Zoomを使用して、コーネル大学英語学部のアイシャン・ハッチンソン准教授とBlack Lives Matter 運動についてのトークセッションを行いました。2年次生、3年次生、合わせて26名が参加してくれました。とても議論が盛り上がり、ハッチンソン先生がとても熱心に話してくださったので、残念ながら4名しか質問する機会がありませんでしたが、参加者の皆さんのワークシートを見せてもらうと、お話を聞いてとても多くのことを学んでくれたようです。質問者からは「今、日本人の私たちにできることは何か」、「日本人の芸能人が顔を黒塗りにして黒人の真似をすることは差別にあたるか」などの問題提起がありました。ハッチンソン先生はそれらに丁寧に答えてくださり、また、「このセッションに参加していることがすでに運動の一部である」ということ、「言葉で理解する必要はなく、感じ取ることのほうがむしろ大切」であるということなどを諭してくださいました。 短い時間でしたが、世界トップレベルの大学の知性に触れることができる貴重な機会だったと思います。また、参加者の皆さんの熱意のおかげで知的な刺激にあふれた素敵な時間を過ごすことができました。

＜参加生徒の感想＞

I was so glad to attend such an exciting lecture. While I hadn’t thought about BLM and racial discrimination until I decided to attend this lecture, I could enjoy discussing with Professor Ishion and other students. Now I understand that the issue of BLM is complicated and it is difficult (impossible) to explain it in a few words. This is why we have to continue thinking about them. Meanwhile, we can learn more about them and even raise our voices. Even though the discussion was difficult, I have no regrets about having attended this lecture to talk with Professor Ishion. To solve global problems, I’d be interested in many things and keep an attitude to try to understand them. At last, I appreciate my teachers’ giving me such a great opportunity, not to mention Professor Ishion’s giving me chance to talk with him. I will do my best to consider what I can do for people who have different cultures than me. Thank you very much. （3年次生女子） 　　　

There are mainly three things that I learned from this talk session. First, art, especially music can be a more efficient way to convey something difficult like BLM than using just words. For example, in the music video of “This is America”, of course the picture was also impressive, but the music and the lyrics played essential roles. In addition, the music and the dance itself were very familiar to us, which means a lot of people in the world are enjoying African-American’s music and its culture even though there’s a big contradiction to the discrimination against African-Americans. It shows how Black Lives Matter Movement is complex and it’s almost impossible to understand what it is clearly. Second, education is needed to eliminate the discrimination. I strongly agree with this idea. Ignorance of some white people gave rise to this problem. Ignorance of some black people made this problem complicated, as we can see in riots or plunders in the midst of the confusion of BLM. And ignorance of us has hurt African American people unintentionally. Education may be the most important but also most difficult because each person has his/her own way of thinking. Finally, these days I haven’t heard about BLM very much compared to what it used to be in Japan. Of course I expect the situation will be different in the United States. As Prof. Ishion said that financial support would be necessary to the problem, all people in the world particularly Japanese who are comparatively wealthy should be conscious of the problem. This experience was really important for me to get close to BLM. The stimulus of the third grade students who asked questions was also one thing I gained from this lecture today. (2年次生女子)