At college I noticed how differently white people and poc behave in a classroom/discussion setting. With white people they (we) would always shoot their hand up as soon as they wanted to speak, and even if they were responding to another student they would respond towards the teacher. The important thing for them (us) was always making sure that they were heard and that their opinion was valued by the professor.

With poc, especially the black students, they were a lot more fluid in terms of when they would talk, and a lot more open to hearing other people's opinions. It was more likely to be an actual discussion when a poc started it, as opposed to a cross examination of the professor/lecture. More different people would feel empowered to talk and contribute, and the class was always more pleasant as a result. It also always felt like many of the people who were considering my opinions and points the most, and who were the most likely to actually maybe change their views, were those same poc.

So I'm mostly just saying that as a white person, who has observed how much classrooms can benefit from poc voices, that your voice is valuable and appreciated and I hope you find a teacher or classmates that make you feel heard. Everyone benefits from your empowerment and you deserve so much more

:cat-trans: