Racial Discrimination

Special thanks to Shaun Jones for his personal testimony and insight. It takes a village.

Debate, at its core, promises to be a forum for voices from every background and demographic to share their thoughts and express their ideas. It is an indiscriminately battle of wits; each round is a fresh start that pits two unique perspectives against each other. In the process, we educate ourselves about the harsh and often overlooked realities of today and train ourselves to be the policymakers of tomorrow. Poverty, inequality, corruption—it is through debate which we discover how to best overcome these challenges. Yet, beneath debate’s outward championing of equality and policy changes lies a long history of exclusion through systemic racism which has poisoned its very essence.

“Poisoned” is not a term used lightly, nor a metaphor for debate’s current state: it’s a literal description of the effect systemic racism has on our activity. Of course, no one wants to be racist (in most cases), but sometimes we offend others without even realizing it. Racism has ingrained itself into so many aspects of our lives that we don’t even notice when we label people by stereotype. In debate, this takes form when black debaters are constantly assumed to be afropess debaters, and even worse, are asked for permission by the other team of non-black debaters if they can read it in future rounds. Beyond just stereotypes, our internalized prejudices lead us to act differently around different groups. Black debaters regularly notice people around them talking differently in their presence, and no matter how “subtle” others think it is, black debaters can tell when individuals put on a “black-ccent” around them. There’s no justification for this behavior; it's not hard to just talk normally and not try to “fit in.”

This behavior isn’t always just limited to students either. When examining the circuit a little closely, it is easy to see that there are a number of older coaches and judges on the circuit with questionable racial attitudes. Some are better at hiding it than others, but evidence of discrimination exists within each RFD and in-person interaction. 

Worst of all, when these hurtful things occur, it is incredibly hard for black debaters to call them out. These forms of racism are subtle and unverifiable after-the-fact, and as a result black debaters feel isolated and unheard. Overall, these aforementioned behaviors, no matter how small, culminate into a nearly insurmountable barrier that deters black debaters from ever joining debate. Moreover, when consistently facing such bigoted treatment, even if they start doing debate they are constantly treated as if they don’t belong.

The issue of systemic racism isn’t just limited to individual actions. It exists far past debate and NSDA, and as a result, African Americans are comparatively worse off economically than other racial groups. With the national circuit’s hefty price tag to compete, many people who want to continue debate simply don’t have the resources to, especially among black debaters. Regardless, the combination of social and individual factors has led to a huge absence of African Americans within the debate community. For example, right now at NSD, there are only two black instructors in PF: Shaun and Bashir. This underrepresentation is largely the same over the years across most national debate camps and tournaments. Furthermore, if you look at prestigious tournaments like the TOC, this disparity between racial groups grows even larger. 

This racial problem is detrimental for debate. Without proper representation from groups, there can’t be nearly as productive discussions. An activity meant to teach young people how to solve society’s problems has become a means of perpetuating them. How can debate help shape future policymakers when the most affected groups can’t even participate?

This is not to say change is not possible. In fact, things have started to get better, albeit marginally. Organizations like Outreach Debate and Equality in Forensics have hosted free tournaments and free camps, which serve as lifelines for those who want to try out the activity. There has also been a growing trend from groups like the Debate Hotline or Circuit Skillbuilder who offer free resources and videos online to serve as a point of reference for new debaters. Thanks to these organizations and community-based efforts as well, many schools such as Iowa City West, have been seeing an uptake in black debaters joining their ranks and participating in the activity. 

However, these developments, although promising, are far from complete. Change starts from within. Change starts with us. The overlords at NSDA are helpless when addressing equity and inclusion within the activity. They can’t lower hotel or airplane ticket prices, they can’t control every interaction between debaters, and even if there was a feasible policy they could implement to report harmful comments or actions, many don’t feel safe reporting it within the current space. With that being said, it's left up to us to change debate and its culture. Will there always be barriers? Sure. But there are tangible actions we can take to make this activity more welcoming to all groups of people. An easy way to do this is to join a debate organization: coach at a free camp, write blogs (like this one!) to raise awareness, or fundraise for less well-off debaters. Another way is to change one’s actions. Stop trying to codeswitch around black debaters. Stop making insensitive jokes like impact turning identity kritiks. Be more mindful of what you say and what you do. Only when debate becomes a safer environment can it achieve its full potential: a central hub that welcomes all ideas and expressions.