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I grew up in Southern California, a part of the country where there was a lot of diversity.

I’ve always believed racism is wrong and that our society would probably be better without it. I’ve witnessed the racist views that people I know have and I try to challenge them when I can. However, since I’ve been at NIU, I’ve found the ugly face of racism worming its way into my subconscious.

It’s a terrible feeling to know you might be giving into something you’ve always thought was wrong – to know, despite your upbringing and your own rational arguments against it, racism can gain standing in your beliefs.

It doesn’t help that whenever I read about an assault on campus, or a robbery, it is almost always blamed on one or more black males. Does this mean that all black men are criminals and want to rob me? Of course not. But it does make me tense up and be a little more alert when I pass a black man walking home at night as opposed to a white man.

This unconscious response – the start of racism – bothers me.

I know that crime is universal – anyone can commit it and anyone can be a victim. But when white people see black people villainized in the media, as blacks are cast as the criminals of our society and backed up by the disproportionate ratio of blacks to whites in prison, what are white people supposed to think? It’s very hard to reconcile the biased view we see and hear in the media with what we know to be the reality of the situation.

I would also point to the problems that are associated with typically “black” entertainment events on campus. Last year, while I was a community adviser, we were told to be extra vigilant on nights when there were after-parties in the Campus Recreation Center after rap concerts at the Convocation Center. One could argue that this is a racist policy and I wouldn’t challenge that claim. But, I would point to the fact that this policy usually ended up being justified, as on the evenings in question there was a disproportionate level of disturbances in and around the residence halls – most of which involved black individuals.

There’s also the image that black culture promotes in popular culture. Modern rap music, BET, etc., seems to promote a culture of materialism, misogyny and, to a lesser extent, violence. I’m sure there are some aspects of the culture that are positive and contrary to what I’ve listed – but I can only speak from my personal experience.

One could argue that other types of music carry less-than-noble messages, but I would argue that few other types of music are as closely tied with a specific culture or have such sway in popular culture.

To be perfectly honest, I don’t fully understand black culture. I’m not a part of it, it’s not what I associate with or a significant part of my life. But I also don’t want it to be something I’m against or view as negative.

It’s for these reasons that I find it increasingly difficult to keep racist views from affecting the way I view the world. It’s for that reason that things need to change.

As much as the media and predominantly white culture needs to work to not be biased and to not villainize blacks, so too black culture must maintain higher ground and promote universal values.

It will not be one side or the other that will solve the racial divide that our country still faces to this day; rather, it must be both sides coming together to find a solution in which all of us are truly equal.

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