Snapshots and Lessons from the RAPP XXVIII Fall Retreat

Friday, November 9th through Saturday, November 10th, RAPP XXVIII was on their first of three retreats for the year!  We spent the time at Graillville - home to so many RAPP memories - discussing issues of race and racism.

Part of the new RAPP XXVIII hand sign

It's part of a game, by Farooq enjoyed having a roomful of people salute him

RAPPers having fun Saturday afternoon

Small group discussion

End-of-retreat group shot - we're "Bearcating" because we're proud Bearcats!

At the meeting following the retreat, members each shared one thing they learned over retreat weekend.  Here's what folks shared:

• Helping others is what I am created to do with the power of education! Each One Teach One
• I learned what it feels like to be in a dietary minority
• Soul searching reflecting on opinion!
• Even the Latin & Asian communities deal with being “too black”
• I learned about all the categories of racism, and that in certain situations, these categories are interdependent on each other
• I learned that it can sometimes be difficult to admit your own privilege
• The infant mortality rate for African American babies is 3x higher in Cincinnati compared to White babies
• Racism still exists and we need to speak up against it
• I am not as privileged as I thought I was
• I have the privilege to ignore race – many others do not
• White people have the privilege to ignore the issue of race
• I learned that I don’t have to be afraid to voice my opinion about segregation and oppression even if I’m not the one being oppressed
• If you want things to change, you can’t just only sit around and talk about it.  You have to be proactive to get things done.
• It’s easy to forget the levels of oppression when holding a discussion, but seeing levels of oppression mapped out in a physical representation is a reality check
• Most people have privileges that can help them in their lives without them knowing it.  It can also alienate those who have some but not all privilege and discourage those who have none systematically
• RAPPers are awesome!!!
• This weekend I learned where I stand in terms of equality when compared to other races
• That I need to learn to fix a flat.  I’m excited to get closer to my RAPPmates over the year.
• Ask how we can change instead of why is this happening
• I learned that we are born into races that we have no control over and because of certain events in the past some start on a higher/more privileged start
• Different types of races
• How shocking it was to notice how some people are much less privileged than others without even realizing in the RAPP group
• I’ve learnt that people who fall into the middle part of the privilege walk are hard to be in a community
• ASSUME
• Only 4% of all scholarships consider race at all, and only 0.25% exclude whites.  Thus, whites are eligible for 99.75% of all scholarship
• A single story can have a great influence on our understanding of the world