Interview : Dr. Shawn Utsey

Last week I met with Dr. Shawn Utsey, the chair of the African-American Studies Department here at VCU, to discuss whiteness and the focus of his studies. Dr. Utsey, who is also a professor in the Psychology department, aims his research at studying the psychological and physical effects of race-related issues on African-Americans. Having heard him speak at the Jean 6 open forum, I knew Dr. Utsey would be great to talk to about whiteness.
Originally I was hesitant to contact him in fear of speaking inappropiately, appearing uneducated about my topic, or even offending him. But i desperately needed to talk to someone who was an expert on race-relations, to confirm that I was making sense of all the information I had obtained. Also, this was also the first time I had discussed my project with someone
who saw and was aware of, the other side of whiteness, the point of view in which many, if not most white people struggle to understand.
Dr. Utsey was very welcoming, willing to answer my questions and openly discuss my concerns. The meeting started with Dr. Utsey casually talking about studies and research on whiteness. At the beginning of his teaches as the head of the department, Dr. Utsey taught a race-relation class that talked a bit about whiteness. He said he found it incredibly difficult to teach and explain whiteness as an African-American male, because white students would feel as if Dr. Utsey was overanaylizing situations - that whiteness was something created by African-Americans in search of sympathy and pity. He also realized that in being the chair of the department, teaching this class created an awkward relationship between himself and the students before he had even established a relationship with them. After teaching the class, students felt guarded with him and a bit defensive, especially some white students, who felt he was pointing the finger at them, blaiming them for racism. He no longer teaches the class for that very reason. It is now taught by a white female.
Interestlying enough, even with the reaction he recieved from his students while teaching whiteness, Dr. Utsey felt that it was harder for a white person to inform white people about whiteness then for a black person to. He talked about the issue in which white people tend to feel more comfortable around other white people - that they can open up to them, that all white people have an understanding with one another about how they feel about African-Americans. And when one of their fellow white friends tries to address and explain whiteness, they react shocked, because that person is not black, they're white - so how do they know? Dr. Utsey believes it's harder to hear something about your race, from someone of else of that race.
I explained to him my intent in trying to expose whiteness to people who are not aware of it - in wanting to make people think about their everyday environment, the underlying white power within, and to perhaps evaluate their lives and consider the reasons for why they are where they are at today. He cautioned me to not approach the issue in an aggressive manner. If I were to start pointing the finger at people, saying, "see! see! You do this! You've probably thought that, or said that!" Then I wouldn't be successful in reaching my audience. I need to make a suddle approach in which I don't come off accusatorily.
I also asked Dr. Utsey about the "dots" I was working on. I told him my concerns about the images no longer being honest because I started to seek out places that I thought would be predominately black or white. But he told me not be afraid of having bias in my work - that it's personal and also about my own discovery of whiteness, and that in my assumptions or generalizations of picking these specific places, I would find honesty.
The most important thing Dr. Utsey told me was to not be afraid. I told him that when I informed some people I was meeting with him, they questioned me, asking, " Are you sure that's a good idea? Don't you think it's wrong to single him out because he's black?"
He said to not give in to the fear of others. That it's okay to make mistakes because I'll learn from them. The most important thing in understanding race-related issues is accepting and acknowledging my white privledge. That if everyone could just be aware of that, it would be enough. Dr. Utsey gave me the encouragement and confidence I needed to continue my efforts and help me move past my initial hesitancies.