t.tyler@setonhill.

edu 

February 27th, 2021 

Vice President Kamala Harris 

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW 
Washington, DC 20500 

Dear Vice President Harris, 

 
I have never thought that I would have to be writing to you about this issue. I am currently a
senior at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. I am a part of the women’s
basketball team here as well. Throughout my time here, we have learned about many social
justice issues however, I am most passionate about is racial inequalities at PWIs. I want people to
understand that there happens to be racial inequalities in any aspect.  Growing up, I never really
thought about or had a dream school I wanted to attend. College was not so big in my family. I
am a first-generation college student who will be graduating May of 2021. This is a huge
accomplishment for me and my family because I broke the generational curse. Given that I am
an African American woman, I relate to a lot of the monumental movements such as the Black
Lives Matter movement in today’s society. I think that it is so important we expose these
inequalities and make a change. I have experienced so many things here at my university that
have ultimately made me feel a little bit uncomfortable. It is not only with the school, but with
the surrounding communities as well. 
 
We have to be able to change the culture and give everyone equal opportunities. I want the
African American community to feel like they are welcomed and a part of something. There are
not a lot of resources where black students can feel connected to someone. No, I am not trying to
exclude anyone, but living in the world we are in today; black students need a little more. If you
take my school for instance, 95% of the black students are athletes. What do you think is going
to happen when you take away all sports? You lose your sports and there goes your “diverse”
school.  The school is going to lose all their black students completely. Do you think this is for
entertainment purposes? The book I have been reading called A People’s History of Sports in the
United States by Dave Zirin. In this book, he highlights how sports was the only thing that
African Americans had. At one point of time they were not allowed to participate in sports
because they were more dominant in the sports world, then their culture started to change so they
only wanted to use them for pure entertainment. One of my favorite quotes from the book states
“We must no longer allow this country to use . . . a few “Negros” to point out to the world how
much progress she has made in solving her racial problems when the oppression of Afro-
Americans is greater than it ever was. . . We must no longer allow the Sports World to pat itself
on the back as a citadel of racial justice when the racial injustices of the sports industry are
infamously legendary . . . “ (Zirin, p. 162, 2008).  You see how we don’t want things to be
looked at as fair because of the opportunity, however it is not the same whatsoever. I think it is
important to highlight the very few African American professors at my university. There needs
to be more of a diverse staff. Respectfully we need a cultural change. I believe that there are a lot
of things that white students do on campus that black students cannot do solely because we don’t
have the leadership. Yes, we do have a BSU (Black Student Union), but that is pretty much the
only kind of black leadership. 
 
 This semester I am taking a Black Lives Matter class which is taught by a white man. How can a
white person teach people about the black experience? If anything, we are teaching him. Yes, I
do commend him for doing something that no one else would have done, but it is just not the
same experiences. The last reason why I am bringing this topic to your attention is because as I
mentioned I play basketball at the university. There are only 4 black girls on the team. They
always look at us as being bitter when something bad happens or even violent. I have had my
white coach explain to me that he knew exactly what it felt like to be racial profiled. I honestly
was at a complete loss for words because he will NEVER be able to understand what it is like to
be racially profiled. When the George Floyd situation happened and the BLM movement started
to arise, none of my teammates reached out while my school made little statements but never
really said a lot. So, my needs to change. In an article that I read titled Racial Inequality in
Critical Thinking Skills: The Role of Academic and Diversity Experience talked about racial
inequalities through the aspect of experience state “African American students experienced
lower gains in critical thinking skills between the freshman year and junior year compared to
their white peers'' (Roska, et.al, 2017). That right there just says everything that is needed. There
needs to be more recognition and more resources for the black students. If you are going to
accept them into PWI’s, be prepared to give them all the tools they need . 
 
Here at our university we learned about corporal works of mercy. The CWoM that I think
connects so well with the social justice issue of racial inequalities is to instruct the ignorant. The
word ignorant obviously is not being used in a bad way. I just want to be able to teach those
individuals about things they do not know. You learn more by hearing people’s real-life
experiences and exposing people’s privilege. Having privilege is an inequality within itself.
Having privilege is something that the African American community knows nothing about.
Besides wanting to instruct the ignorant, the catholic social teaching theme that I believe is
important is life and dignity of a human person. Everyone has a purpose here in life. Everyone
deserves to be treated like their life matters. It is about morals and respect. It is about giving
everyone equal opportunity. Everyone was made in the image of God. We are all called humans
for a reason. My skin color should not define who I am. My skin color should not give anyone
the right to discriminate against me. My community is just as worthy as the next. We demand
more. 
 
Vice President Harris, I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to read my
letter and to hear my issues. I think that there is so much more we can give to better this world.
Everyone has to be willing to be on the side of change. I wish you the best in your future and
making the United States a better place. Congratulations on being the first woman vice
president. 

Sincerely, 

Taylin Tyler 
Seton Hill University 
1 Seton Hill Drive 
Greensburg, PA 15601 
t.tyler@setonhill.edu