“If they take you in the morning, they will be coming for us that night.”
Activist James Baldwin penned this quote in an open letter to colleague Angela Davis, and guest speaker Lewis Raven Wallace has taken them as words to live by.
Wallace, a journalist, activist and author of “The View from Somewhere: Undoing the Myth of Journalistic Objectivity,” was brought to campus by the Department of Communication as a guest speaker for the Fall 2022 Endowed Robison Lecture. The speech, given on Oct. 19 in the ballroom of the Michel Student Center, was open to faculty, students and the public.
Wallace delivered a talk titled “Journalism as Activism: A Trans Abolition Perspective.” In the speech, they discussed their experience in journalism and activism as a transgender person and the lack of media coverage for people like them. They highlighted the need for intersectionality in news coverage, referencing the Baldwin quote.
They also spoke about the way that neutrality should not always be the goal in journalism, as a neutral voice often holds up the status quo.
“Being a journalist shouldn’t stop you from advocating for human rights and there is a space for subjective journalism in the current news industry,” Meg Ruger-Smith, a sophomore sports communication major, said.
Throughout the lecture, Wallace encouraged audience involvement. Several times, they paused and posed questions for attendees to discuss with a neighbor, including “What is your vision for journalism?,” “What is the world you envision in your most expansive imagination?” and “What is your work in building that world?”
Students in the audience responded to these questions enthusiastically.
“I enjoyed the questions the lecturer asked the audience because it made me think about journalism in a way I hadn’t considered before,” Van Marks, a freshman game art major, said.
Many audience responses included the importance of community-led lawmaking and empathetic social structures. There was timid hope for the future of journalism apparent in the room — one that journalism students are working towards every day.
During a post-session Q and A, several students were curious about the experience of a queer teenager in the 1990s, which Wallace was happy to discuss. They spoke of how lucky they were to have a supportive community of relatives and friends behind them.
Wallace impressed the importance of learning your history, especially for people with a marginalized identity that may have been left out of mainstream reports upon the audience. Many students expressed their excitement at hearing queer stories sponsored by the university.
“When issues arise that are personal to certain groups, their voices are more valuable than any because it is their lives that are being affected,” Sophia Noonan, a freshman game design major, said.
