CULTURAL EVENT FORM, SPRING 2020 (Date received: )

Your CODEname: Boots

Name of the Event: BHE Talk: Dr. George Wilson

Date and Time of the Event: Friday, 2/28/2020 at 5 pm

Length of the event: 1 hour

Would you have likely attended this event, even if not required/for a class assignment?

Yes Maybe No x

How far out of your cultural comfort zone was this event? (highlight answer)

Definitely outside of it Somewhat outside of it Not really outside of it Not at all outside of it

Brief summary of the event (1-2 paragraphs).

Dr. George Wilson, a 1969 Loras College graduate, spoke on his lifelong experiences of racism

and his actions against it. Starting in Birmingham, Wilson was raised in a black disadvantaged

community, even stating that he was not even aware he had been disadvantaged since that had been all

he had known. He recounted the racism he faced as a teenager, explaining how he had been attacked

when he and some friends took the shortcut through a white neighborhood on the way back from

school. From there he moved to Chicago, where he worked for a priest who first introduced him to Loras

College. At Loras College, Wilson was one of the few black men on campus. With the help of Loras’ Rev.

Kutsch, the black men on campus stuck together despite the racism they would receive and even

created a “black floor” where they were able to live in comfort surrounded by each other. Wilson

recalled it as a “you hurt one, you hurt us all '' mentality which bonded the men together. Then the

black students on campus and a small group of social justice-minded white students worked together to

create a difference within their community, including a march to raise awareness of the poor community

in Dubuque. Once Loras fired Rev. Kutsch, the black students of Loras had made some requests: more

scholarships to recruit black men for other than athletics and to include black scholars and entertainers

as guests at Loras College.

 Dr. Wilson graduated Loras in ‘69 and went on to teach, lead more social justice campaigns, and

act as a leader to many. He highlighted that without the help of Rev. Kutsch many of the black students

who had been at Loras would have left, showing the importance of having someone who boosts your

confidence and sees you as an equal. Lastly, Dr. Wilson imparted some knowledge about how to effect

change in the community. The first was to invest in people, to take the time to get to know others and

support each other. Next, he said that you need to be willing to sacrifice a little in order to create

change. And finally, that there are always consequences to your actions and, therefore, you should act

accordingly.

Reflection on the Event—your experience and learning (3-4 thoughtful paragraphs). In this section you
should be trying to make connections to class material. Do NOT resummarize the event and do NOT
focus on whether or not you liked the event.

Throughout Dr. Wilson’s presentation it was clear that in/out groups had played a large role

within his life. As we learned in class, people analyze those in their in-group as individuals and treat

them as though they deserve to do what they choose because of their individuality. Yet, we see people

in an out-group as all similar and not worthy enough for us to pay attention to their individuality and

their similarities to us. As a young child, Dr. Wilson wasn’t even aware that he was disadvantaged

because that was his in-group and he hadn’t been exposed to anything different. When he entered

Loras, some of the white students saw Dr. Wilson and the other black students as part of their out-

group. They did not take the time to get to know them or to understand them. After a while, some white

students who had a concern for social justice and spoke out against the Vietnam War worked together

with the black students to enact social change. They were able to see past their race and instead to

other commonalities and they became a new in-group, but instead one based on the want for social

change. At the end of their time at Loras, Dr. Wilson and his friends even fought to expand the

understanding of others by having more black representation enter the school through students,
scholars, and entertainers. He hoped that this would broaden other’s views of seeing an out-group as all

the same but rather students like them, scholars like they were learning from, and entertainers like

those they enjoyed. I think Dr. Wilson’s whole life was an attempt to break down these ideas of in/out

groups and that it is possible to widen your understanding and your group.

Another aspect I associated with class was the idea that there is more connection among social-

economic-status than race. While Dr. Wilson was at Loras, he and some of his fellow students had

organized a march for the poor population of Dubuque. At this time the poor-population was the out-

group since at the time many of Dubuque’s citizens were wealthy. I think that the black students could

identify with those who were poor by having a similar understanding of the prejudice in Dubuque. Dr.

Wilson knew what it was like to grow up disadvantaged and I think that helped him to make these

connections and speak out for the poor.

The last association I made to class was in connection to our discussion on cognitive misers. When we

reach a cognitive disequilibrium, sometimes we need to take part in accommodation in order to reach

cognitive equilibrium again. Accommodation is the more difficult way to reach cognitive equilibrium and

requires us to change our stereotype through exposure to ideas and stories. I think that Dr. Wilson really

supports changing stereotypes and learning from other people’s situations. He has shown this

throughout his work in social work, the march for the poor, and the support for his fellow students

(white or black). In his presentation he stressed the importance of communicating with others and

especially with reading.