UNT welcomes Simon Tam to talk about racial bias

The College of Public Affairs and Community Service hosted its annual Fall Forum today featuring musician and social activist Simon Tam at the Coliseum.

Simon Tam is the founder and bassist of the all-Asian American dance rock band "The Slants." He has been highlighted on media features across the world and has presented at events like TEDx, SXSW, and Comic-Con. He utilizes social media to start conversations about race, culture and justice.

 Tam presented a talk titled "We Can't Stop Racism If We Can't Talk About It" to students in which he talked about the existence of racism in our society and shared helpful ways to start meaningful conversations about racial bias.

 "I agree that we should start a conversation without being uncomfortable because I know firsthand that I've encountered people that don't want to talk about racism," Psychology major Thomas Urbina said. "I think it's good that he tries to get people more comfortable with the uncomfortable." 

Throughout his talk, Tam highlighted the reasons that people hold biases against each other and shared ways in which people can fight back against racism. He stressed the importance of asking questions rather than simply making assumptions about who people are.

 "Not all meaningful conversations between people have to be framed as a debate," he said. "Asking questions can be a very powerful thing and requires us to be more compassionate toward others." 

Tam spoke about the power of our everyday experiences in helping to frame conversations that combat racism. He shared some of his own experiences with racial bias as well as the prevalence of prejudice against people of color.

 "I'm a mixed background person, so I feel like I have encountered certain kinds of racism," International Studies major Elizabeth Palpan said. "With this presentation, racial biases that I grew up with got taken away through the power of education and asking the right questions."

 At the end of his speech, Tam talked about the ways in which people can affect change in their lives and communities. Tam acknowledged his own biases while also highlighting the power of staying informed.

 "There is power in having meaningful conversations about racism, especially when people feel uncomfortable, and combining that with fighting systems of oppression," Tam said. "That's how we create change in our society."


 To view the live Twitter feed for this event, go to the following link:
https://twitter.com/Sguenther_1395


To view photos from this event, go to the following link:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/135581782@N02/show