MEMBER UPDATES
A BETTER US
June 2, 2020
Dear Friends, Families, Members and Supporters,
As you are aware, the recent murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN has shined a light on the racial inequalities and injustices happening to minorities and persons of color across our communities and country. To our campers, members, families and staff in minority groups in our communities, we see you. We see your pain that has gone on for too long. We must do better.
As a white male born into a middle-class family with two parents in the Midwest, I was dealt a great hand in life and didn’t grasp what was going on in our communities. Not until significant changes happened in my life did I ever truly understand my privilege.
In 2008, with a six-year-old biological son and a two-year-old biological daughter, my wife and I adopted a three-year-old boy from Ethiopia. Two years later, we adopted two biological brothers, also from Ethiopia. At that time, with my children at those young ages, I still did not understand my privilege. Not until my sons of color hit puberty did the systematic racism in our country become clear.
We had experiences with racism prior to them beginning puberty but we marked it up to individuals, not systems. When my children of color started to look like men instead of little boys, the racism within our systems became apparent. The fact that I had a smooth road through those systems my whole life as a white male became apparent.
One example that stands out for me is when one of my sons of color was in school. He was walking down the hallway with two other boys (white). A teacher pulled him aside and called us because, as she put it, he was making too much noise and walking down the hallway in a “threatening way.” As a person who didn’t experience racism growing up, I didn’t initially understand the teacher’s actions were based on race. I immediately thought my son was doing something wrong, saying mean things or being physical towards others even though those things were and are totally out of character for him. My mind just could not imagine any other reason he would be labeled as “threatening.” When we arrived at school, I sat down with him and asked what had happened. He said, “That teacher doesn’t like me. I don’t know what I did.” We sat with the teacher separately and she told us our son and a couple other boys were being loud in the hallways and our son was also acting “threatening.” I asked what that meant, and she couldn’t give me an example. We even checked the hallway cameras and found nothing. I asked what happened to the other two boys that were involved, and she said, “Nothing, because they weren’t acting threatening.” We complained to the administration, the teacher was reprimanded (or so we were told) and continued to teach at the school.
Another time, my teenage son asked a teacher (white) why our school district didn’t celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day and the response from the teacher was, “Because we don’t have many black kids at this school.” I personally followed up with administration. I was told this was inappropriate and that they would talk with the teacher and follow up with me. I never heard back, and the teacher is still employed at the school.
There was also the time a coach (white) asked me which kid was mine on the basketball court. I pointed my son out to the coach and his response was, “Oh the colored one?” I shared my concerns with the administration. The coach is still coaching.
I have had children of color for twelve years and the stories go on. Twelve years. Families in our communities have had to deal with it for generations. This year, one of my kids who is black turns sixteen and will be driving. That means I will no longer be able to provide him with the umbrella of whiteness. My wife and my whiteness as parents have provided him a cover. We walk into the principal’s office or teacher’s office and immediately our privilege reaches to our children of color. When they are alone, that umbrella goes away.
Recently, a friend of mine (white) posted about her husband (white) who is a police officer, being called in to work in response to the protests happening across the country. She asked for prayers for her husband as he put himself in harm's way. I do pray that he is safe, and I pray for the safety of all of my friends who are in law enforcement, but I ask that others understand that we, parents with children of color, ask for those prayers every day as our children walk out of the house. Every. Single. Day. They didn’t sign up to put themselves in harm’s way. It is their everyday existence living in this country.
One of my sons mows grass around our neighborhood to make money. To get there, he rides his bike or runs to get exercise. He likes to wear hooded sweatshirts and loves listening to music on his headphones. Now imagine Trayvon Martin, or Ahmaud Arbery. I have had to tell my son while he is walking, running, or just breathing outside our house that he must be careful. Smile and say hi to people so their implicit bias doesn’t see you as threatening because many people in our communities see black skin as inherently threatening.
For the last 12 years, I have experienced racism through my sons. Major aggressions like being called the N word or that they can’t kneel in peaceful protest, to microaggressions like not finding band aids that match their skin color. Until you look through the lens of racial inequality yourself, you will never fully understand it and I say this as a white male who looked through rose covered glasses for most my life and who still does not understand the complete experience of my boys because I move through the world white. But just because you don’t experience it personally doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
For too long I have stood by and waited for someone else to address the issue. When we had a person of color in the Presidency and as the Attorney General of the United States, I thought there would be change. When leaders of color stood up and gave speeches and demanded justice, I thought there would be change. Then I realized, we cannot expect people of color to fix this situation, because it is not their problem...it is ours. Those of us who have had the privilege need to step up and fix OUR problem.
As a YMCA, I don’t know what that means for us yet. But I know that it will inform what we do and who we are moving forward. Our mission is to put Honesty, Caring, Respect and Responsibility (HCRR) into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind, and body for all. What is more HCRR than standing up for the oppressed?
As a white person, I know this is uncomfortable. If you are like me, you don’t want to say the wrong thing or hurt someone’s feelings. I get it. But while we watch on the sidelines, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles are being murdered, imprisoned, and unheard. We cannot wait any longer. Step into the uncomfortable. Use the internet, find books, articles, blogs written by people of color and minorities. Challenge your assumptions, find resources different than what you normally read or watch. We cannot stand by any longer.
The Sherman Lake YMCA Outdoor Center will find ways to make equality and equity a part of who we are. We will use our privilege to protect, support and improve the lives of those whom our systems have taken advantage of. We know we must grow. We know we will make mistakes. But we will step into the uncomfortable, and we ask that you join us.
The last two words of our mission statement are “For All”. It’s time as an organization we live up to that.
Zach Klipsch
CEO, Sherman Lake YMCA Outdoor Center
Support the Y
We can’t do it alone…we need you beside us. Please give to the Sherman Lake YMCA and keep our good work and legacy alive.