Building a life on shared experience
“…and so they had learned something from each other, you know, and shared something. And that's important.”
With Voices True is an archive of personal narratives on race.
In partnership with the John W. Gallivan Program in Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy and University of Notre Dame Archives, the Klau Center seeks to give voice to the Notre Dame community on issues of race and racial identity. Through written, spoken, or visual stories, our community reflects on how we experience race, how it shapes our lives, and how we navigate relationships within it.
We invite every member of the Notre Dame community to participate.
The Klau Center seeks to advance the God-given dignity of all human persons through transformative education, innovative research, and meaningful engagement with students and with the broader community.
2020 Snapshot Summary Video (5:01)
From "Building Bridges" and "Facing Stereotypes" through "Understanding Others," the 2020 story archive reveals a wide range of perspectives and points of concern around race and belonging.
Stories from the Year
Below are highlights from the stories collected in With Voices True. This digest can be used in classrooms or discussion groups, as a tool for promoting conversation and discovery.
Full stories are housed in Hesburgh Library Archives, where it serves as a tool for research. Access to the archive can be arranged by contacting Angela Fritz at afritz@nd.edu.
Connecting the past with the present
“…racism is one of those things that fades and you think it's getting better, and then it rears its head.”
Challenging racial stereotypes
"I use every moment that I can with the kids as a teaching opportunity.”
Appreciating the diversity of experience
“…you can't tell people their experiences with race aren't valid, because everybody's experience with race is completely different than somebody else's.”
Taking time to consider the other
“And when they hear other people's stories of their experience, a light bulb goes off, and oh, that's what it is…”
Bringing a world view
“I think everybody - at least you should be more curious and not treat other people like an alien if we're not an American.”
Framing a positive story
“But what's even better is… they get to create a story that's never ever existed here on campus.”
Fighting for identity
“This is something that I've dealt with most of my life, and the fact that people trivialize it is - that's also what kind of annoys me too.”
Balancing perspectives
“I don't know if people just wanted to be nicer as a response, at least people who probably don't support that rhetoric, that kind of a statement.”
Facing harsh realities
"The fact that nothing happened to either the man who killed Trayvon or the man who killed Michael just…I don't know, it made me really upset."
Confronting the complexities of race
“I was called a settler of color once and it still hits me really hard to think about the complexity of that concept.”
Bridging the divide
"We need to learn and we need to listen to other people and their stories, and we can't just avoid other people because they're different from us because we're too scared to talk to them..."
Exploring the possibilities of a "melting pot"
"For example, the guy who lives next to me is from Mexico, and I think that just experiencing, interacting with people from different places has helped me have a better understanding of what he's from."
Seeking common ground
"I have a lot of very interesting conversations about race with my freshman and which...really stemmed out of me growing comfortable with the people that weren't like me."
Bringing himself to the role
"I don't need you to be my voice, I just need you to pass the mic that you're hoarding right now."
Thinking about the people around us
"I think a lot of people kind of assume that people are ignorant because they want to be. I think sometimes people are ignorant because they don't have any other exposure to anything."
Experiencing the culture of separateness
"But over time I would say in the span of an hour that table became what my friend called an ethnic table. It was just me, the Asian kid, and the black kids."
Taking a step beyond bias
" I think we all have fear of engaging in conversation with another group of people or raise whatever we want to describe the categories as."
Making an effort to be seen
"...if you're an international student, if you're a black student, if you're an Asian student, you are an Asian student first. You have that adjective that comes first..."
Seeking diversity of viewpoint
"Why should you care if you're with 10 black people versus 10 white people? I don't think that's what counts."
Finding a place to share viewpoints
"It is really nice having someone, having people that you can talk to who kind of know what you’re doing or what you’re going through I guess."
Looking for a genuine commitment to diversity
"You can diversify campus all you want, but if people don't feel included, we're not making progress. Diversity is being invited to the party, but inclusion is being asked to dance."
Confronting the national discourse on campus
"I never felt like I was in any danger, but then after the 2016 election, it was just like, will I be told this on my way to class? In my class?"
Navigating moments of tension
"...and, you know, a kid said, like he was talking about the St. Mary’s shuttle and he was just like, “Yeah, like, St. Mary’s girls...they’re kind of part of Notre Dame...it’s like the 3⁄5 Compromise.” And it just got like dead silent in the room."