Students at Pomona College were welcomed back to campus this week with posters displayed in the dorms titled “How To Be A Better White Ally.”
The poster, obtained by the Claremont Independent, starts by asking students to “apologize if you’ve offended someone.” It also instructs students to “acknowledge your privilege,” and “understand that you are white, so it is inevitable that you have unconsciously learned racism.”
The poster goes on to say that “your unearned advantage must be acknowledged and your racism unlearned.”
The poster also advises students to “watch their language,” claiming words such as “ghetto,” “sassy,” “riot,” and “exotic” are racially coded and offensive.
“Everyone is problematic and even the most educated and well-intentioned people will screw up,” the sign claims. “Remember, just because POC [person of color] #1 isn’t offended by something, does not mean that POC #2 will not be offended by it either.”
In addition, the poster includes three steps “white allies” should follow:
- Be prepared to make mistakes.
- Listen and apologize.
- Make sure to change.
The poster goes on to claim that “comparing a POC’s situation with some experience of your own is not helpful. You do not & can not understand our oppression!”
The poster concludes with a final piece of advice for white students: “just listen” and “understand that a POC will always understand racism in a way that you cannot – you need to listen to them!”
According to the Claremont Independent, in the past year, Pomona College has held multiple events where whites were not permitted to attend despite a university statement claiming, “discrimination on the basis of race “destroy[s] the foundation for such respect and violate[s] the sense of community vital to the College’s education enterprise.”