People. We’re all equal. The differences within each of us make us unique and special. We all have a voice and that voice deserves to be heard.
Enter Mia McKenzie.
With her “hella” rambunctious personality and on-the-edge dialogue, she combines a unique perspective from someone who sees the constant racism and sexism that is pushed every day by our society.
As the founding editor and editor-in-chief of the blog, Black Girl Dangerous, McKenzie has a strong outreach among people who need their voice heard.
On Wednesday, McKenzie gave a speech about the oppression marginalized people deal with every single day. McKenzie talked about all the problems existing within a society that continues to further inequality, despite the overwhelming amount of people that seem to think this oppression has disappeared.
“One (person’s) incredibly offensive jibberish is another (person’s) ideology,” she said. “Nothing you say is going to change that, but you might spend a lot of time and energy trying. Time and energy that can be much better spent on much better things. Much better things that don’t get the time and energy they deserve and require because we are too busy being distracted by the lackadaisically ignorant.”
Lydia Weiss, the educational program coordinator of the Women’s Resource Center, talked about the importance of Mia McKenzie and what she brings to MSU.
“She’s interested in how race, gender, and sexuality impact and influence our life on a daily basis. It’s really important for people to be having these conversations because racism and sexism is still happening today,” she said. “People say racism isn’t happening and that’s completely untrue. Black men and women have higher numbers of police brutality. Bringing Mia McKenzie to MSU is having part of that dialogue.”
This event was part of the ongoing Project 60/50 movement that MSU has continued to push across campus during 2014.
Denzel McCampbell, a program assistant with the LBGT Resource Center, talked about how important it is for marginalized students to have a place where they are comfortable.
“It’s important for us to support and build communities for those groups,” he said. “They’re really not seen as much as they should be and their voices need to be heard too.”
Journalism sophomore Jalen Walker thought McKenzie approached the sensitive topics the right way.
“I think it was great that she spoke on a lot of topics that a lot of people are scared to talk about,” he said. “She said it in such a blunt way, but it was bluntly respectful. So I think it was great for people of all backgrounds to hear it. I think more things should be done like this on campus...to raise more awareness.”
