To the Editor,
While reading an article in the July 17 issue of the Swarthmorean, “Panel Wrestles With Racism and Inclusion,” I began to feel my heart rate rise. I knew that, as a 26-year resident of Swarthmore, I needed to share a few thoughts.
At the start of the article, which covers a meeting of Swarthmore’s Human Relation Commission (HRC), borough council member Sarah Graden is quoted as saying, “The majority of people who come to council meetings, and are engaged with local government, tend to be white.” She goes on to ask, “How can we engage everyone, make them feel safe, and include them?”
To me this highlights a more important question: What are the white, heterosexual, and upper-upper-middle class residents of Swarthmore doing to make marginalized people in our community, especially Black community members, feel unsafe and unwelcome in this space?
The community must build space with and for people of color, especially Black people. Invitation to meetings does not mean that people of color will feel they belong in the space. As a community, we need to come to terms with our whiteness. I myself, and I imagine most of the adults in Swarthmore, were never taught how to talk about race nor learned about the deep, historical systemic roots that exist. It’s time we learned. I believe that we are learning.
Recently there was an Instagram page called “Swarthmore Front Porch Project” which shared photos of families on their porches. I was dismayed that not one family of color was photographed. To me, it reaffirmed the white-perpetuated racism that is in place in Swarthmore. I understood the kind intent of the project. However, the impact made me feel very uncomfortable. And please don’t get me started on the signs that declare “Together we can make it through.” Who is this “we”? While I understand that the signs come from a place of care, in all honesty, we aren’t together at this time when racial inequality is so very obvious.
Does our community truly understand the long history of racism in Swarthmore? I hope the HRC will lean in, learn, and share the history of systemic racism with our community. Unfortunately, its depth is overwhelming. It is up to us white people to learn, face our history, and honestly make the change that needs to happen in our town. We need to break down the barriers and start to acknowledge the racism that exists in Swarthmore before we can declare ourselves antiracists.
Onward.
Vicki Shelter
Swarthmore
