By
Christian Richardson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
UA Speaker Series addresses race and sexuality topics during Campus Week of Dialogue
While Rudy Gaudio is against racial labeling, he said it's ironic that stereotypes have allowed him to help others.
"The construction of whiteness in this country has allowed me to assume a position of authority," said Gaudio, anthropology assistant professor.
He said this position has allowed him to defend others persecuted by racial and sexual discrimination.
A four-member panel made up of University of Arizona professors discussed the issues of race and sexual orientation at noon yesterday in the Memorial Student Union's Arizona Ballroom.
The problem is that we have to label people as gay and lesbian before we can accept them into our community, Gaudio said.
About 20 students and faculty attended the "Many Paths, One Journey, A Multi-Disciplinary Discussion About Race," part of the UA Speaker Series, coincided with the Campus Week of Dialogue.
Universities around the country are taking part in discussions on the issues associated with race.
Gaudio drew on his own experiences to present the topic when he recalled that he had been part of a legal case in which a Nigerian man had to proclaim that he is gay in order to receive political asylum to Nigeria.
He was asked to testify about the persecution that this man would receive in Nigeria.
"I can't testify that there isn't persecution he would face in the United States," he added.
Gaudio said it was ironic, "All these white guys are talking about a gay African man."
Race and sexuality have an impact on everyone's life, said Marvin Waterstone, the discussion's moderator and geography and regional development associate professor.
"To say that race is culturally and historically constructed is in no way to say it doesn't matter," said Laura Briggs, a women's studies assistant professor.
Race has had an impact on American school systems as well, she added.
"Historically and in the present, schools attended by non-whites are underfunded," Briggs said.
As a whole, most of the new charter schools are more segregated than public schools, she added.
"I do think that if we want to address racism we need to address race," Briggs said. "We're better off thinking of race as a resilient, terrible set of knowledge."
Lansana Keita, African American studies associate professor talked about the similarities among races.
Among races there is about a14 percent difference of racial characteristics.
However, Keita said racial profiling still exists.
"In the United States, racial classifications have changed over the years," he said.
Keita added that there are many aspects of racism such as racial profiling that need to be addressed.
Robert Williams, a visiting law professor spoke about cultural literacy and racial myths.
Think of the history of American Indian treaties, Williams said. "One of the big myths of the Indian treaty is that the Indians didn't know what they were doing."
"If you look at treaty negotiations, its absolutely clear the Indians were looking towards the future."
The four speakers ended the two-hour discussion without a solution to the problem of racism.
"In a sense you can start anywhere," Briggs said.
We can start with schools or police, she added.
"We can start wherever we live and wherever we work," Briggs said. "There is every level of work to be done."
Some members of the audience agreed with the panelists that a solution can not come out of a two-hour discussion.
"I think it's difficult to have one solution," said Beretta Smith-Shomade, media arts professor and member of the audience. "I think a lot of things can be addressed in the classroom."
However, she added she was satisfied with the diversity of the discussion.
"I thought they really addressed issues we're dealing with in the contemporary," Shomade said.
