I attended the systemic racism zoom lecture and I learned some new information that I had not previously known. The zoom was all about what systemic racism actually was and how people could help to change it by being more aware of it. There was a guest speaker who did this lecture presentation over zoom, and then some students asked him questions at the end. One of the things that stood out to me was that even if someone is not a willing participant in systemic racism, they can still unknowingly contribute through learned biases and attitudes. Additionally, being a passive participant contributes to the standstill and a lack of change. It is only by being an active participant and protesting for change that change can actually occur. Fighting for change is first recognizing that there is an issue, and that it is not just “a few bad apples” that are ruining progress. 

Many people must recognize that something is wrong, and then join each other and do something about that injustice. This new perspective on what others believe is happening in the U.S. is a little bit of a new concept to me. Another thing that I have learned is that although I knew that there was such a thing as people with bad living situations, I didn’t realize that a lot of people of color find that they are in constant fear for their life. Whether it be from the police or where they live, some people can be africa from simply walking home late at night. I hadn’t realized that there was such a large bias in some places in America where police treat people they encounter differently simply based on their skin tone.