TEDWomen 2017
Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo: What it takes to be racially literate
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Over the last year, Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo traveled to all 50 US states, collecting personal stories about race and intersectionality. Now they're on a mission to equip every American with the tools to understand, navigate and improve a world structured by racial division. In a dynamic talk, Vulchi and Guo pair the personal stories they've collected with research and statistics to reveal two fundamental gaps in our racial literacy -- and how we can overcome them.
Priya Vulchi - Social entrepreneur, student activist
Priya Vulchi is traveling to all US states with her friend Winona Guo, learning and listening to stories about race. Full bioWinona Guo - Social entrepreneur, student activist
Winona Guo is spending her gap year traveling to all US states with her friend Priya Vulchi, learning and listening to stories about race and trying to find innovative ways to tackle inequity. Full bio
Priya Vulchi is traveling to all US states with her friend Winona Guo, learning and listening to stories about race. Full bioWinona Guo - Social entrepreneur, student activist
Winona Guo is spending her gap year traveling to all US states with her friend Priya Vulchi, learning and listening to stories about race and trying to find innovative ways to tackle inequity. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Priya Vulchi: Four years ago,
we really thought we understood racism.
we really thought we understood racism.
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Just like many of you here today,
we had experienced and heard stories
we had experienced and heard stories
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about race, about prejudice,
discrimination and stereotyping
discrimination and stereotyping
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and we were like, "We get it,
racism, we got it, we got it."
racism, we got it, we got it."
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But we weren't even close.
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Winona Guo: So we decided
that we had to listen and learn more.
that we had to listen and learn more.
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We talked to as many
random people as we could
random people as we could
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and collected hundreds
of personal stories about race,
of personal stories about race,
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stories that revealed how racial injustice
is a nationwide epidemic
is a nationwide epidemic
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that we ourselves spread
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and now can't seem
to recognize or get rid of.
to recognize or get rid of.
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PV: We're not there yet.
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Today, we are here to raise
our standards of racial literacy,
our standards of racial literacy,
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to redefine what it means
to be racially literate.
to be racially literate.
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01:00
WG: We want everywhere
across the United States
across the United States
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for our youngest and future generations
to grow up equipped
to grow up equipped
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with the tools to understand,
navigate and improve
navigate and improve
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a world structured by racial division.
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01:12
We want us all to imagine
the community as a place
the community as a place
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where we not only feel proud
of our own backgrounds,
of our own backgrounds,
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but can also invest in others'
experiences as if they were our own.
experiences as if they were our own.
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PV: We just graduated
from high school this past June.
from high school this past June.
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WG: And you'd think --
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01:28
(Applause)
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And you'd think after 12 years
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somebody in or out of the classroom
would have helped us understand --
would have helped us understand --
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PV: At a basic level at least --
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WG: The society we live in.
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PV: The truth for almost
all our classmates is that they don't.
all our classmates is that they don't.
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WG: In communities around our country,
so many of which are racially divided,
so many of which are racially divided,
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PV: If you don't go searching
for an education about race,
for an education about race,
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for racial literacy --
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WG: You won't get it.
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It won't just come to you.
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PV: Even when we did
have conversations about race,
have conversations about race,
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our understanding was always superficial.
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We realized that there are two big gaps
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in our racial literacy.
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WG: First, the heart gap:
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an inability to understand
each of our experiences,
each of our experiences,
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to fiercely and unapologetically
be compassionate beyond lip service.
be compassionate beyond lip service.
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PV: And second, the mind gap:
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an inability to understand the larger,
systemic ways in which racism operates.
systemic ways in which racism operates.
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WG: First, the heart gap.
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To be fair, race did pop up
a few times in school, growing up.
a few times in school, growing up.
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We all defend our social justice education
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because we learned
about Martin Luther King Jr.
about Martin Luther King Jr.
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and Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks.
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02:47
But even in all of those conversations,
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race always felt outdated, like,
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"Yes, slavery, that happened
once upon a time,
once upon a time,
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but why does it really matter now?"
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As a result, we didn't really care.
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But what if our teacher introduced
a story from the present day,
a story from the present day,
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for example, how Treniya
told us in Pittsburgh that --
told us in Pittsburgh that --
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PV: "My sister was scrolling through
Facebook and typed in our last name.
Facebook and typed in our last name.
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03:13
This white guy popped up,
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and we found out that his
great-great-grandfather owned slaves
great-great-grandfather owned slaves
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and my great-great-
great-grandmother was one of them.
great-grandmother was one of them.
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My last name -- it's not who I am.
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We've been living
under a white man's name.
under a white man's name.
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If slavery didn't happen,
who would I even be?"
who would I even be?"
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WG: Now it feels relevant, immediate,
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because the connection to slavery's
lasting legacy today is made clear, right?
lasting legacy today is made clear, right?
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Or what would happen is our teacher
would throw out these cold statistics.
would throw out these cold statistics.
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You've probably seen this one before
in news headlines.
in news headlines.
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PV: African-Americans are incarcerated
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more than five times
the rate of white people.
the rate of white people.
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WG: Now consider Ronnie, in Seattle.
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PV: "My father means everything to me.
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He's all I've got, I don't know my mother.
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My father's currently being
wrongly incarcerated for 12 years.
wrongly incarcerated for 12 years.
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I've got a daughter, and I try to be
that same fatherly figure for her:
that same fatherly figure for her:
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always involved in everything she does,
it might even be annoying at some points.
it might even be annoying at some points.
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But I'm afraid I'll go missing in her life
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just like my father did in mine."
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WG: Throwing out just the statistic,
just the facts alone,
just the facts alone,
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disconnected from real humans,
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can lead to dangerously incomplete
understanding of those facts.
understanding of those facts.
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It fails to recognize that for many people
who don't understand racism
who don't understand racism
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the problem is not a lack of knowledge
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to talk about the pain
of white supremacy and oppression,
of white supremacy and oppression,
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it's that they don't recognize
that that pain exists at all.
that that pain exists at all.
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They don't recognize the human beings
that are being affected,
that are being affected,
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and they don't feel enough to care.
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PV: Second, the mind gap.
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We can't ignore the stats, either.
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We can't truly grasp Ronnie's situation
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without understanding how things
like unjust laws and biased policing
like unjust laws and biased policing
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systematic racism has created
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the disproportionate
incarceration rates over time.
incarceration rates over time.
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Or like how in Honolulu,
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the large prison population
of native Hawaiians like Kimmy
of native Hawaiians like Kimmy
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is heavily influenced
by the island's long history
by the island's long history
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with US colonialization,
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it's impact passing down
through generations to today.
through generations to today.
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For us, sometimes we would talk
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about people's personal,
unique experiences in the classroom.
unique experiences in the classroom.
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Stuff like, how Justin once told us --
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WG: "I've been working on psychologically
reclaiming my place in this city.
reclaiming my place in this city.
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Because for me, my Chicago
isn't the nice architecture downtown,
isn't the nice architecture downtown,
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it's not the North Side.
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My Chicago is the orange line,
the pink line, the working immigrant class
the pink line, the working immigrant class
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going on the train."
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PV: And while we might have
acknowledged his personal experience,
acknowledged his personal experience,
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we wouldn't have talked
about how redlining
about how redlining
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and the legalized segregation of our past
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created the racially divided
neighborhoods we live in today.
neighborhoods we live in today.
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We wouldn't have completely understood
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how racism is embedded in the framework
of everything around us,
of everything around us,
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because we would stay narrowly focused
on people's isolated experiences.
on people's isolated experiences.
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Another example,
Sandra in DC once told us:
Sandra in DC once told us:
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WG: "When I'm with my Korean family,
I know how to move with them.
I know how to move with them.
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I know what to do in order to have them
feel like I care about them.
feel like I care about them.
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And making and sharing food
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is one of the most fundamental
ways of showing love.
ways of showing love.
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When I'm with my partner
who's not Korean, however,
who's not Korean, however,
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we've had to grapple with the fact
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that I'm very food-centric
and he's just not.
and he's just not.
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One time he said that he didn't
want to be expected
want to be expected
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to make food for me,
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and I got really upset."
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PV: That might seem like a weird reaction,
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but only if we don't recognize
how it's emblematic of something larger,
how it's emblematic of something larger,
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something deeper.
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Intragenerational trauma.
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How in Sandra's family,
widespread hunger and poverty
widespread hunger and poverty
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existed as recently
as Sandra's parents' generation
as Sandra's parents' generation
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and therefore impacts Sandra today.
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She experiences someone saying --
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WG: "I don't want to feed you."
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PV: As --
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WG: "I don't want to hug you."
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PV: And without her and her partner
having that nuanced understanding
having that nuanced understanding
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of her reaction and the historical
context behind it,
context behind it,
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it could easily lead
to unnecessary fighting.
to unnecessary fighting.
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That's why it's so important
that we proactively --
that we proactively --
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(Both speaking): Co-create --
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PV: A shared American culture
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that identifies and embraces
the different values and norms
the different values and norms
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within our diverse communities.
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WG: To be racially literate --
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PV: To understand who we are
so that we can heal together --
so that we can heal together --
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WG: We cannot neglect the heart --
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PV: Or the mind.
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So, with our hundreds of stories,
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we decided to publish
a racial literacy textbook
a racial literacy textbook
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to bridge that gap
between our hearts and minds.
between our hearts and minds.
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WG: Our last book, "The Classroom Index,"
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shares deeply personal stories.
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PV: And pairs those personal stories
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to the brilliant research
of statisticians and scholars.
of statisticians and scholars.
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WG: Every day, we are still
blown away by people's experiences,
blown away by people's experiences,
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by the complexity
of our collective racial reality.
of our collective racial reality.
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PV: So today, we ask you --
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WG: Are you racially literate?
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Are you there yet?
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PV: Do you really understand
the people around you,
the people around you,
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their stories, stories like these?
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It's not just knowing
that Louise from Seattle
that Louise from Seattle
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survived Japanese American
internment camps.
internment camps.
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It's knowing that, meanwhile,
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her husband was one of an estimated
33,000 Japanese Americans
33,000 Japanese Americans
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who fought for our country during the war,
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a country that was simultaneously
interning their families.
interning their families.
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For most of us, those Japanese Americans
both in camps and in service,
both in camps and in service,
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now see their bravery, their resilience,
their history forgotten.
their history forgotten.
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They've become only victims.
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PV: It's not just knowing
that interracial marriages
that interracial marriages
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like Shermaine and Paul in DC exist,
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it's acknowledging that our society
has been programmed for them to fail.
has been programmed for them to fail.
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That on their very first date
someone shouted,
someone shouted,
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"Why are you with that black whore?"
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That according to a Columbia study
on cis straight relationships
on cis straight relationships
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black is often equated with masculinity
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and Asian with femininity,
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leading more men to not value black women
and to fetishize Asian women.
and to fetishize Asian women.
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Among black-white marriages
in the year 2000,
in the year 2000,
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73 percent had a black husband
and a white wife.
and a white wife.
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Paul and Shermaine defy that statistic.
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Black is beautiful,
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but it takes a lot to believe so
once society says otherwise.
once society says otherwise.
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WG: It's not just knowing
that white people like Lisa in Chicago
that white people like Lisa in Chicago
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have white privilege,
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it's reflecting consciously
on the term whiteness and its history,
on the term whiteness and its history,
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knowing that whiteness
can't be equated with American.
can't be equated with American.
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It's knowing that Lisa can't forget
her own personal family's history
her own personal family's history
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of Jewish oppression.
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That she can't forget how, growing up,
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she was called a dirty Jew
with horns and tails.
with horns and tails.
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But Lisa knows she can pass as white
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so she benefits from huge systemic
and interpersonal privileges,
and interpersonal privileges,
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and so she spends every day
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grappling with ways that she can
leverage that white privilege
leverage that white privilege
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for social justice.
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For example, starting conversations
with other people of privilege about race.
with other people of privilege about race.
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Or shifting the power
in her classroom to her students
in her classroom to her students
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by learning to listen to their experiences
of racism and poverty.
of racism and poverty.
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PV: It's not just knowing
that native languages are dying.
that native languages are dying.
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It's appreciating how fluency
in the Cherokee language,
in the Cherokee language,
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which really only less
than 12,000 people speak today,
than 12,000 people speak today,
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is an act of survival,
of preservation of culture and history.
of preservation of culture and history.
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It's knowing how
the nongendered Cherokee language
the nongendered Cherokee language
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enabled Ahyoka's acceptance
as a trans woman
as a trans woman
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in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
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Her grandmother told her firmly
a saying in Cherokee,
a saying in Cherokee,
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"I don't tell me who you are,
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you tell me who you are.
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And that is who you are."
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WG: These are just parts of a few stories.
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There are approximately
323 million people in the United States.
323 million people in the United States.
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PV: And 7.4 billion people on the planet.
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WG: So we have a lot to listen to.
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PV: And a lot to learn.
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WG: We need to raise the bar.
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PV: Elevate our standards
for racial literacy.
for racial literacy.
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Because without investing
in an education that values --
in an education that values --
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WG: Both the stories --
PV: And statistics --
PV: And statistics --
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WG: The people --
PV: And the numbers --
PV: And the numbers --
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WG: The interpersonal --
PV: And the systemic --
PV: And the systemic --
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WG: There will always be a piece missing.
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PV: Today, so few of us
understand each other.
understand each other.
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WG: We don't know how to communicate --
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PV: Live together --
WG: Love one another.
WG: Love one another.
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We need to all work together
to create a new national community.
to create a new national community.
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PV: A new shared culture
of mutual suffering and celebration.
of mutual suffering and celebration.
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WG: We need to each begin by learning
in our own local communities,
in our own local communities,
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bridging the gaps between
our own hearts and minds
our own hearts and minds
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to become racially literate.
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PV: Once we all do,
we will be that much closer
we will be that much closer
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to living in spaces and systems
that fight and care equally for all of us.
that fight and care equally for all of us.
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WG: Then, none of us
will be able to remain distant.
will be able to remain distant.
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PV: We couldn't -- sorry,
mom and dad, college can wait.
mom and dad, college can wait.
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WG: We're on a gap year before college,
traveling to all 50 states
traveling to all 50 states
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collecting stories for our next book.
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PV: And we still have 23 states
left to interview in.
left to interview in.
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(Both) Let's all get to work.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Priya Vulchi - Social entrepreneur, student activistPriya Vulchi is traveling to all US states with her friend Winona Guo, learning and listening to stories about race.
Why you should listen
For a collective future of racial justice, we must educate and empower our young generation now. Yet, the first time 18-year-olds Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo were required to talk about race in school was the 10th grade.
That same year, Vulchi co-founded CHOOSE with Guo to equip us all with the tools we lack to both talk about race and act toward systemic change. Their latest publication, a racial literacy textbook and toolkit for educators called The Classroom Index, has been recognized by Princeton University's Prize in Race Relations & Not in Our Town's Unity Award, featured in Teen Vogue, the Philadelphia Inquirer, & the Huffington Post, and called a “social innovation more necessary than the iPhone” by Professor Ruha Benjamin. Currently on a gap year before attending Princeton University, Vulchi and Guo have been traveling to all US states collecting hundreds of powerful stories about race, culture, and intersectionality for another book to be released in spring 2019. Follow their journey on princetonchoose.org or @princetonchoose on Instagram and Facebook.
Priya Vulchi | Speaker | TED.com
Winona Guo - Social entrepreneur, student activist
Winona Guo is spending her gap year traveling to all US states with her friend Priya Vulchi, learning and listening to stories about race and trying to find innovative ways to tackle inequity.
Why you should listen
For a collective future of racial justice, we must educate and empower our young generation now. Yet, the first time 18-year-olds Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi were required to talk about race in school was the 10th grade.
That same year, Guo co-founded CHOOSE with Vulchi to equip us all with the tools we lack to both talk about race and act toward systemic change. Their latest publication, a racial literacy textbook and toolkit for educators called The Classroom Index, has been recognized by Princeton University's Prize in Race Relations & Not in Our Town's Unity Award, featured in Teen Vogue, the Philadelphia Inquirer, & the Huffington Post, and called a “social innovation more necessary than the iPhone” by Professor Ruha Benjamin. Currently on a gap year before attending Harvard University, Guo and Vulchi have been traveling to all US states collecting hundreds of powerful stories about race, culture, and intersectionality for another book to be released in spring 2019. Follow their journey on princetonchoose.org or @princetonchoose on Instagram and Facebook.
Winona Guo | Speaker | TED.com