I'm not sure where to begin. Apparently, black students at the University of Illinois went about creating a separate homecoming event geared towards African-Americans. RTA first.
Excuse me while I go Achilles. (I needed some type of disclaimer).
First off, I find it disturbing that race differences in a University setting are so cataclysmic that two completely different events must be held (one white, one black) for "school spirit" to be shown. That ceases to be support for one's SCHOOL (on both sides of the equation) and becomes a race rally. White people do it by painting their bodies, getting trashed, and maybe dancing a little. According to the article, black people do it by "step shows," as the article describes as if it's some tribal ritual (way to perpetuate the stereotype there).
I find it even more disturbing that this already happens at both OSU and Minnesota also. Three major public institutions. Public being the keyword.
I think it shows a lot about the state of the nation, on this, the eve of election day. A day in which from the sounds of things, the nation's first black man will be elected president (he is not African-American, if he were he could not be elected president).
Is this racism in the traditional sense? No. Is it against any laws? From the sounds of things, no, the program still welcomes all. Would I attend the black homecoming? Hell yes, if only for the music. But that's neither here nor there.
The point is, what are we as a generation really trying to accomplish here? From stories like this, I truly believe that no one really wants unity. People just want to do whatever the fuck they want. That's cool I guess. No harm no foul. You don't want your black homecoming king and queen to be constantly outvoted by the 93% whites or to have to listen to Savage Garden and Tom Petty all night. I understand, I've been there and I hate Tom Petty, too.
But at the same time, I don't want to hear this bullshit about racism still being alive, when it is perpetuated through a complete and utter unwillingness by both sides to come together as one even in aspects of social life when race plays no part. Do you, sophomore Ashley Williams of U of I, really think that through organizing an African American Homecoming, you are really truly helping the cause of blacks being more socially welcome. If I want to make friends, I don't lock my door, I leave it open. You can say you are leaving it open by inviting all, but why create the divide in the first place?
Bullshit like this is far more destructive to race relations than any radio personality saying "nappy headed hoes." This is the youngest voting generation. To the vast majority of people I see on campuses around Ohio (my sample size) I have to say this: electing Obama will not do shit to make this nation a better, more unified place. You, your friends, and that girl who stinks and sits by herself at lunch everyday will. Start showing some responsibility and stop taking the lazy way out. You want a separate homecoming? Fine. But never say you want change you can believe in ever again.
Hallelujah! Holy shit! Where's the tylenol?
Lemme hear your thoughts, maybe I'm way off.
3 comments:
I've been working on the PHS history for a while, and I've learned some things about it. For example, in the early times after PHS merged with Lincoln Heights, every event had a black and a white leader.
The football team had a black captain and a white captain. The homecoming events had a black king and queen and a white king and queen.
Somewhere along the line, the practice slipped away, and it did so at the request of a group of students. They felt that the continuation of such a division wasn't necessary - admitting that it might have been initially - and that it needed to stop.
I had heard from friends of mine who grew up in the south that their high schools had black proms and white proms, black homecoming dances and white homecoming dances, each - I assume - with their own homecoming courts.
Don't know where either of those facts lie in terms of whether you're right or wrong, but they're stories.
...
Is this sort of division necessary? I don't know.
I know that I've never felt strongly a part of any minority or felt excluded enough that I needed to organize some sort of gathering to give value to who I am, to celebrate something about me and my friends (or family, or culture) that I felt wasn't being celebrated by the majority, so it's tough for me to relate to that need and equally tough for me to say that such a need is in any way invalid.
I do know that no matter who we are, we seek out the company of others who will value our identity. That might mean joining a step team, going to the black homecoming, playing Dungeons and Dragons in a group, watching a football game with fellow fans. And I can say with fair certainty that such group-seeking behavior is not wrong.
If, however, I then announce that my group exists because the bigger groups don't want us, don't value us, hate us, whatever, that I have crossed a line from trying to help myself find value in my chosen identity and into an area of confrontation.
There are times when such confrontation is correct and valid and needed, but I would hope that every such confrontation were made with the idea in mind that we need to move toward accepting and embracing our differences rather than trying to eliminate or tolerate them.
In a couple of weeks, some Wabash alumni are getting together in Dayton to watch a satellite feed of the big rivalry game. It's certainly not wrong for people with a shared interest and background to get together to celebrate it. If we were to close the day by marching through the streets of Dayton throwing rocks through windows because the Daytonites don't respect and value our Wabash heritage, we would have crossed a line into being wrong ourselves.
Somewhere between the two is the Black Homecoming, and I don't know that it's crossed the line into wrong entirely yet. But I also haven't been a white guy at that event, so I don't know what the tone would be.
Sorry, man...no answers here...
Seems kind of ridiculous to me...then again, I'm dealing with another round of self-righteous indignation up here in Maine. We do have step teams here, though...and they're pretty much all the black kids on campus (all twenty of them).
At OSU, the African American Homecoming stems from African American fraternities and sororities. People in those greek organizations are selected to court (though I don't know the process) and then a king and queen is voted on. So if we were to want to get rid of black homecoming at OSU, we would have to get rid of black greek life.
So referencing Chemguy's post, I don't think that African American fraternities or sororities are announcing that their group exists because the bigger groups don't want us, don't value us, hate us, whatever. I don't think that they have crossed a line from trying to help themselves find value in their chosen identity and into an area of confrontation.
And to get on our homecoming court, anyone can apply. You submit an application, have an interview, and if you are good enough, you are on the homecoming court. It is not a popularity contest to get on the court. Voting for king and queen, however, is a different story. any student can vote and greeks are forced to vote pretty much. So I could see how it would be difficult for African Americans to get voted king or queen at OSU but getting on the court is just the same.
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