An Open Discussion– ‘The Killing of George Floyd and Malcolm X’s Oxford Union Debate’
By Maura Purnama, Nikki Jennings
Almost 50 countries have taken to the streets to protest, fighting for the equality and safety of Black people since the death of George Floyd on May 25th. To provide a platform for discussion surrounding the movement, Webster Leiden held an event titled ‘The Killing of George Floyd and Malcolm X’s Oxford Union Debate’, open to Webster students, alumni and faculty from across the globe.
Dr. Jean-Paul van Marissing, the director of the Webster Leiden campus, opened with a brief history of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights movement. He mentioned that Malcolm X sparked his personal interest in learning about the systemic discrimination towards African Americans. Marissing emphasized the importance of education as a tool for correcting people’s mindset. The group proceeded to watch Malcolm X’s 1964 Oxford University Union Debate. In the speech, Malcolm X emphasized how those who are racialist only understand the language of violence.
“Any time you live in a society supposedly based upon law, and it doesn’t enforce its own law because the color of a man’s skin happens to be wrong, then I say those people are justified to resort to any means necessary to bring about justice where the government can’t give them justice” - Malcolm X
A thought-provoking discussion followed, guided by two moderators– Academic Director of Webster Leiden, Dr. Sheetal Shah, and Graduate Officer, Naya Pessoa. The guided discussion covered: the power of the media, the BLM movement, and voter suppression in 2020.
When discussing the power of the media during the Black Lives Matter movement, one student described how social media has helped globalize the movement. However, social media is a double-edged sword and more often is used to illustrate a ‘snapshot’ of an event while leaving behind the dense narrative of the story. This brought up the importance of media literacy, an important tool to teach people how to use new media properly.
The second topic centered on the Black Lives Matter movement. Finance Professor Folake Guobadia mentioned the deaths of Treyvon Martin and George Floyd. Guobadia asked the question: Why do these killings continue to happen? She said the answer was implicit bias, a term that describes “a process where you associate a certain behavior to a group of people in society. It develops early in our lifetime, helps us to act accordingly, quickly and subconsciously”. Guobadia mentioned one study found a way to reduce this human rights issue through interracial contact.
Voter suppression in 2020 was the third topic. Faculty member Daniel Russell shared his thoughts on recent voter ID laws and inadequate preparation at the polls. Russell discussed how these forms of suppression often have hidden agendas to suppress the votes of African Americans and a majority of the poorer population. Naya Pessoa added to this by referencing felony disenfranchisement– when anyone convicted of a crime is given a lifetime ban from voting. Pessoa reiterated the systematic layering of obstacles that are forms of voter suppression.
In closing, Dr. Sheetal Shah thanked participants for having the courage to share their perspectives and heartfelt stories. Dr. Jean Paul van Marissing answered the question: Where do we go from here? He explained,
“It is clear that we have a long way to go. We as a global university have a responsibility to participate in and support the Black Lives Matter movement. We have been doing so, and we will continue on this path.”
The discussion provided an open and safe platform for students, staff, and faculty to discuss the power of media, the Black Lives Matter movement, and voter suppression in 2020. Webster University has a long history of supporting and advancing social justice issues. The Webster Leiden campus looks forward to organizing future discussions on the topics of implicit racism, racism as a global issue, and media literacy.
