Serazio, Michael

English

epublications@Marquette

Conversations on Jesuit Higher EducationVolume 51 Article 8February 2017Making Micro-Aggressions Visible: An Interviewwith Kiyun KimMichael SerazioFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversationsRecommended CitationSerazio, Michael (2017) "Making Micro-Aggressions Visible: An Interview with Kiyun Kim," Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education:Vol. 51 , Article 8.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol51/iss1/816 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION                                                                                                                                          In recent years, a renewed awarenessof the power of language and repre-sentation has taken hold on collegecampuses. Syllabi now feature “trig-ger warnings,” the advance notice ofpotentially disturbing content, while“safe spaces” are being established toprovide public shelter for those suf-fering from emotional trauma. A re-lated term in this emerging lexicon ofsensitivity is “micro-aggressions”:those daily insults and indignitiesthat students of lesser demographicprivilege endure – deeply felt, butoften under the radar of a culturemore attuned to the overt racial hos-tilities of earlier eras (of which many,too, persist). When Kiyun Kim, a re-cent Fordham graduate, documentedsome of these micro-aggressions ex-perienced by her fellow students, herphoto series went viral and the na-tional media took notice: coveragefollowed in The New York Times, NewYork magazine, The Huffington Post,and Buzzfeed, among other outlets.She shared her perspective on theproject with Conversations magazinein a Q & A dialogue – a fitting format,perhaps, given that the ethic of empa-thy solicited by her subjects requiresus hearing about difficult conversa-tions in their own words.How did you develop the idea for the project and what were you hoping itmight accomplish?I created this series in 2013 during mysophomore year in college. I had beenlearning (and am still learning) aboutracism and how it operates in the U.S.And, as a woman of color, I don’t thinkit’s a huge mystery why I’m so pas-sionate about it. As part of an art final,I had to “create something honest.” Ihad been thinking of making a pieceabout my opinions on racism for awhile and I thought this was the per-fect opportunity. What’s not honestabout personal experiences of racism? Is there a reason you emphasize “in theU.S.” when you discuss race/racism withyour series?There are aspects of racism that arewidespread globally – white su-premacy and anti-blackness are presentacross many cultures. However, I donot want to imply that the way racismshows up in the U.S. is the same acrossthe globe – I feel that kind of thinkingcan creep towards cultural imperialismand western hegemony.What did you think when the photo seriesgot circulated by major websites? How didyou feel about the subsequent coverage of it?When I posted the series on my Tum-blr, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hopeᘢ⬪?⠁ᘪ␱⼅??⠱☲㈪⼮㈁Ἢ㈪⌬?An Interview with Kiyun KimBy Michael Serazio1Serazio: Making Micro-Aggressions Visible: An Interview with Kiyun KimPublished by e-Publications@Marquette, 2017                                                                                                                                                                                                               17that it would go viral. I was proud ofmy work and wanted it to reach alarge audience, and I thought Tumblrwas as great place to try to do thatsince there’s a large platform of socialjustice-oriented people on there. I’mgrateful that I was able to communi-cate to many people through the se-ries. There were people who agreedwith the message and understood myintentions, and there were peoplewho thought I was making a big dealout of nothing. But I think the factthat the project became so widespreadshowed the growing awareness ofracism in this country.How would you – and/or your pho-tographed subjects – define micro-aggres-sions? How can a big institution like aJesuit university – or just individualswithin it – try to address this problem?I believe micro-aggressions are only asymptom of a larger problem –racism. Yet many of us are not chal-lenging or even naming this problem,and one of the ways it manifests itselfis through these passive comments.We first have to come to an under-standing of what racism really is if wewant to start making progress. Manypeople still hold the belief that racismonly works at an individual level andthat racists are only those who ac-tively hate and blatantly discriminateagainst people of color (e.g., the KuKlux Klan). This is a common thoughtespecially among white people be-cause it allows them to avoid con-fronting their own prejudices. Thetruth is that racism never went away– it only evolved. It just became morequiet and subtle. For generations,racism has been taught, consciouslyand subconsciously. We have to ad-dress that racism works on the macro(systemic, institutional) and micro(personal, individual) level. Institu-tions like a university should requiresocial justice courses or, at the veryleast, provide access to informationand resources about racism.Finally, it seemed like there was a range ofexpressions on the faces of the students inyour photo essay – does that reflect the rangeof emotional reactions to the aggressions?There were subjects who asked mewhat kind of facial expression theyshould make, but I didn’t really havean answer for them. I told them thatthe expression they make is completelyup to them – all I asked for was forthem to be looking into the camera.       I did hope that I would end upwith a range of facial expressions –what I didn’t want was a series ofphotos with everyone wearing thesame blank, dull expression. Not onlywould that have been boring to lookat, but also I didn’t think that wouldcommunicate the complex range ofemotions we feel in regard to micro-aggressions. We might get offended,angry, or annoyed – the obvious nega-tive reactions. But there are also timeswhen we feel disappointed, speech-less, baffled, confused, shocked.Sometimes we just want to laugh be-cause of how ridiculous or ignorant acomment is. I also enjoyed the diverserange of emotions because it broughtout the individuality of each subject.Kiyun Kim’s additional micro-aggres-sion portraits featured at  http://nortonism.tumblr.com/Kiyun Kim graduated from FordhamUniversity with a B.A. in visual arts in2016. Michael Serazio is an assistant professor of communication at BostonCollege and a member of the NationalSeminar on Jesuit Higher Education.2Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, Vol. 51, Iss. 1 [2017], Art. 8http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol51/iss1/8

Making Micro-Aggressions Visible: An Interview with Kiyun Kim

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Making Micro-Aggressions Visible: An Interview with Kiyun Kim

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