On October 28, Michele Norris, an NPR radio host and national public speaker, is coming to SFCC. Her presentation will be showcasing her “Race Card” project and discussing her experiences with NPR.
Norris’s “Race Cards” are black postcards, which request that participants who receive them write six words that come to mind over the word “RACE.” Norris created this exercise with the goal to bring racial relations center-stage in everyday conversation.
Patty Haag, an instructor in the SFCC art department, took time out of the beginning of her classes in order to make students aware about the upcoming event. Haag believes its an important event for SFCC, and that race should be brought back to the forefront of discussion.
“We are evolving as a country. Ethnic proportions are changing,” Haag said.
She asked her students to take the time to get involved, and enjoyed how simple a task it was. The postcards require participants to write “quick yet personal responses as opposed to long thought out intellectual replies.”
The back of Haag’s postcard read, “Hey, are those your real children?” Haag adopted her children, and the three of them are Korean.
“They meant well by their questions” Haag said, recounting times where she had been confronted or questioned about her children’s ethnicity. “But it affected the children, because they felt different.
“Racism is definitely alive and well in this country,” said Haag.
Cynthia Vigil, a councilor at SFCC, is also attempting to get students involved in the Michele Norris project.
“I get frustrated because we require students to claim a single race, but it doesn’t hold true,” Vigil said. “In the 50’s and 60’s we tried to fit race into boxes, but we shouldn’t do that anymore.”
ASG President Alicia Villa has helped coordinate Michele Norris’ visit to SFCC. “It didn’t work out last year for [Norris] to come to SFCC,” said Villa. “But we allocated money for her to be able to come this year.”
SFCC will be paying Norris $15,000 to visit the campus. An additional $1500 has been put towards advertising the event, printing the “Race Card” cards for students, and miscellaneous expenses.
Michelle Norris is scheduled to speak on Monday, October 28 at 11:30am and 5pm in the Student Sub Lounge, located in building 17.