Race and politics became an issue in West Virginia after May's Democratic primary vote, and universities throughout the state decided to address the image the state received because of it.
Statewide media personalities, scholars and community leaders led discussions on race, politics and stereotypes in West Virginia at a conference Saturday sponsored by Marshall University, West Virginia State University and West Virginia Wesleyan College.
Members of the panel discussed the role racism plays in West Virginia politics and what can be done to stop prejudice and negative stereotypes portrayed in the state. Faculty members decided to discuss the role and relationships of race and politics after it was determined by the national media that racial concerns were the primary explanation for the results of the Democratic primary election.
"A group of faculty were very distressed over that perception because in our many years of teaching in West Virginia, we have not found that to be the case," said Marybeth Beller, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts at
Marshall and conference coordinator. "We approached presidents of three universities and asked if they felt that this issue was important enough that they would sponsor a discussion."
Gail Mosby, chairwoman of the Department of Sociology and Philosophy at West Virginia State University, said the conference was important because it seems to be on the minds of voters across the state.
"Despite the fact we are in the 21st century, race is still the most divisive factor in this country," Mosby said. "There are so many issues associated with race, and West Virginia is sometimes stereotyped as a racist state and this kind of conference is necessary just to deal with some of those issues."
While panelists may not have agreed to what extent racism affects politics, Shari Clarke, vice president for Multicultural Affairs at Marshall, said communication is the first step to help with understanding each other, regardless of race.
"To begin to address the issues of racism, we need to start with self-reflection, and from self-reflection we need to able to move toward communicating with each other," Clarke said.
Although at times discussion among panelists and audience members were heated, Beller said the conference was a success in opening the door to an important topic.
"Our hope is that the conference was not an end point, but a beginning, and that people would leave the conference and return to their communities, their civic organizations, their religious organizations to continue this discussion," Beller said.
Jessica Wintz can be contacted at wintz@marshall.edu.
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