Derwin Dubose

April 2004

Co-chair, Students for the Advancement of Race Relations, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC)
Age: 19
Life-changing experience: Spending two weeks in Washington, D.C., at a youth leadership development conference, where he got to know young people of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.
Inspired by: The book Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum.
Making a difference by: Taking a leading role in a race relations organization on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In 2000, Derwin Dubose was a junior at the Alabama School of Math and Science, a boarding school in Mobile, when what looked like racial hatred—or was it a bad prank?—erupted. A group of white students created a computer sound file of themselves making racist jokes and saying, "Kill all n-----s."

The threat split the campus down a white-black color line that stretched from the classroom to the cafeteria. It was a line few students wished to cross. As Dubose recalls, black students called for the expulsion of the perpetrators, while most white students considered the incident a joke about which black students should "lighten up."

Growing up in a segregated community in York, Alabama, Dubose learned that racial separation breeds fear, mistrust, and misunderstanding. He applied that insight to the situation at hand. Instead of retreating to the "black side" of campus, Dubose went to the school administrators to suggest ways to get to the root of the racial divide. Along the way, he lost friends. White students thought he was militant. Black students thought he wasn't militant enough. In the end, school officials didn't develop the educational plan about diversity that Dubose hoped for, but he felt the stand he made was worth it.

"I made friends with people from all races and backgrounds, and I learned firsthand that color is a barrier we place on ourselves."

Currently, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dubose is co-chair of the campus organization Students for the Advancement of Race Relations. He helps plan an annual Race Relations Week on campus, which gives students a chance to discuss contemporary issues related to race and to explore different cultures. Some of the same problems and racial separations that existed at his small boarding school are prevalent at the flagship UNC campus, he says, but this time he hopes to bring about change by working through an official organization. "I've had my share of racial slurs and people not treating me right," he says, "but I pledged to do what I can to make sure we keep moving forward."

Why did you get involved in race relations on the UNC campus?
Dubose: Because of my past experiences, I try to do my part to combat discrimination and bias and encourage tolerance. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a very diverse place, but there are traces of the racism I grew up with.

What year are you in at UNC and what's your major?
Dubose: I'm [class of 2006], and I'm a history and African-American Studies major.

What is your career goal?
Dubose: My ultimate goal is to be an education professor. I especially want to design programs that create inclusive communities and embrace diversity and tolerance.

Who or what helped shape your beliefs about race relations?
Dubose: I grew up in a situation where racism was a part of my daily life. Segregation was practiced in our daily lives. Although something innate told me that racism was wrong, I never had the opportunity to be outside of that until I attended the Hugh O'Brian Youth World Leadership Congress in 2000. Student leaders from every state and 12 countries were assembled in Washington, D.C., for two weeks of leadership development. I made friends with people from all races and backgrounds, and I learned firsthand that color is a barrier we place on ourselves. From then on, I believed that we should treat each other with respect and kindness, regardless of race.