Author note: This piece was written in the days before the Presidential election. The issues discussed here are only more pressing as a wave of bias incidents occur on our campuses and impact our diverse communities.
Can I speak to my white colleagues for a moment? Over the past several years, we Americans have been struggling to confront our racial history — frequent cases of police brutality, racist incidents on college campuses, and a controversial presidential election have dominated the national news cycle. As college admission counselors we may find ourselves engaged in these conversations as well (wittingly or not), given the ways in which racism affects a rapidly diversifying student population. For white counselors in particular, these conversations can feel like uncharted territory.