Both the coronavirus pandemic and the continued fight for racial justice among Black people worldwide illustrate our shared fate as members of a community that extends beyond national borders. We are members of a global community and, therefore, must possess the ability to see issues from a global perspective. The extent to which we embrace our interconnectedness as human beings and develop a global perspective will determine our ability to solve the current crises of health and injustice, as well as many others.
I am fortunate to be an alumna of Youth For Understanding USA (YFU); an experience that has helped me in my current work to address racism in the United States. This high school experience marked the beginning of a lifetime of international study, global work, and travel which that led to me becoming the founder and president of a diversity and inclusion consultancy, Harriet Speaks, which that provides training and coaching on diversity and inclusion with a specific focus on anti-black racism.
The story of how I became an exchange student is one that is worth sharing. It was not something that everyone around me did. Then, as today, fewer than 6% of high school students who study abroad are Black. In addition, I was a product of the foster care system – a system that too often limits opportunities for the children who need them most. While I eventually aged out of foster care at 18, I spent one of those 18 years in Sendai, Japan where I learned many things that are important to my work in combating racism today. Here are three:
1. We Best Learn About the United States from Outside of the United States
We expect exchange students to learn about their host country. Yet, living outside of the United States helps one to better understand the United States because it leads you to question prevalent and unspoken cultural assumptions. The assumption about the US that I questioned most during my time in Japan was that of the superiority of the United States vis-à-vis the rest of the world. Though we would like to think otherwise, concepts like manifest destiny are not limited to chapters in history books; they continue to permeate our thinking in various ways. The belief that a country (or group) is superior to another prevents the hard and important work of being objectively and lovingly critical. As a result, our efforts to combat racism (and any other “ism”) are hampered; a belief that we are the “best” equips us with blinders that prevent us from becoming better.
2. Anti-Blackness is Global
Being outside of the US forced me to answer questions asked by my Japanese peers that I had never considered, particularly around their assumptions about Black people. Turns out that Hollywood had not done Black people any favors in how we are portrayed around the world. For many Japanese, their only frame of reference was what they saw on TV. Today, I push racial equity clients to question and challenge their closely held views about Black people, but to also consider the source of those views.
3. We Must be Brave
The prevalence of anti-black racism in Japan made my initial placement with a host family difficult. Many potential host families were unwilling to accept a Black exchange student. My host family saw the importance of their teenagers not just being exposed to an American, but to a Black American. My host family was brave. In Japan, there is a popular saying, “The nail that sticks out is soon hammered down.” This saying goes to the heart of the emphasis of conformity in Japan. I doubt there were more ways to stick out in Sendai than having a Black person living with you for a year. But, they did it anyway. Their bravery not only resulted in me having an experience that forever changed my life, but it impacted the lives of everyone who I attended school with and each person I came in contact with during the course of the year. The bond that I developed with my O’jiisan (Japanese for “Grandpa”) who had fought against Americans in WW2 is just one story of how my host family’s bravery turned into respect and respect turned into love. Combating racial injustice requires us to be brave and holding fast the belief that individuals can and do make a difference. Therefore, I repeatedly ask my racial justice clients to be brave. Because bravery is never the end of the story – it is always just the beginning. My experience in Japan taught me where bravery leads.
I continue to be impacted by my experience as an exchange student. But I also am celebrating, because this year, on the 30th anniversary of becoming an exchange student, I became the first African American ever appointed to the Board of Trustees for Youth For Understanding USA. This is truly an honor, but I see it more as a responsibility. In this role, I will commit to working with the leadership of the organization to make sure that more Black children have access to study abroad opportunities. I will commit to sharing with others how important global and study abroad experiences are integral to addressing the work of racial justice today.
Jyarland Daniels, MBA, JD
YFU Trustee Alumna ‘91
President, Founder
Harriet Speaks