Anti-racism panel discusses stereotypes, need for diversity in decision-making

SALT LAKE CITY — After experts took an hour to share their analysis of how Salt Lake County residents can recognize and confront prejudice during the county's annual Stand Against Racism event, it was a child whose poignant presentation brought resolve — and some tears — to the room.

Six-year-old Taj Thompson stood and recited an early experience with racism Yolanda King had encountered at the exact same young age more than half a century ago — as told by her father, Martin Luther King Jr. — when she said she wanted to visit a local amusement park.

"She ran downstairs and said, 'you know, I've been telling you I want to go to Funtown, and they were just talking about Funtown on the television, and I want you to take me to Funtown,'" Taj said, quoting the speech by America's most famous civil rights leader.

"And oh, I stood there speechless: How could I explain to a little 6 years old girl that she couldn't go to Funtown because she was colored?"

Taj continued to quote from King, who decided to be forthright with his daughter:

"(I told her) some people don't do the right things, and they are misguided, and so they have developed a system where white people go certain places and colored people go certain places, and I said they have Funtown like that, so that they don't allow colored children to go to Funtown."

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Taj, a first-grader at Buffalo Point Elementary School in Syracuse, continued to the climax of the story, his voice growing resolute as he quoted King's admonition to his tearful daughter not to doubt her worth despite the exclusion some would force upon her because of the color of her skin.

"I looked down into her eyes and I said to her ... even though you can't go to Funtown, I want you to know that you are as good as anybody who goes into Funtown. And I want you to know ... that some of us are working hard every day to get Funtown open and to get many other places open, and I say to you that in the not too distant future, Funtown and every other town will be open to all of God's children."

Emma Houston, director of diversity and inclusion for Salt Lake County, praised Taj, saying simply, "When a child speaks, it is really powerful."

At a panel discussion at the county's office building Friday, questions were posed about the harm caused by broad racial stereotypes, the role of media portrayals of people of color, the unique challenges associated with career development for racial minorities, and more.

"Sadly we still see — in the year of 2018, we still see overt racism," Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams told several dozen attendees.

It is a sinister part of human nature to "make judgements about people who are different than us," but "diversity is a strength" of Salt Lake County and it is important to hold discussions about how all of its residents can live without fear of discrimination or prejudice, McAdams said.

"These are not easy topics to face and, quite frankly, it's easier (to leave them) as a relic of the past," McAdams said. "But we're putting this topic on the table to openly discuss and tackle the problem."

Responding to a panel question about whether racism is a worldview that is taught and whether it's possible to "un-teach" it, Dr. Marco Barker, chief diversity officer at Westminster College, said racial prejudice consists of more than feelings of intolerance held by any one individual. Rather, Barker said, such prejudice is "embedded and built into the institutional structures we have."

Barker said "having conversations is a start" in addressing racism, but that more must be done. To make society's institutions more inclusive, he said, it's important to get a diverse set of decision-makers in the room who have varying life experiences and worldviews.

"Who's missing? Who's not in this room? Who's not in this space?" Barker said of the questions each organization should ask itself. "We have a huge responsibility to get more diverse perspectives."

Moana Uhave-Hafoka, a diversity and human rights policy advisor for the Salt Lake City mayor's office, said broad stereotypes about people of color can contribute to internalized self-doubt.

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Uhave-Hafoka, who holds a bachelor's degree from BYU and a master's from Harvard, said she was frequently asked during her college career "what athletic scholarship I was on."

"Then we go into the imposter's (syndrome) mode where it's, 'Do I belong in this classroom?'"

Such attitudes hamper "people's ability to feel secure in who they are," she said.

Panelists were also asked whether they worry about people of color being portrayed in tightly compartmentalized, stereotypical molds in movies and other popular entertainment.

Angela Doan, senior advisor for education for the Salt Lake City Mayor's Office, said that is a concern, but added "Hollywood is becoming more inclusive." Doan cited the almost all-black cast of the blockbuster "Black Panther" and the all-Asian cast of "Crazy Rich Asians," a movie set to be released in theaters in August.

"I am 30 years old now. This will be the first time I'll be in the theater watching a movie with an all-Asian cast," she said. "That's amazing to me."

One audience member told the panelists of an incident where he called out a friend for saying something offensive about slavery. He asked about what he and other white people could do to confront racism toward people of color.

"There is absolutely a role. We're talking about dismantling ... structural racism," Barker replied, comparing the plight of racism to a building that needs to be torn down from both those inside and outside. "It takes those who were historically part of it, building it, to dismantle it (and) to have insiders to be able to take a stand."

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