They Said This Would Be Fun

Friday Picks: Sept 28, 2020

They Said This Would Be Fun by Eternity Martis

A booksmart kid from Toronto, Eternity Martis was excited to move away to Western University for her undergraduate degree. But as one of the few Black students there, she soon discovered that the campus experiences she'd seen in movies were far more complex in reality. Over the next four years, Eternity learned more about what someone like her brought out in other people than she did about herself. She was confronted by white students in blackface at parties, dealt with being the only person of colour in class and was tokenized by her romantic partners. She heard racial slurs in bars, on the street, and during lectures. And she gathered labels she never asked for: Abuse survivor. Token. Bad feminist. But, by graduation, she found an unshakeable sense of self—and a support network of other women of colour. Using her award-winning reporting skills, Eternity connects her own experience to the systemic issues plaguing students today. It's a memoir of pain, but also resilience.

Why we chose it:

Like many folks, we’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about how we can better educate ourselves when it comes to anti-Black racism and how we can show up as better allies. We often talk about racism as if it’s an American issue, but as Eternity shows, this is very much not the case. We want to continue the conversations reignited in spring 2020 through the rest of the year, and thought that Eternity’s debut book would be a good place to start. They Said This Would Be Fun was already on our radar as a book we wanted to read ASAP, so it only made sense to discuss this title as folks head back to campuses in September (virtually or otherwise).

1. How does Eternity’s experience at university compare to your experiences at school, post-secondary or not? What do you think explains the differences (or similarities)?

2. At Halloween in her first year, Eternity faced racist taunts and saw a trio of fellow students in blackface. She wrote that the experience shattered her illusion of safety, and “a feeling of deep discomfort made its permanent home inside [her].” Do you remember ever feeling like that? What caused it?

3. This memoir also includes “toolkits” for racialized students that offer advice on dealing with everything from being the token in class, at the gym and in your friend group. Could you have used this advice as a student? If not, does that change how you remember your school days?

4. Who gets to have a carefree university experience? What does carefree even mean?

5. Eternity writes about being accepted as South Asian, but not readily seen by her family as Black. How does Eternity’s writing make us reconsider identity and how we label people? 

About the Author:

Want to learn more about racism on post-secondary campuses? Here are some articles, books, YouTube videos and shows that we recommend.

How Anti-Black Racism On Canadian University Campuses Robs Us All

“I attended Western University in the early 2000s with a cohort of first-generation Black Canadian friends from my high school in Ajax, Ont. At Western, we became active in the Black Student Association (BSA). The BSA pushed the department of English to offer a course on African American literature. They were reportedly told by the reigning chair that there was no need to do so since there were so few Black students on campus,” writes Kristin Moriah in this essay on how racism shapes higher education in Canada.

The realiTEA of being black or brown at Oxford University

What It’s Like to Be Black on Campus Now

Suddenly our experiences no longer seem isolated—they’re linked in a larger movement against institutional racism. Ten black student journalists tell their stories. By Melissa Harris-Perry

Dear White People

Based on the acclaimed film of the same name, this Netflix original series follows a group of students of color at Winchester University, a predominantly white Ivy League college. The students are faced with a landscape of cultural bias, social injustice, misguided activism and slippery politics. Through an absurdist lens, the series uses irony, self-deprecation, brutal honesty and humor to highlight issues that still plague today's "post-racial" society.

Blackballed: The Black and White Politics of Race on America's Campuses

Blackballed is an explosive and controversial book that rips the veil off America's hidden secret: America's colleges have fostered a racist environment that makes them a hostile space for African American students. Blackballed exposes the white fraternity and sorority system, with traditions of racist parties, songs, and assaults on black students; and the universities themselves, who name campus buildings after racist men and women. It also takes a deep dive into anti-affirmative action policies, and how they effectively segregate predominately white universities, providing ample room for white privilege. A bold mix of history and the current climate, Blackballed is a call to action for universities to make radical changes to their policies and standards to foster a better legacy for all students.

Every cycle, we’re suggesting a charity that aligns with our discussion as chosen by the author or creator of that month’s pick. For September, Eternity has chosen the Black Health Alliance, a community-led registered charity working to improve the health and well-being of Black communities in Canada. If you can donate, please do!

Here’s how each month’s group conversation will work.

Get To Know The Creator (15 mins)

Q&A (15 mins)

Group Discussion (30 mins)

Where to Buy It:

We recommend purchasing from a local business when possible.

A Different Booklist (Toronto, ON)

Knowledge Book Store (Brampton, ON)

Indigo / Amazon