Why do I see so many white people in MultiCulti?

When I first heard of Urban’s MultiCulti — the student organization that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion within the school — in 8th grade, the image that came to mind was a room full of diverse go-getters who connected with one another through a shared pride of their different cultures. A space where you could look someone in the eye and really see them. Because in elementary school they also had been told their food was gross by a pb&j-eating seven-year-old, or because their parents also left their family behind when they immigrated. An unsaid connection.

This year, I attended my first MultiCulti meeting and learned that the space was different than I imagined. My understanding of the space is more developed now having learned about more complex and layered identities. What constitutes intersectionality, and what identities are welcome in the space, have long been contested. That said, looking around, I still couldn’t ignore the number of white presenting students in the space. In talking to some non-white students, I don’t feel we can see connections with each other in the ways my 13-year-old self would’ve hoped. Is the number of white people in MultiCulti bad? Good? Does it matter? Is it helpful to Urban? I’m not sure there is a correct answer to any of these questions. While this subject makes some uncomfortable, understanding where whiteness fits into MultiCulti is crucial in recognizing white privilege and allyship in and around our school.

Where should the line be in regard to whiteness in MultiCulti?

UNDERSTANDING MULTICULTI

Since Urban’s founding in 1966, equity and inclusion have been crucial in Urban’s mission to educate and enrich high school students. According to Urban’s official Statement on Diversity Inclusion and Equity, “We honor the uniqueness of each individual and embrace diverse backgrounds, values and points of view to build a strong, inclusive community and to prepare students for lives in a multicultural society (Core Value 3).” 44 elected or selected students make up the MultiCulti Leadership Team, partnering with the Dean of Equity & Inclusion, Jason Ernest Feldman, and the Service Learning department chair, Katina Papson-Rigby. Together, they organize and run affinity spaces and events for the Urban community throughout the year.

MultiCulti takes on a three-pronged approach, according to Ernest Feldman. The first prong comes from an administrative standpoint. “It helps the leaders of each affinity, ally/open space sync up on the different programming that we run. So whether that’s like MOU or affinity night, or knowing all of the school-wide events that we do,” said Ernest Feldman. He explained that the main goal is getting everyone on the same page about logistics, emphasizing that the short amount of U1 time is typically allotted for organizing.

Ernest Feldman described the second prong of MultiCulti as fostering growth within the MultiCulti team. He said, “It also serves as its own little affinity space for those leaders who have a very unique experience from anybody who’s attending an affinity space.” It becomes a time when students can bounce ideas off of one another. “They are tasked with this second responsibility to take care of those folks who attend their affinity space, as leaders, as activists and as people who are practicing the skills that are required to be able to hold space for people of marginalized communities,” he said.

MultiCulti member and Black Student Union (BSU) co-leader Jaxon Howard ‘25 shared how he values the internal aspect of the space. “I really appreciate the opportunity to learn how to run an affinity group, because this is my first year doing this type of leadership,” said Howard. “It’s nice to hear what other groups are doing, and why they’re successful or not successful.”

Many students I spoke with questioned how they could be supportive within MultiCulti. Anti-Racist White Privilege Awareness (AWPA) co-leader Page Sparks ‘24 also shared her hopes of getting MultiCulti closer as a group and brought forth an important point about collaboration. She said, “As a space that’s super focused on DEI and centering voices of marginalized groups, how do we make sure that all student leaders and our spaces feel like we can rely on each other for help?”

Ernest Feldman puts emphasis on the big picture: understanding and fulfilling the needs of the Urban community. He said, “Then there’s this third [prong], where MultiCulti is trying to help our community grow… because they have such a beautiful perspective of what marginalized communities are going through at Urban and what they might be saying that they need.” When there is a call for social justice, MultiCulti is just one of many ways our community strives to answer it. “There’s a lot of needs. The needs of the people involved, the people that they serve, of Urban, of the world, right? All of these needs kind of come clashing together in MultiCulti. And this is work that will take years,” he said.

THOUGHTS + FEELINGS

Many affinity space leaders have voiced that they need a version of MultiCulti that is mainly for people of color. Ernest Feldman said, “What I hear is that there is a need for [a] specifically students of color space within MultiCulti… a straight-up just affinity space of people in the room, who do not identify as white because that’s what they would need to feel safe enough to say anything that they want to say.”

Like some of our peers, Howard ‘25 sees that the racial makeup of MultiCulti is complex due to many students’ overlapping identities. “I understand that there’s a lot of intersectionality, like plenty of people are white and something else, like LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent.”

Open Member Tayrn Jones ’25 identifies as white and feels very aware of this strange elephant-in-the-room presence. He reflects that MultiCulti’s makeup may not only be due to intersectional identities but the school as a whole. “It’s always going to feel kind of weird having MultiCulti, which is all about cultural diversity, not seem very diverse. But I think it reflects what our school looks like in terms of diversity, which is a physical reminder of how we need to change as a school and community,” he said. This speaks to systemic inequities of Urban; Urban’s tuition, location and accessibility affect how accessible the school is to a diverse community. Many students who attend Urban have some degree of privilege in their lives, and therefore that reality is reflected in MultiCulti.

However, the DEI leader also sees the importance of white students within the social justice movement. “We need allies as we work towards the goals of equity, inclusion, and belonging,” said Ernest Feldman. He believes MultiCulti can achieve this through creating norms on what being an ally looks like through relationship building, and generally, fostering the understanding within the space that the allies can be trusted. “I think those are the things that we have to reconcile because if we continue to divide ourselves and continue to further marginalize one another, [to move] towards this goal and equity inclusion towards this Northstar centering the marginalizing lens… we all need to do that work together.”

Howard said, “At the same time, when people are selecting their leaders, and when open members are selected, it still has to be kept in mind the fact that we don’t want a space completely populated by white people, that’s dominated by white people talking about diversity… it’s a weird crossing of completely different ideas.”

Sparks ‘24 when considering her place in MultiCulti, she hopes that herself and other AWPA co-leaders can be helpful by making space for others. “When we go into those meetings, it’s really about ‘how we can collaborate with other groups?’ Like less about us as a group and really more about supporting other people. And ‘how can we find a balance?’” She said.

After talking with MultiCulti members, I was able to recognize the importance of allies to a greater extent. “I think it’s important for white people to have a hand in these conversations. It’s not efficient to exclude them from these kinds of conversations, for education[al] reasons, but also because they are allowed to have opinions on topics and stuff like that. It’s just strange that when you look at most roles that can be filled with white people, a white person is leading it,” said Howard ‘25.

In MultiCulti, I believe we need to fundamentally emphasize caring about one another. But it’s just as important to not overshadow both the everyday and systemic struggles that people face navigating Urban and the world. Overarching racial inequalities will continue to exist in every context and beyond. Reminding yourself of that is key. Jones ‘25 said, “I think as a community we try to be supportive of different identities and cultures, but there’s always going to be that layer of ‘I’m white and you’re not so we don’t understand each other or can’t quite understand what you’re going through.’”