AE Voices: Welcome to the Race Conversation - Marcus Bishop 6/19/2020 11:50:00 AM AE Voices is space for America East Conference student-athletes, coaches and administrators to share their personal stories in their own words. This latest feature is sponsored by #SpreadRespect, America East's intitative that raises awareness to ensure equality and safety for all student-athletes, coaches and fans without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity. Read past AE Voices features Welcome to the Race Conversation By: Marcus Bishop, America East staff Angry. Frustrated. Cynical. This is how I have felt over the last few weeks. Like everyone else, I have been watching the news and have seen the current unrest in our country. However, to a black person, these feelings are not new but more commonplace. The protests, the outrage and the deaths unfortunately are considered everyday life for people like me. The difference right now though is it seems that everyone in our country is paying attention and everyone is picking a side. My honest thought is “welcome to the conversation” and “what took you so long?”. I may seem a little cynical about all the attention focused on the issues of racism right now but let me provide a little context. Marcus Bishop joined the America East Conference staff in 2018. Have you ever been tailed by a police car in a neighborhood? Or followed by a state trooper off an exit ramp? Or shadowed by a security guard in a mall parking lot? The first time it happened to me was when I was 16, visiting a high school friend in a white neighborhood. It just happened to me again three months ago while driving a rental car home from administering a women’s basketball playoff game. Have you ever been followed in a store by an associate who asks, “is there anything I can help you find?” constantly to the point you feel as if you’re being stalked and you do not want to shop anymore? The first time it happened to me was when I was in a music store at 15. It just happened to me again as recently as March (before COVID-19 closed stores) at a local clothing store. Do you get the subtle remark “You are so articulate?” from white people you encounter for the first time? The first time it happened to me was when I was in high school working as a cashier at a grocery store. It happened again just a few months ago when I was checking into a hotel. I am 33 now, and racism has always been a part of my life, from childhood to adulthood. These everyday occurrences are constant reminders that no matter where I go in the United States, there will be people who know nothing about me, but look down on me just for the color of my skin. Luckily, I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, a place considered one of the major battlegrounds of the Civil Rights Movement, which prepared me for the everyday presence of racism. I received a deep education in the racism that affects me from my grandmothers, my parents and my teachers. Later in life I have found that every child does not learn this part of U.S. history in school, which I think partially explains why an unawareness of racism persists in America. At my elementary school, I watched movies and documentaries like Roots, based on the book by Alex Haley and Eyes on the Prize, a documentary series on PBS, as early as the age of seven to understand our society’s past and present. Yes, some of the images in these media forms were traumatic, but from slavery to lynching to police dogs, these images helped me understand the sacrifices that were made for people like me to have a chance at a good life. Given the society we are in, black children have no choice but to grow thick skin early and accept these images as our history. However, now that all of America seems to be opening their eyes to systemic and generational racism in our country, each passing day seems to be an important opportunity to share how we feel, what we need and how racism can be ended once and for all. I obviously do not have the answers on how we do this, but just like any movement, I believe it starts at the grassroots and 1:1 level. If you have black coworkers/colleagues/friends that you GENUINELY care about, let them know that you care about them and that you are there for them. Try to educate yourself through various articles and book recommendations about the Civil Rights Movement, the prison industrial complex and systemic racism. Be an ally, and not just on social media, but in your everyday life. As we continue to move forward, I hope everyone continues to pay attention long after the hashtags and statements go away and something else comes along to take the nation’s focus. I hope that everyone seeks out frank and honest conversations with those they care about whether they are black, white or any color. I believe this is our best opportunity to create long lasting change, and I hope in 2020 we can take advantage of this opportunity. Marcus Bishop is in second year on the America East staff as Assistant Director, Operations & Championships. Are you a current or former America East student-athlete, coach or administrator interested in sharing your own story as part of the AE Voices series? Contact America East Associate Commissioner Sean Tainsh (tainsh@americaeast.com).