a lot
is if I'm doing enough.
I think it's been really hard for me
to feel like I'm doing enough to enact change,
even if it's really small.
'Cause I found that it can be really exhausting
like people have said.
- For me, you know, thinking about the prompt
and race, justice and injustice.
And for me, it's trying not to let the sense of injustice
control my last 12 months.
And so that's really the challenge and the struggle
has been to not let injustice
carry the day.
- In this last year of race, justice, and injustice,
what of all of that has brought you hope?
- For me, the hope is that there was a moment,
more than a moment,
it felt like there was a movement this year
and even to the point where things
were much more part of the everyday lexicon,
Defund the Police, Black Lives Matter,
and seeing that, frankly, as trite as it might appear,
seeing, you know, the NBA players,
Black Lives Matter on their jerseys,
equality on their jerseys,
it's a little thing and maybe it's too ramped
into capitalism in other ways
that we shouldn't get too excited about it
but there's hope and there's movement and inroads
in places, I guess, where I didn't imagine it would be.
- In conversations with a lot of white allies,
I feel like in the past year,
I've definitely seen a lot more a-ha moments
like where they realize something that they've done
or something that they've seen.
We're still not there yet
to have a national conversation about race,
but I think we're in a good position to.
- I think one thing that's really brought me hope
is just to see different communities
come together, and I know that for myself,
I've found a lot of hope just in spiritual communities
and that's really helped me, you know, just being in a world
where things can seem so, you know,
you never know what's gonna happen next.
And so I find a lot of hope in that.
- Seeing the movement kind of catch on
on a larger, national and global scale
in, I think, a way that we haven't seen
in a really long time has been really hopeful.
I've seen a conversation with my high school classmates
turn into the National Black At movement
which has led to tangible reparations
for Black students in institutions across the country.
And to see something like a mere conversation,
something that was born out of frustration and sadness
for abuse experienced in the past,
turn into joy and connection for Black students
across the country,
you start to realize how quickly pain
can become hopeful and joyful.
- Martin Luther King, Dr. King,
he dared us to make some dreams.
What is a vision that you have
for Amherst around race, justice and injustice
for this year or for next year, for the next 50 years?
And think big, vision big.
- Amherst in a lot of ways
brings me a lot of hope in this area.
And there's so much work to be done.
It seems to me that Amherst is kind of starting to realize
that that work is worth doing.
I can't perfectly quote it,
but my favorite MLK quote is actually,
I believe it's like "the function of education
is to teach students to think critically
and that intelligence and character
is the goal of a true education."
If Amherst can get to the place
where we both encourage intellect and critical thinking
and intense and rigorous thought,
but we can also nurture the sense of character
and compassion and empathy,
then it feels like there's kind of no limit
to how much progress we can make.
- The thing that brings me the most hope
is hoping that we're getting to a place
where we can make a sincere commitment to justice
and getting to a place where Amherst
is an institution that is deserving of trust and love
and pride and support
beyond the amazing people
who are doing the incredible work
that makes it a place that people want to stay.
- My vision for Amherst is for Amherst
to respect Black women
in the way that they need to be respected
and for their names to be heard
and remembered and respected.
- You know, my hope is just that we continue
to embrace diversity at Amherst
so it feels less of a statistic,
it actually provides an opportunity
for us to learn about each other,
but I think we're already on the right track.
- One of my visions for Amherst
is for the entire campus to be activists,
not just students, but also administration.
- My vision for Amherst is that love
becomes the center of what the Amherst experience is.
- Something tangible though, that I'd like to see at Amherst
is a requirement for a social justice type of class
in this world that's ever-evolving.
No matter what subject you go into,
you're going to encounter race,
you're going to encounter gender,
you're going to encounter some social problem,
and a lot of people, I feel,
are unequipped to handle certain situations,
and just taking a class on it,
I think should be a requirement for any major.
- One thing I would like to see at Amherst,
people of color feel comfortable
to say what they want to say
and not say what they don't want to say.
I know that just from my own experience,
and as I said, I've talked to you sometimes,
you feel like you're kind of forced to explain something
on behalf of a community that you're a part of.
- What's the wish that you have for the nation?
And if you could think of one word.
- Walkable.
- Reparations.
- Love.
- Encompassing.
- Empathy.
- Reconciliation.
- Love.
- Bravery.
- Truth.
- Appreciation.
- I'd like to just end with each of you saying the one word
that you're feeling right now.
And then we'll say goodbye.
- I think, understood.
- Proud.
- Inspired.
- Energized.
- Motivated.
- Motivated was mine as well.
I'll pass it to Allen.
- I'm feeling connected.
- Eager.
- Calm.
- Yeah, I feel empowered.
- And I feel grateful.