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Editor's note: This story is part of KSL.com's "Black Voices" series where we share black Utahns' stories about what life is like for them in the Beehive State.
SALT LAKE CITY — Growing up, Liese Rodger learned about black history. She learned about slavery, about the Jim Crow South, about the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s.
She learned about obvious discrimination — the kind the majority of Utahns would villainize. Since moving to Utah, though, she's dealt with a quieter kind — the type, she says, many in Utah don't even realize.
During her freshman year in college, while in her home state of California, Rodger joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The next year, she transferred to BYU. Since graduating, she's remained in Utah, finding success in the finance sector and building a unique social circle. She's appeared on national NBA podcasts where she's answered questions about her faith, explained that, yes, there are black members of the church, and participated in the basketball discussions with some national analysts.
Just like the Utah pioneers many years ago, she came to Utah because of her new faith. But that didn't mean she escaped discrimination.
In Utah, she's heard she's “pretty for a black girl” from someone she was on a date with, and heard from a bishop worried about her dating life because there weren't "many of your people” at BYU. She’s had countless experiences where close friends tried to explain away insensitive, if not racist, remarks by saying she misunderstood the meaning.
Over the last few weeks, though, Rodger has been asked by those close to her how they can better understand her life as a black woman living in a state that isn’t exactly known for its diversity. So, in response, she wrote a blog post for The Beehive, sharing her experiences in the hopes of helping Utahns become more aware of how racism and injustice happen in Utah — and how they could help change that.
“What will ultimately make the change is seeing the things within ourselves, that we can do better with, and in engaging in conversations to make that happen,” Rodger told KSL.com. “And so I figured, you know what, I want to start with my own community. It could be easier for me to just move somewhere else when I get sick of things and go where I can find a community that I don't have to deal with it. But while it's harder to remain here, I think it's better because I want to take a place that I love and make it even better.”
That’s not to say she thinks most Utahns are racist, but she's discovered plenty are a bit ignorant.
“When you ask me how you can help, instead of telling me you’re the exception, ask yourself if the problem is really you,” she wrote in her post. “If you want to help, be willing to look in the mirror and know there may be some things you will not be comfortable seeing about yourself.”
For instance, when her bishop asked her about her dating life, it was out of a place of concern. When she was told she was “pretty for a black girl,” it was supposed to be a compliment. When her friends tried to explain away racial undertones, they thought they were helping her understand.
“Because there isn't that regular exposure (to racial injustices in Utah), it makes it very difficult to see those insensitivities; it makes it difficult to change that,” Rodger said. “Even though there are good intentions, people don't recognize how comments could also come across or can be potentially harmful.”
While the protests that filled the country have been centered around police brutality against people of color, they are also allowing many to learn, maybe for the first time, of the racial injustices both in Utah and abroad.
“There are so many things that have happened in our American history that, depending on which part of the country you are, depends on whether or not it even comes up in your school curriculum,” Rodger said. “I've spoken to a lot of people about things that I learned about my own history as a kid, that they have never even heard of it."
A recent New York Times study showed how information found in textbooks about slavery and the civil rights movement can change depending on the state, leaving some uneducated about black history.
"It’s really difficult to change things when you're not aware of them,” Rodger said.
After realizing there is a problem, she says, is the time to move forward. To ask yourself why your circle of friends isn’t very diverse; or why you tolerate offhanded racial remarks to be made by your family, friends or co-workers; or how you, yourself, can be better.
“If your eyes have been opened or you've been enlightened to some of these things, you can't go back now,” she said. “You can't ever close your eyes, wish you didn't know or that you want to go back to normal. Once your eyes are open to that, it’s now your responsibility to move it forward.”
