Last June, as the bell for the last class rang, I gathered my things and got ready to attend my first People of Color Club meeting at Peninsula High School. I noticed my heart began to beat a little faster, and my stomach felt a little uneasy.
In the city of Gig Harbor, a beautiful but rather homogenous place, I’ve personally never felt the discomfort of appearing unlike the people I’m surrounded by. But at that moment, I couldn’t shake a profound realization: This may be how people of color and minorities feel simply existing in this town every day.
I stepped inside and scanned the room for the president, Prince, whom I would be interviewing that afternoon. I was immediately put at ease as I was warmly welcomed by several members of the club. “Are you here for the potluck?” I panic slightly. I had shown up empty-handed to a potluck. I explained that I was there to interview some people and check out the club. I was invited to grab some food and make myself at home.
Across the room, I recognized Prince, a big smile on his face, tall, and certainly fitting of the football player build. We sat down at a nearby table and began to talk about the club he started. I was curious and asked him what made him decide to start this club.
“When we first moved out here in 2018, we had come from a place of poverty and almost everyone was of color there and even if you were white we still treated you the same no matter what,” he said.
“Everyone was kind of the same back then but when we moved out here it was weird. I would walk into the store with my dad, and you know, he’s a full black man and the whole store would be side-eyeing us, and we felt it. We could feel the tension. So my parents told me I should start this club to bring people together. And this past year I finally had the chance to do it.”
I proceeded to ask him about what his intentions were for this club, and what he desired it would accomplish within our school.
“Honestly, just a place for home. We need to make a home where we can all feel loved. You’ll see it today, we’re really just like a big family.”
I was inspired by the sincerity in his voice, and the clarity in his message of hope for a better future not just for people of color but for everyone. I’ve heard some people speak against having a club for people of color, claiming that it’s exclusive and racist towards white people, so to clear up any confusion, I asked who can join the POC club.
“Like I said, it’s really just a home for people, like it doesn’t matter,” Prince said. “It’s really inclusive here. Gay people can come here, white people can come here. We just wanna make everyone feel like they have a home.”
I also had the pleasure of speaking with Alexa Apostol, and something she shared really stuck out to me. When I asked if she had ever been treated differently because of her race, she said, “I’m lucky because I’ve never really struggled with race-based bullying, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t treated differently. You know whenever girls give a compliment and they’re like, ‘Oh you’re so pretty.’ To me, they’d say, ‘Oh you’re so pretty, what are you?’ It always felt like a backhanded compliment, but I knew it was never meant to be hurtful. But I’ve always experienced the, ‘What are you?’ like they wanted to get to know the race, not me.”
This was something I’d never considered, but hearing it made me realize how much we all just want to be seen for who we are and not our appearance.
I learned so much about my fellow students. I appreciated their vulnerability and how open they were to sharing deeply personal thoughts and feelings so that I could have a better understanding of an experience outside of my own. We don’t learn by making judgments, rather we learn by asking questions.
I encourage my fellow students to stop by a meeting, enjoy conversations with their peers, and if you’re lucky, eat some delicious food. Remember, everyone is welcome to join the People of Color club. Come and find your home with some of the most welcoming, loving people that I’ve had the privilege of sitting with. Like Prince said, it’s a home for everyone, and that includes you.
Camri Clawson will begin her junior year at Peninsula High School in September.
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