Happy Juneteenth BH & Mountainside!! The official signing of Juneteenth as a national holiday marks a year of learning and growth for ourselves and for our communities and we wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on what Unfiltered has meant to us and on everything that's happened. Below you'll find written reflections from Mikayla and Victoria with soundbytes of a conversation with our team interspersed throughout. We cannot thank you enough for your support and for being a part of the Unfiltered community!
Mikayla:
What’s the first question you ask someone when you meet them for the first time? In college I quickly realized how the place or places where a person grows up are so critical in shaping one’s identity. I learned to greet my classmates by asking their name followed by where they are from and where they call home. As I met people in college, I let them know that I was from Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. Prior to June 2020, my mentality about my hometown was much different than it is today. I certainly didn’t go from hating to loving the town I grew up in, or loving to hating it. Instead, I was finally able to see Berkeley Heights in both the areas it lacked as well as in where it thrived, which in turn allowed me to appreciate the place that I call home that much more.
I will never forget June 8, 2020, the day that Berkeley Heights marched for Black Lives to condemn the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and all the other Black Americans that have lost their life as a result of police brutality. It goes without saying that I wish there never had to be a congregation to fight against something that seems inarguably wrong but seeing my neighbors, past teachers, friends, and family members of all different backgrounds come together in solidarity took my breath away and the impact felt by Governor Livingston Alumni including myself, spearheaded the formation of BH Unfiltered.
*Listen about the formation of BH Unfiltered here*
BH Unfiltered has helped me grow as a person more than any class, extracurricular activity, or book ever could have. During our very first ~socially distanced~ meeting at Victoria Vanriele’s house, I knew that we had a special bond, an unmatchable connection that allowed us, as a collective of Black, Latine, and Asian GL alumni to consider questions and feelings that we may have never delved into before. At that dinner, I started to reflect on my upbringing in Berkeley Heights. Was it normal that I walked the hallways and only saw a handful of other students that looked like me? Was it concerning that I had become so accustomed to hearing microaggressions directed at students of marginalized groups and had not batted an eyelid? Why didn’t I say something? Did I even know what microaggressions were? It felt like we were at Victoria’s house all night as we reflected on our common experiences growing up in Berkeley Heights and started to outline our hopes and dreams for whatever group, blog, podcast, organization, or non-profit that was just a figment of our imagination at the time. Looking back at that initial conversation, and our essential goal of creating an open space to discuss “unfiltered” takes on uncomfortable topics, it is mind-blowing to see how far we have come.
*Listen about the goals of BH Unfiltered here*
I think one of the most rewarding aspects of our work with BH Unfiltered has been our dedication to producing informative articles that allow for reflection and discernment among the entire community. Throughout the last year, I know that I, along with other members of Unfiltered, have not only expanded our knowledge on topics such as the history of Juneteenth and the importance of DACA, but also have been able to learn from our viewers and guest writers such as Mrs. Mims who shared their ideas regarding finding their own identities and being members of the Berkeley Heights community. As a community, we learned and grew together as the country was confronted with two pandemics, that of COVID-19 and of systemic racism. It was beautiful to see how much support we received as an organization and it just proves that our community is progressing as a whole as we tackled these unfiltered conversations together.
*Listen about the progress of BH Unfiltered and what we have accomplished here*
Now, as I introduce myself to people I meet at school and tell them where I’m from, I think about the Berkeley Heights community that is beginning to recognize the need for a more diverse school curriculum and staff. I think about being able to talk to friends from home about the same topics I felt comfortable talking to the Unfiltered members about during our first meeting. I think about the Church of the Little Flower inviting us, as well as other individuals of marginalized groups, to reflect on our own identities and set the precedent that hate has no home in our town or in this world. I think about the 2,000 plus people who congregated in Berkeley Heights and kneeled in honor of George Floyd. I think about these same people who heard the emotion in BH Unfiltered Member Victoria Vanriele’s voice during the march as she said, “Black Lives Matter today, tomorrow, and every day after that, we have have to be an active part of the change we want to see, we have the power to change the system, change the future for our later years, our children, and for generations to come.” And finally, I think about the work that still needs to be done.
*Listen about the formation of GLAM here and what happened to it*
Victoria:
I initially saw Unfiltered as a great resource that we created for members of the Berkeley Heights and Mountainside communities to learn about the experiences of minorities in predominantly white towns. However very quickly after its creation, Unfiltered to me became a concrete reason to really learn and understand black history and to delve into a more personal search for the answers to some of the questions I had like why are race relations the way that they are today. I can say, a year later, that I think I benefited more than any reader from Unfiltered. One specific piece I wrote that was really instrumental in broadening my worldview was on the reasons why I was voting in the 2020 presidential election. I turned 18 right before the cutoff for voting registration and I was ecstatic to be able to have the opportunity to vote. It was nothing short of empowering to know that my voice makes a difference on a national scale. The reasons I listed in the article for why I was voting ranged from simply exercising my American right, to declaring that truth matters, to doing it because so many before me gave up their lives to have this right.
Independent of Unfiltered, I watched 16 hours of a PBS documentary on the lives of Africans, African Americans, and the Civil Rights movement. The visual of thousands of slaves in shackles juxtaposed with Barack Obama giving his inauguration address showed me that we have made strides in progress. While that image can be dangerously interpreted as though we’ve entered a post racial society, it ignited in me a sense of hope for the future and pride in how far we have come. In the docuseries, seeing clips of Civil Rights leaders and activists killed while peacefully protesting for the right to vote showed me that history repeats itself, and quite frankly governments can and will do unconstitutional things to stifle the voice of the people out of fear of our collective power. The article I wrote connected what I learned in school to the personal story-based writing I did with Unfiltered to the self-teaching I did to truly further my understanding of the root of racism and hate in this country.
This past year, I immersed myself in American history with a focus on the experiences of people of color, which has shaped the way I see our nation’s trajectory. While I hope Unfiltered will continue to be a useful resource for people in Berkeley Heights, Mountainside, and even around the country, I know it has at least impacted me greatly by widening my perspective on human nature and bigotry, giving me opportunities to share with youth ways to make a tangible change, and filling me with black pride.
*Listen here for one last word of thanks and appreciation from us to you all*
Where to celebrate Juneteenth this year:
Recommended Reads & Media:
-Renegades: Born in the USA podcast (Race in the United States episode)
-Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 by Heather Ann Thompson
-Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
-The Humble Rising Podcast with Arivee Vargas
-The Master Plan by Chris Wilson
-Michelle Obama’s Becoming
-The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee
-The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
-Henry Louis Gates Jr’s PBS documentaryThe African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross