Flood Talks White Privilege During Faculty Dialogue Series

The third and final session of the “Faculty Dialogue Series” at Eastern occurred on Nov. 16, with a talk from English Professor Reginald Flood titled “Achieving Racial Equality Through Law and Power.” Reflecting on getting older, Flood joked, “Police don’t bother me anymore,” despite his “blackness.” The same is not the case for his son, however, “who gets pulled over right outside our house on his way home.”

Flood discussed white privilege: “You can’t talk about race as an important issue without talking about whiteness.” He showed photos from pre-Civil Rights America that depicted segregation, with black people standing below signs that read “Colored Waiting Room” or “Colored Entrance.” His lecture also focused on “passing,” an occurrence when light-skinned black people portrayed themselves as white in order to fit into white society. Even though legislation such as Jim Crow laws and affirmative action have been passed, “You can’t legislate morality,” said Flood. “Education is the biggest element of upward mobility.”

The Faculty Dialogue Series provides a space for faculty to share research, performances and books with thecampus community in effort of discussing recent incidents or important trends. Other dialogue sessions of the semester included Professor Allison Speicher’s talk on “The Relationship Between Black Students and White Teachers

Written by Michael Rouleau

Categories: Academics, English