Update

So, things are still going fairly well at my service learning site. I am continuing to love the daily interactions with my students, as they always have new stories to tell me. I had a conversation with a lady who migrated from Scotland to the United States in the 1940s and how she quickly adjusted to being "white" in America. I think yall may know this already, but my passion is learning and discussing race, racism, and white privilege in America and it was just interesting to hear someone explain to me how you "become white" in the United States. We went on to discuss her experiences witnessing (not necessarily first hand) the Civil Rights Movement (I obviously told her my academic interests which is why this discussion started in the first place). She vividly remembers hearing about Little Rock Nine, MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech, sit ins, Montgomery Bus Boycott, etc.

It was interesting to hear about this from someone who is not a person of color (or a white person) because I don't often hear the opinions and feelings whites might have about this since today race is not considered an issue anymore (read Tim Wise's "Colorblind" or "White Like Me" and it'll deeper into the belief that race is no longer an issue and is a thing of the past). She made it a point to let me know that she was for racial integration-- mainly because she's religious and believes that God made everyone to be equal and have the same rights. We went on to talk about Ruby Bridges and the things she witnessed during that time as well.

There are ALWAYS interesting conversations at IWCC and I am really going to miss interacting with these awesome individuals on a regular basis.

See yall tomorrow!