Month: May 2021

I believe that the town of Ralston would be greatly benefited by the addition of a Peace and Justice Center, similar to the Peace & Justice Center of Vermont. As a nonprofit organization, the Peace and Justice Center would serve to educate the citizens of Ralston on issues of race, sexuality, and justice. Marginalized members of Ralston will be encouraged to teach classes about their cultures, both online and in person. Additionally, there will be classes for other members of the community to become certified to teach their own classes. As Ralston itself is a very diverse town in comparison to the rest of Vermont, it seems important to create a space for its white citizens to educate themselves on the many different cultures present in their community. Not only does this align the community’s values of inclusion and acceptance, but it provides a means for citizens to challenge their own inner biases and expand their understanding of the different people around them. By spreading information and understanding, the diverse culture of Ralston will be preserved and made more comfortable in their own home.

This organization inevitably leads to a discussion of centered whiteness as discussed in class and the glossary provided. The creation of the Ralston Peace and Justice Center will likely prompt the non-white and other marginalized members of Ralston to join and help teach their culture, as the Peace and Justice Center specializes in addressing racism and ignorance in the community. In doing so, it will allow for marginalized voices in the community to gain attention as opposed to the white voices that are heard in places such as Vermont where the population is majorly white. The Peace and Justice Center will allow for non-white people to share their experiences and their knowledge to create a space for themselves in the community, and therefore will allow for a further de-centering of whiteness in Ralston than the systems already in place.