My name is William Tomas Gonzalez, and I am a member of the 3% of students that comprise the Hispanic-American community here at The University of Alabama. However, as I am constantly reminded, I look “white” enough to pass off. So I exist in the limbo of pseudo-minority statues because my name looks Hispanic on paper, but my complexion – and the conclusions society draws from it – essentially makes me white.
It is this social prospective that affords me a unique view of the race-related issues currently revolving around campus. It is this perspective that has me so furious about some of the criticism currently being leveled against UA Stands. I am not going to pretend that the movement is perfect, and there certainly are numerous aspects of it that deserve more criticism and higher scrutiny; our culture of apathy is why we must learn on the fly.
However, numerous people have spoken to me or even written to The Crimson White, voicing concerns that a movement that has a large white membership cannot combat racism because they benefit from the current system and, therefore, cannot protest themselves. It is defeatism logic like this that encourages good people to do nothing and progress to stall.
Last week Ms. Wang wrote a guest column for The Crimson White, voicing her discontent with the composition of the movement, the means in which we choose to address the issue and, finally, the leadership of UA Stands. Ms. Wang argued that white students can only stand in solidarity with minority students because they have benefited from a system of institutionalized racism prevalent in the South and at UA. However, this view is contradictory to not just reason, but also history.
By following this train of logic, Lyndon B. Johnson should have never signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because he as a white man benefited from the systemic racism of the time. Abraham Lincoln should never have emancipated the slaves because of his position of privilege due to him being white.
The argument against action by white students is inherently flawed because, in its attempt at greater morality, it allows for the continuation for evils in the real world. Ms. Wang, and those that believe like her, would have preferred everyone to have stayed home on Wednesday because the movement didn’t live up to their standards.
As a white-Hispanic, I was touched by the massive ground swell of support from white students on campus. Ms. Wang was right about one thing: In a racist society, the race in power inherently benefits from the system. However, this speaks even more to the fact that my white friends are so willing to recognize the inherent wrong that their privilege stems from and are working to try and remedy the problem (despite that potential loss of privilege).
My experiences at Alabama have definitely been paradoxical at best; it is the only place where a person can be both too Hispanic and not Hispanic enough at the same time. The long existing culture of defeatism and cynicism that is pervasive throughout campus has created an environment where UA can stand and sit all at the same time as well.
Will Gonzalez is a sophomore majoring in secondary education. His column runs biweekly on Tuesdays.
