Meredith Walker

Just days before he died at age 103, World War II veteran James “Maggie” Megellas last month advised his family to follow government directives and stay patient during this pandemic. He dedicated himself to leading from the front and inspired thousands of people the world over to serve a cause greater than ourselves. Nearly 75 years after World War II ended, Megellas was still the most decorated officer of the 82nd Airborne.

Megan Garber has written in The Atlantic that “In a democracy, if the people are to have a meaningful say over the world and its workings, those people are, fundamentally, obligated to look. And, much more fundamentally, to see. To avert one’s eyes is a privilege that those of us who have the power to act cannot afford to exercise, even when we are complicit in the images.

In 1903, the African American scholar and author W.E.B DuBois wrote these words: “The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line.” In 2018, the words of Dr. Dubois continue to haunt us. How can we find another, better way to talk with each other about race and get anywhere in our understanding of each other? That is exactly what Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi care deeply about.