Breanna Sommers Post 2

Since taking Intercultural Knowledge and Competence with Dr. Davis, I realize the importance of stepping out of one’s comfort zone to have conversations about race, privilege, and intersectionality. Agape’s staff is predominantly black and 40 of the 45 interns are also black. This experience as a demographical minority has been eye opening and enriching. I grew up in a small southern suburban town with very few people of color and I chose to go to Rhodes, another place lacking in ethnic and racial diversity. Before starting my work with Agape, I had never spent so much time in a setting that was not specifically designated a ‘white space.’ My organization was not specifically created to cater to my needs, but the needs of millions of Memphis families, often ones of color, who are at a socioeconomic disadvantage and in need of wrap around services.  

Part of my job includes interacting with the black high school and college interns to implement a literacy program at two apartment complexes in Frayser and Raleigh. When I met the individuals that I would be working with in Frayser, I instantly noticed that they were evaluating me. I did my best to be friendly, but reserved so that I could earn their trust. It was vital that they knew I wanted to authentically work and collaborate with them. I wanted them to be sure that I was sincerely invested in the Frayser/Raleigh community and did not see this as a resume booster.

After visiting both of their sites multiple times to observe and evaluate the literacy program, it seemed that I was making slow, but positive progress towards mutual understanding. I did my best to engage the interns on a personal level through conversation and tried to find common ground with each of them. I share a passion for Tennessee Football with one intern and a love for education reform with another.  

However, on my second week, a person in my office gave me a daunting task. I needed to cover for the interns’ supervisor at the Frayser site and ensure that a day of summer enrichment camp went smoothly. I walked to the apartment complex on Monday morning and I knew as soon as I walked in that I needed to earn their trust a step further. While I think they knew I was a generally nice and competent person, I also knew that they did not want to receive direction from me, the nobody who had never seen a full day of camp, was white, and was not from Memphis. Camp got off to a slow start, but as we worked together to create a meaningful day for five energetic six year olds, they saw I was willing to do whatever it took to make the day successful as a team. We laughed about the craziness that ensued when you have rambunctious elementary students and they provided the authority because the students knew, respected, and trusted the interns more than me.

This past Friday, I had a particularly interesting conversation with one of the interns. She explained to me that she did not realize the full implications of her race as a black person until three months ago when she was mistreated and judged as a waitress at a local restaurant.  Our conversation was extremely profound and I felt in that moment that I was finally using all of my academic knowledge about race, class, gender, and sexuality in an authentic environment. We discussed hate crimes, the fundamental attribution error, and politics. This was not an assignment for class and I was no longer safe in my academic sphere of mutual understanding. I felt fully comfortable asking her follow up questions and we both shared our frustration with racial injustice.