In the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter protests that took place globally following the death of George Floyd, BYU–Hawaii students discuss how these protests opened the doors to widespread conversations about racism in America and how the media aided the movement.
“For some people, [racism] is a scary topic to talk about because there are a lot of emotions in it. If you create a kind, accepting environment where they feel safe enough to talk about it, it’s a good way to open that conversation and help guide them to helpful resources,” said Olivia Card, a sophomore from Utah majoring in social work.
While the Black Lives Matter movement has been around since 2013, the death of George Floyd on May 25 caused widespread protests across America and other parts of the world.
As of July 3, there have been more than 4,700 protests since they began in Minneapolis on May 26, according to the New York Times.
Trinity Pedro, a junior from Illinois majoring in communications, said she had discussions with her friends about the recent events. Now it’s “more common to see people talking about it, and not in the ways of arguing but having adult conversations.”
Card shared she believes the media played a role in spreading the news about Black Lives Matter and creating extensive dialogue about racism.
“It was like everyone had something to say about it. It was interesting because it wasn’t just people who are primarily African American. I’m biracial, and hearing other people’s stories who aren’t 100 percent African American kind of sparked my own internal discussion with myself, and then it continued to my friends,” said Card.
Natasha Mathurent, a junior from Venezuela studying biomedical science, said racism is finally being addressed because of the constant coverage.
“It’s always been an issue regardless, but it’s really been put in people’s faces. It’s been put on the back burner for so long. People within the black community were already aware of it, even other minorities. We knew it was an issue. But now that it is being blasted and plastered basically everywhere, you can’t ignore it anymore. People are going to have to talk about it.”
Rahel Meyer, a sophomore from Germany majoring in political science and communications, said the Black Lives Matter movement even sparked conversations about racism in Germany.
“Through George Floyd… it’s opened up to the world what’s going on. In Germany, we also had Black Lives Matter movements. That’s how people started to talk about racism in Germany. How do we see it here? How can we help people from becoming the next George Floyd in Germany?”
Meyer explained Germany has begun to receive many refugees in recent years, a majority who are from a racial minority, and the country has seen increases in racial discrimination reports.
“In Berlin when this blew up, there were over 20,000 people protesting on the streets. They were in Munich and Frankfurt, and of course it was about Black Lives Matter. How were black people treated in Germany? But it also has a lot to do with those refugees who are not of a Black ethnicity but who are from a racial minority.”
An open dialogue
Mathurent said she began to have more discussions with her friends, specifically those not among minorities. She highlighted the importance of going into conversations ready to understand and have an open mind.
“I like to also hear what [my friends and family] think about it. If you put yourself in their shoes, you can see why they don’t understand some things or why they might have questions or why they think the way they do because of life experiences or no exposure to Black culture. The more I talk to my friends about it, [the more] I come to understand.”
Ana Ellis, a sophomore from North Carolina studying history, said recognizing some have questions, and being respectful of them is valuable to keep the conversation going.
“On social media, I had a lot of family members who were asking me questions. ‘What does this even mean? I don’t even know what they’re advocating for.’ I think being conscientious of others and respectful of those who don’t know and be willing to talk about it. If you know what you are advocating for, that will just set it off longer and farther.”
Card explained she is adopted and the only person of color within her family. She said over the last few months, family members started coming to her with questions and wanting to hear her thoughts.
“It was the first time my ethnicity had been acknowledged within my family. They genuinely wanted to hear about how I was feeling, and they asked a lot of questions like if I had ever felt segregated by them or if I had ever felt racially profiled by them. They asked for advice on how they can improve and be better at accepting others.”
On Aug. 6, BYUH Academic Advising announced on its Instagram that this Fall, there will be a 1-credit class on anti-racism taught by Dr. David Beus, an associate professor in the Faculty of Culture, Language, & Performing Arts.
Beus said the class is part of a new course that began last year titled Exploring Humanities and isn’t required for any major or minor and discusses different topics each semester.
“You take [the class] because it’s on a topic you want to learn about, not because you have to. With the current international reckoning with racial injustice, we felt like we had to do something on this topic for fall.”
Social media & mental health
Pedro shared she believes social media played a large role in the spread of information about Black Lives Matter.
“If [social media] wasn’t around, I feel like that would have kind of hindered the whole process and everything happening. That’s how most people our age figure out what’s going on through social media, Instagram, and Twitter.”
Ellis said she saw social media as a tool and said it helped her family members become more educated on the topic and ask questions.
“Social media, in general, is a tool for many people to use and for others to witness what is happening because I think a lot of people in some way are in denial,” said Ellis.
“I know people in my family and my friend group who were like ‘Oh, that doesn’t happen. There’s no way this is actually occurring in today’s society.’ I think social media has really blown it up. They were witnessing what had been happening, and they were shocked.”
Mathurent shared in the beginning, she was very involved on social media and posting about Black Lives Matter and racism every day in addition to having conversations with friends. As time went on, she shared that the constant coverage on social media began to impact her mental health negatively, and she was forced to take a break.
When I saw other people didn’t post about it, I was like, ‘Well, why aren’t you saying something. You must be against the movement.’ And then, as it happened more and as more graphic videos came out, especially with George Floyd, I stepped back because it was really bothering me.”
She shared the stress caused her to begin having nightmares, specifically about something happening to her father or brother.
“[The nightmares] really affected me and my mental health, so I had to step back, and I understood why some people were [very] active at the beginning and took a break after a while because it messes with you, especially if it’s something that could happen to you.”
Keeping the conversation alive
Mathurent shares she believes in continuing the dialogue about racism, it is important for people to incorporate Black history into education and teach about influential Black people.
“When people try to push it off like ‘Just forget it. It happened in the past,’ what about we don’t forget it? We acknowledge that it happened. I feel like the history books have a watered-down version of what it was because that’s what they want you to know. But the history is so much deeper, and we [have to] incorporate that from the root.”
Mathurent emphasized making a change in places such as education and communities is what truly matters.
“We can’t just paint Black Lives Matter on the street and feel there’s change. That’s performative. I appreciate it, but if you’re not applying it into the judicial system, communities, education, you’re not making a change.
“Unless you apply it and put that money or put that time and effort to try to fix it from the root and consciously keep talking about it, and I don’t think there’s going to be change. It’s just going to be performative.”
Keeping aware, despite everything happening in the world, is one suggestion Pedro had to keep the discussion going.
“For me personally, I’ve just tried to remember not to push it back to the bottom depths of my brain, because there’s so many other things going on, especially the other countries like Lebanon and Yemen.”
Pedro added, “We all have to deal with whether you like it or not. It’s going to be there, whether you ignore it or want to pay attention to it.”