July 6, 2020 at 5:08 p.m.
'And now people want to listen to me'
Local woman speaks out on racial injustice
'And now people want to listen to me'
In a recent interview with the River News, Hoskins talked about that remarkable demonstration as well as her experience as a biracial resident of an overwhelmingly white community.
A recent graduate of Rhinelander High School, Hoskins said she was surprised at the turnout for the June 1 rally that started at the Oneida County Courthouse and included a march to the Rhinelander police station.
"I was shocked, absolutely shocked," Hoskins said. "I never imagined that this community felt so strongly about (racial injustice), just because there is not a lot of representation of the Black community here. I spoke to people that I had never even met that are African-American, like a full African-American. I'm mixed, and for me, this was the closest I've ever gotten to meeting an actual African-American, and for them to feel so strongly that they would go out into the community really made that incident not as detrimental as it was."
Another thing Hoskins said she took away from the rally was a different perspective on some of her former classmates at RHS.
"I saw people from my school even that have never had any personal problems with me but I've heard comments on certain things in ways that I wouldn't necessarily agree with, like when it comes to race and things like that," Hoskins said. "But even then, they were there, fully strong, signs, shirts and everything. It was insane, insane, I never would have imagined that, especially in Rhinelander that we would have that."
Hoskins said she was equally surprised that demonstrations and calls for police reform in the wake of Floyd's death continued across the U.S. for weeks instead of quickly dying away.
"It makes me feel so happy, happy and supported," she said. "People are looking at the violence, they are looking at the violence that is happening in the bigger cities..."
The prolonged nationwide demonstrations have forced people of all races and backgrounds to think more deeply about their own behavior and that of law enforcement, she added.
"You can watch it once on the TV and it will go away, it never has to cross your mind again because the people aren't doing anything that you have to sit and deal with. But now, I think everyone has to sit and deal with it and take a stance on it, no matter how you feel about it. You're forced to deal with it now, and I think that is when actual change is going to happen," she said.
As the demonstrations continued across the country, many businesses and organizations began to rethink the use of words and symbols that are offensive to minorities. To name just one example, NASCAR banned the Confederate flag.
Hoskins said these gestures are powerful.
"The last thing that I would ever expect would be for NASCAR to take the drastic measures that they are (banning the Confederate flag). I absolutely love it," she said. "I mean, that's my biggest thing, it's not about being wrong, it's not admitting you were wrong; it's about admitting that you're willing to grow and admitting that you were misinformed, uninformed, didn't have the information that you needed to make the stances and statements that you did. I think that the information is coming, whether people want to see it or not, whether people want to learn it or not. They're going to see changes."
She was also quick to note that such changes come at the cost of making some people uncomfortable.
"It's going to upset the people that are more strong-headed about the way that they feel and the way that things should stay. And there is going to be people who see the changes that they're not happy about it, but they're going to take the time to understand why and they're going to take the time to understand that just because it's a shirt or it's just a word or it's just this to you, it doesn't affect an entire culture of people," Hoskins said. "And I think that just starting that conversation, starting that mind frame, people even being willing to listen is all we need to change, even a little bit."
The introductory section of Hoskins' Facebook profile includes the line "my mom wishes I was darker" and it has become quite a conversation starter.
"That actually is from two years ago," she explained. "That is something she has always said to me. My mom has only dated African-American men, she has only had African-American friends. I can't remember the one time that my mom has introduced me to some Caucasian and said 'this is my friend,' ever," Hoskins explained. "And my brother, he's darker than I am, and she would always make the comment 'I just wish you were a little bit darker."
"I thought about taking that off my Facebook just because I know that people visit it just because of the things that are posted about me or because of the things I say," she added. "But, I left it up, I really did, because I don't see anything wrong with that because she didn't say 'you're not beautiful because you're light,' 'I wish you would change because you're light,' nothing like that. All she said was 'I wish you were a little bit darker.' And people have actually texted me about that, commenting 'you're encouraging change, but this is kind of controversial.' But I can't see it as controversial, I just can't."
Hoskins also spoke eloquently about her mother's desire to protect her children from hate.
"Our entire lives, our mom has been so protective, she is really, really big on protecting my brother, especially here in Rhinelander, huge on it," Hoskins said. "In school, she would always say that if someone is being racist or if you think someone is going to come after you, hit them first. She always wants to fight with fists, and I'm not against that. Have I gotten into a few scuffles in school? Yeah, sometimes it just gets to the point where you can't take it anymore, whatever. But the one thing I always tell her is they can disagree with your feelings, but they can't disagree with your facts. I live by that, I live by that. People can sit there and tell me 'you feel this way because you're Black' or 'you feel that way because you're Black.' They can sit and write off everything that I start off with 'I feel.' But if it's a fact, if it is cold, hard numbers in the face of his real person accounts, real-life accounts, how are they going to disagree with that? And I think that goes so much further than punching someone in the face."
While the June 1 demonstration was held in response to Floyd's death and the larger problem of police treating members of the Black community different than whites, Hoskins said she is not aware of that happening locally. To show her support for RPD, she posted three photos to her Facebook page where she is posing with Officer Jim Robbins and Sergeant Kurt Helke.
"The Rhinelander Police Department is fantastic. One of the officers in the photo is my cousin (Jim Robbins). Even before we took the pictures, I walked in there and asked if anyone would be willing to, I was afraid that they wouldn't get involved because they didn't want to take a stand on it," Hoskins said. "But overwhelmingly 'yes, what do you need, what time, who has to be there?' They were just so for it and me personally. I mean I have only spoken to six or seven African-Americans that live here, and none of them have ever said anything negative about the Rhinelander Police Department based on racial aspect."
As a result of all the publicity she has received since the demonstration was held, Hoskins said she has had people come up to her in stores and strike up conversations. It even led to a moment of clarity as to her place as both a spokesperson and role model.
"Oh yeah, somebody actually bought my smoothie. The man in front of me bought my smoothie at Kwik Trip the other day and did not say a word to me," Hoskins said. "Then the cashier told me, that man paid for your smoothie. So I went out to his vehicle, and he had two mixed kids in the back of his car."
She recounted that she told the man that if he paid for her drink by mistake she would pay him back.
"He said, 'no, I wanted to thank you and show you gratitude, even if it is small, because what you're doing will help my kids.' And I looked in the back seat and he had two mixed kids," she recounted. "People will talk to me in the stores, they'll talk to me about the police department and ask if that is really how I feel or if it was just for publicity. Of course it is how I feel, why would I publicly state it if it's not how I feel?"
More recently, Hoskins spoke during the June 22 Rhinelander Common Council meeting.
She recounted an incident that took place on June 1 when an individual used racial slurs and dumped water on her. This was not an isolated incident, she noted, adding that she has experienced various levels of racist behavior while growing up in Rhinelander.
She said these incidents always leave her with feelings of "anger, hopelessness, loneliness, shame and feeling like maybe I am less than my white peers," she said, noting that she has to remind herself that she is not less than anyone else.
At this point, Hoskins said she plans to major in mortuary science and funeral services in college, despite suggestions from some that she consider pursuing a career in law or politics.
"Lots of people have told me that so far, that I would do very well in politics, government, in being a lawyer, things like that," Hoskins said. "It's not something that I'm opposed to at all, and I'd definitely be in to looking into it. But I feel that as soon you go public with that or it does become political, there are going to be people who write you off because you're a Democrat or people who write you off because you're a Republican. People who automatically won't listen to you because of who you identify yourself as politically. I'd rather identify myself as a person, and have them talk to me that way.
So I guess that is where my only serious hesitation is with that."
But no matter her career path, Hoskins is committed to continuing the conversation about racial injustice and social change.
"All I have ever wanted is to have a conversation and to start talking," she said. "And now people want to listen to me, and I plan on running with that all that I can."
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at jamie@rivernews online.com.
Comments:
You must login to comment.