My Thoughts on Racism

I’ve never written a blog post like this before, but I think it’s time. I strongly believe that it has an impact on our field and our lives, so I think it’s important. With the recent attention on the Black Lives Matter movement, I regret that I have never discussed race and racism on my blog/social media platforms before. I vow to do better on that end from here on out.
 
According to ASHA’s 2019 demographics, 91.8% of SLPs are white. 3.6% is Black, 2.8% is Asian, 1.4% is multiracial, 0.3% is American Indian, and 0.2% is Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. Only about 8% of our field is diverse. I’m part of that 8% as a Korean SLP. 
 
We serve diverse clients and families. We are supposed to be culturally competent. We all need to push for more diversity in who is accepted into graduate programs. I went to the same university for undergraduate and graduate school; I’m sure the knowledge of who I was helped me to get into the graduate program. I’ll never know if my race would have impacted my ability to get into a different program elsewhere. I’m thankful that I was able to get in and become the SLP that I am today. 
 
I can never claim to know what racism Black people encounter on a day to day basis. I can only tell you of my experiences. I’m a transracial adoptee and I grew up in a small, predominantly white town. There was little to no diversity, aside from a few other Asian kids in my class (and I believe my class had the most with 4 total, myself included). I recall the songs that kids would sing (Chinese, Japanese…you know the one), complete with the hand movements to make the eyes look different. I have had to tell people to stop saying “oriental” when referring to people. I have constantly been asked “where are you from?” and “what are you?” If I say NY, people say, “no, where are you REALLY from?” People often come up to me and start speaking the Asian language they think I speak (I don’t speak any other language than English). Some of these people are Asian, but I’ve had white people do that too – like TSA at the airport. Unfortunately, if you look different, some will treat you like you don’t belong. I don’t share these things to gain pity, I share so that hopefully you can see things from a different perspective.  
 
We all have biases. I’ve been learning more about my own and trying to unlearn the messages that I’ve been subjected to my whole life (without even consciously realizing it). I’ve been learning about the model minority myth and how I have really known this all my life, but didn’t have a name for it. I’ve been having conversations with friends and family because we have to keep talking about this. Being anti-racist is an ongoing journey. 
 
As I’ve said before, I will continue to support the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as LQBTQIA+ people. We need real change in this country and that won’t happen overnight. It is time that everyone has equity.