Students discuss diversity struggles

Members of the IU community gathered at the Asian Cultural Center Thursday night for the semester’s first “Over a Cup of Tea” discussion.

The discussions are a monthly feature at the Asian Cultural Center, usually focused on issues affecting Asian-Americans.

This month’s discussion aimed to extend the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy while nodding to the recent death of former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela.

The talk was titled “Saints or Revolutionaries?: The Parallel Visions of Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.”

Valerie Grim, professor and chair of African American and African Diaspora Studies, and Alex Lichtenstein, associate professor of history, led the discussion.

Lichtenstein teaches both U.S. and South African history courses at IU.

The two speakers focused on the complicated nature of race as both a historical and ongoing problem through the lenses of both Mandela’s and King’s work.

“We have to think about it (race) historically,” said Lichtenstein. “These are deeply rooted historical patterns.”

As someone who has spent a lot of time in South Africa, Lichtenstein said that the acknowledgement of race as something that has shaped history is something that happens a lot more openly in South Africa than it does in the U.S.

After their talks on King and Mandela, the discussion turned to the struggle with diversity and multiculturalism at IU and in Bloomington, an issue they both said they felt is not addressed enough.

“I think its important to have people of various backgrounds in conversation with each other about issues that we all are concerned about in an effort to make the world a better place,” Grim said.

Graduate student Ronald Arjuego said that experiencing multiculturalism is why he attends events like this at IU.

“Really this is my only chance to learn about something outside of my major and my occupation,” he said.

For this reason, as well as the opportunity for professors and students to meet in an informal setting, Lichtenstein said he wished there were more events like this on campus.

“I want students to care about other peoples’ suffering,” said Grim, “I think that caring about people’s humanity is one of the ways we can build a beloved community.”

Follow reporter Anna Hyzy on Twitter @annakhyzy.