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AALBC.com's Thumper's Corner Discussion Board » Culture, Race & Economy - Archive 2007 » College Blackface...Again « Previous Next »

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Yvettep
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 10:40 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Well it's the start of a new semester and all over the country college students seem to continue to be fascinated with "ghetto" themed parties complete with blackface. Here is one of the latest cases, a "Living the Dream" party, reported at the Smoking Gun complete with photos. Wouldn't Dr. King be proud?

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0130072clemson1.html

(Email from CU president; This "teachable moment" language seems to be in vogue with college officials in response to these incidents. http://origin.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=46415)

The following is the full text of the e-mail sent Tuesday morning from Clemson University President James F. Barker to the student body:

Dear Clemson:

I was appalled, angered and disappointed when I learned that a group of Clemson students participated in activities at an off-campus party that appeared to mock and disparage African-Americans. Many people have been offended and deeply hurt.

Clemson is responding appropriately. Faculty, staff and student leaders are investigating the incident to determine if university policies were violated, holding debriefings to give students a chance to voice their feelings, and planning facilitated discussions to deal with the anger and hurt caused by this incident and begin the healing process. I sincerely appreciate their commitment. I had a chance to attend one such meeting last night and believe that it was a good first step.

I understand that many of the students involved in the party have come forward to apologize and reach out to those they have offended, and that is important and necessary. But more needs to be done. Ours must be a community that is inclusive, values each individual student, and embraces diversity for the value it adds to the educational experience. Each of us has a role to play, whether as educator, peer, parent or role model.

This can be an issue that divides us or unites us. It can be a teachable moment that leads to positive discussions in and outside the classroom. If we make the right choices, Clemson will emerge as a stronger university.

Sincerely,

James F. Barker, FAIA
President
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Abm
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 10:48 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Yvettep,

I wonder what would happen if the Black Clemson students started to do caricatures of White foks(e.g., drunken Irish leprecauns, bimbo-ho blond, redneck-inbred crackers, dumba$$ president, etc.)
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Serenasailor
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 11:42 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I can tell you what would happen. They would be lynched. Ironically, isn't Clemson Strom Thurmonds old Alma Mater???
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Mzuri
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 12:10 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)


If I were the decision maker, and I believe that I could look at this situation objectively and not just as an affronted Black person, I'd execute a meaningful teachable moment and send everyone involved in this party a dismissal letter. These people don't even deserve a college education - especially the ones who posed for pix, they are really dense and would be the first to get the boot. That would teach them a very valuable lesson and would send a strong message to other white supremacists that this conduct is not appropriate in a college environment (or anywhere) whether held on campus premises or not.


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Chrishayden
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 12:46 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I wouldn't do anything but spread their names and pictures all over the place and show how dumb they look. After all they didn't do anything to any black person and only did this in the comfort and privacy of their own frat house where I assume they thought nobody would ever know they did it.

I mean if you start punishing them for this, you have to punish us when we talk about whitey behind closed doors.

I see as much contempt for so called ghetto blacks in black circles. This ain't nothig but what Bill Cosby and Juan Williams are doing. What's the matter. Get under your skin when some white kids do it?

I'm glad they did it. These are your future judges, lawyers, doctors, mayors, political office holders and what have you.

Negroes need to know.
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Yvettep
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 12:49 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Serenasailor, I disagree. I do not think White students are as linked to such images as ABM described as are Black students to these "ghetto" images. Heck, Whites themselves spoof these categories (e.g., Valley Girls/"dumb blondes," drunken Irish, GWB).

In contrast, it can be a struggle for Black students to separate themselves from these images in the eyes of their fellow (White) students. They may "solve" this dilemma by participating themselves in such jokes ("I can make fun of ghetto thugs, too, cuz I am not one of those Black people"), protesting such images, or trying their best to ignore them. But I would guess that these incidents spur some behavioral, cognitive, and/or emotional adaptations on the part of most Blacks on campus, no matter how far they themselves may be from the images.

The upshot for me is, many students such as these that I run into have limited experience with Blacks. They know the kids who are in classes with them, for instance, and maybe one or two Black instructors (like me!) So why is it that when they play act Blackness, that they choose these other versions?

We could choose to believe that they really do not mean any harm to their handful of Black classmates they are on speaking terms with and their one Black prof. Maybe it's true that these kids "don't think of you [Black student/prof] that way" and really are sorry to offend. Or--a more recent example--they are just emulating the rappers and atheletes they look up to. And again, they mean no harm to the Black folk they actually encounter daily.

However, in my more cynical moments (approx 80% of the time) I think this defense is a load of crap. I have come to believe that much of this campus behavior is willful, and that most of the participants know full well the impact it has on their fellow students who are Black. I think there is an atmosphere of "anti-political correctness" on many campuses that some students are openly (and, perhaps, joyfully) taking advantage of to air their own racism.

Now, what factors are to blame for this atmosphere? The list is a long one...
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Yvettep
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 12:52 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Um...sorry for the spelling and other errors above. Too many hours looking at numbers on a computer screen has fried my brain! LOL
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Yvettep
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 12:55 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I see as much contempt for so called ghetto blacks in black circles. This ain't nothig but what Bill Cosby and Juan Williams are doing. What's the matter. Get under your skin when some white kids do it?

Chris, assuming I agree with you that this is the same thing, I would see this behavior in Blacks as possibly being an example of what I talked about above: You can only demonstrate to Whites who you are and are not by calling out those "Others." Just by virtue of you being, in every facet of your appearance and behavior, different is not enough to distinguish you. (Or so the thinking may go...)
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Mzuri
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 01:20 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)


Chris - I don't give a shit about what whitey does behind his closed doors. This isn't even about that. These snotnosedwhitepeople held a racist niggathemed party, and stood up there to pose for pix. Besides the fact that they're blatant racists, it doesn't get much dumber than that. And who were they going to show the pictures to anyway, their grandchildren. Each and every one of those sorry bastards needs to have their college educations disrupted, any grants or scholarships should be revoked, and they should be ostracized. But that's just what I think about it. You can think whatever you want.


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Cynique
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 01:22 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

College students have to be the most irresponsible and insensitive creatures among us. They are a bunch of smart alecs who delight in ridicule and sadism. They major in beer-swilling and minor in hookin up with the opposite sex, and nobody should expect them to be politically correct. That only happens when they become this country's future leaders, replete with their degrees in hypocrisy.
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Ntfs_encryption
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 01:35 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)


"I wonder what would happen if the Black Clemson students started to do caricatures of White foks(e.g., drunken Irish leprecauns, bimbo-ho blond, redneck-inbred crackers, dumba$$ president, etc.)"

Nothing.......
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Yvettep
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 01:48 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Ntfs: Yup. The White students wouldn't care, mainly because they do not see any of these images as reflective of them--either individually or as a group.

The Black students would be more likely to be "lynched" if they began group organizational efforts to pressure the university to assist the real inner city residents of their city or if they protested the performance of minstrel-type rap acts on campus...
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Chrishayden
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 01:54 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Chris - I don't give a shit about what whitey does behind his closed doors. This isn't even about that. These snotnosedwhitepeople held a racist niggathemed party, and stood up there to pose for pix. Besides the fact that they're blatant racists, it doesn't get much dumber than that. And who were they going to show the pictures to anyway, their grandchildren. Each and every one of those sorry bastards needs to have their college educations disrupted, any grants or scholarships should be revoked, and they should be ostracized. But that's just what I think about it. You can think whatever you want.

(My getting kinda MILITANT aren't we?

You obviously care what they do behind closed doors because this has you all upset and wanting to interrupt these fine white childrens' education over a childish prank that upsets nobody but Negroes--and not a lot of them from what I have seen lately.

Forgive. Forget. Chalk it up to experience. Move on. Til the next Black Holiday they do it on (Black History Month is next month--Oh, po' me!)
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Abm
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 01:59 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

ABM: ""I wonder what would happen if the Black Clemson students started to do caricatures of White foks(e.g., drunken Irish leprecauns, bimbo-ho blond, redneck-inbred crackers, dumba$$ president, etc.)"

Ntfs: "Nothing......."


And I'm beginning to think we should response similarly. Because I often wonder whether the cost of expending all this attention/energy fixated on what some White a$$holes do (in this case, OFF the Clemson campus) exceed the tributory benefits of such efforts.

Honestly. I think the very BEST response the Black students can make to these mofos is to graduate Summa Cum Laude in Math, Science and Engineering.
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Ntfs_encryption
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 02:21 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

"And I'm beginning to think we should response similarly. Because I often wonder whether the cost of expending all this attention/energy fixated on what some White a$$holes do (in this case, OFF the Clemson campus) exceed the tributory benefits of such efforts."

I agree 100%. There is nothing you can do about a mob of young crackers who are emulating their parents and the "white only" culture they live in. It was a private party and offensive and ridiculous as I think it was, they have the right to have such a party. It's not illegal and there is little anyone can do about it (that I know of). This is not the first time this has happened. I recall pictures posted on the internet from an identical "whites in black face party" that was given a few years ago. I personally could care less what they do.

"Honestly. I think the very BEST response the Black students can make to these mofos is to graduate Summa Cum Laude in Math, Science and Engineering."

On the money bro! That is the best response. Excel in academics, graduate with honors and move on. You can't stop white folks from having racist parties. It's a free country and they have the right to do so. As I said, I find such behavior to be childish and ignorant. Best response: GET A DEGREE AND MOVE ON....!!!

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Yvettep
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 02:36 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

ABM and Ntfs, I should note that in many of these instances it is not the Black students (or faculty and staff) that first raise an alarm: It is the administration. That makes me think that administrators are embarassed by these incidents because they feel it reflects poorly on their reputations as places of serious learning.

I think many Blacks take that very stance, and it is one I alluded to above: ignore it, and (try to) keep excelling. The problem is that this is very difficult in practice, as these incidents happen on many campuses over and over during your tenure as a student, faculty, or staff member. Kinda like some kind of chronic illness that you can't shake.

Also, as has been noted, these students' "right" to express racism will, if unchecked, certainly translate to an assumption of entitlement to actually practice such bias in the world of work once they graduate. So, it seems someone ought to respond. Is that someone "us"? And if not, who?

Finally, although "get a degree and move on" may be an appropriate response for individuals, it does nothing to change the institutional culture for the Black students that follow. I'm not sure I am comfortable with that idea. Although I am also not convinced that anything that is currently being done on the institutional level has any hope of changing things, either.

In light of this, HBIs look better and better...
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Mzuri
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 03:25 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)


Chris - As usual you missed my point. Anyone who engages in this type of conduct and is dumb enough to pose for photos, doesn't need to be in an institution of higher learning.

They need to be dismissed to make room for people who are worthy of that.


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Abm
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 03:27 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Yvettep,

Well. I suggest somebody introduce Clemson's administrators to the United States of America. It's a FREE country, one that allows, with some limits, mofos to act how the hell they want to, even when such pisses the rest of us off.

Look. If some cracker chicanery is spilling over unto campus and is affecting what occurs there, it should be SWIFTLY dealt with. But, hell, if we make it a point to try to thwart EACH/EVERY thing some redneck does in this country, we'll be too dayam tired to get out of bed every morning, babe.


The ONLY thing that might change the behavior of White foks is our being STRONG enuff to stand and succeed WITHOUT our having to constantly appeal to a conscious and a empathy that they've INCESSANTLY proven themselves wholly INCAPABLE of having.
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Chrishayden
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 03:54 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Chris - As usual you missed my point. Anyone who engages in this type of conduct and is dumb enough to pose for photos, doesn't need to be in an institution of higher learning.

They need to be dismissed to make room for people who are worthy of that.

(Throw out a bunch of white kids because they made fun of Negroes? Don't hold your breath.

We had a Governor who did the same thing--Mel Carnahan--stood up with three other white guys in black face, crooning songs.

Apparently this is a qualification for higher office--)
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Ntfs_encryption
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 03:55 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

”ABM and Ntfs, I should note that in many of these instances it is not the Black students (or faculty and staff) that first raise an alarm: It is the administration. That makes me think that administrators are embarrassed by these incidents because they feel it reflects poorly on their reputations as places of serious learning.”

Excellent point Yvett. The school admin has a stake in this because such wanton and reckless parties of silly racism does reflect on the university. As you know, the courts are reluctant to get involved in such cases even though there are guidelines (nebulous and arbitrary as they are) that address such freedoms. If the activity did not involve school student funding and occurred off campus, there is little they can do.

”Also, as has been noted, these students' "right" to express racism will, if unchecked, certainly translate to an assumption of entitlement to actually practice such bias in the world of work once they graduate. So, it seems someone ought to respond. Is that someone "us"? And if not, who?”

Well, once again, the universities hands are tied. The students who attended this party came well prepared in black face or morally not objecting to a party that was advertised as mocking blacks. They knew in advance of the nature of this racist spoof. And for those who did not know, once they arrived, they had the option of voicing their objection and leaving or just shrugging their shoulders with indifference and enjoying the free beer. It matters not whether such parties are banned period! The racist sentiments of these students was there before the party and will remain whether they are allowed to express it in such a social situation or not. Bottom line: There is little you can do about the mindset that spawned this behavior –racist black face parities or not.

”Finally, although "get a degree and move on" may be an appropriate response for individuals, it does nothing to change the institutional culture for the Black students that follow. I'm not sure I am comfortable with that idea. Although I am also not convinced that anything that is currently being done on the institutional level has any hope of changing things, either.”

Another excellent point. I agree with you that students should not have to endure a hostile environment where such behavior is allowed to openly exist. But what are the options? What legal recourse do you have? The white students will only resent such a ban and continue their black face parties, off campus, but with exclusive invites and the understanding that pictures or information will be stifled. Once again, I don’t see a workable solution that will transform these young racists. Leaving the blacks and other minorities to study, excel, graduate and get the hell away. But I do feel we should not over look the fact that such parities do not necessarily represent the sentiments of the majority of white students. I’m sure many were just as appalled and disgusted at this behavior as we are.

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Yvettep
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 04:29 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

such parities do not necessarily represent the sentiments of the majority of white students. I’m sure many were just as appalled and disgusted at this behavior as we are.

Yup, exactly. And if this kind of publicity around such incidents does any good, it is in giving those students a chance to stand and say "That is not me. I do not approve. I do not want to be associated with *those* kind of White people..." You ask what will change this behavior? I think that kind of peer pressure from other White students may have the best shot.
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Mzuri
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 04:38 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)


Chris - Can you even read? And comprehend?

I said "If I were the decision maker"

What the is the matter with you???


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Nels
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Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 08:39 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

The black folks who got mocked deserved it. As long as blacks continue to fuel BET's and young white America's insatiable appetites for bootylicious videos piloted by a bunch of uneducated and undereducated grill-toothed jive-a s s thugs, then no one should be suprised at how others perceive blacks; or at least the types depicted in hip-hop, etc.
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Tonya
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Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 12:59 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I blame Uncle Tom coon ni-ggers & the ni-gger Black man. They're turning back the clock.
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Tonya
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Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 01:00 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I blame Uncle Tom coon ni-ggers and the ni-gger Black man. They're turning back the clock.
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China_b
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Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 01:13 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I HATE TO KEEP REPEATING MYSELF, BUT THE BOOK "WHITE MEN CAN'T HUMP" SPELLED OUT A REMEDY TO STOP THIS KINDA SH*T IN THE STEREOTYPES CHAPTER.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT A MINUTE MAN PARTY IS?
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Yvettep
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Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 10:28 am:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Related...

Racist Banter Behind Closed Doors
At a large Midwestern university, several white friends get together for drinks. One person makes a racial joke, another starts singing a song filled with derogatory words. A student makes a greeting card with the ‘N-word’ written on it and passes it around the room, despite objections from a few others. No one outside the group hears the banter or sees the card.

This scene comes courtesy of a student who participated in a scholarly study in which he was asked to observe conversations happening around him that involved race. In a forthcoming book, a researcher at the University of Dayton identifies hundreds of these journal entries describing what she considers to be racist conversations or events that are often tolerated when the white students are talking among themselves.

The results might help shed light on the controversial parties at numerous colleges that involved white students wearing blackface and dressing in stereotypical ghetto garb on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“What strikes me is how common these antics are and how casually students say the ‘N-word’,” said Leslie H. Picca, one of the book’s co-authors and an assistant professor of sociology at Dayton. “What the MLK parties show is that there isn’t an awareness among white students that their actions are problematic, even if black students aren’t around to hear.”

Picca’s research shows that while many white students are prone to making derogatory comments in a “backstage” setting (a private gathering of friends), they are unlikely to start such a conversation when in a “frontstage” situation (a public setting where people of color might be present.) The research is featured in the book, “Two-Faced Racism: Whites in the Backstage and Frontstage,” scheduled for release from Routledge Publishing in April.

For her dissertation at the University of Florida, Picca asked students at a number of institutions to keep the journal of conversations over a period of a few weeks during the 2002-3 academic year. More than 1,000 students participated, and Picca looked at entries of 626 white students who provided first-person accounts of interactions with others, mostly in the 18-to-25 age group. Students were instructed not to initiate the conversations or interview anyone about the topic.

Nearly 70 percent of students whose journals were viewed were white women, and the vast majority of students attended one of five colleges in either Florida or Georgia or a large university in the Midwest. Some of the colleges represented have very few black students enrolled.

Picca said she found that not only did white students stay away from conversations about race in the “frontstage,” but many went out of their way to be polite to people of color when in public.

Joe. R. Feagin, a professor of sociology at Texas A&M University and co-author of the book, called the journals “pretty disturbing material.” Feagin, who has spent much of his career studying white attitudes toward people of color, explored the issue of how white people discuss race in a public and private setting in his book, White Racism: The Basics. (Picca was a graduate student of Feagin’s.)

Feagin said Picca is building on an argument backed by some sociologists that white racist thought hasn’t disappeared but rather moved largely to the backstage setting.

“It’s extremely common for white college students, guys especially, to start competing with each other, telling anti-Semitic jokes or anti-black jokes,” he said.

Picca received journal entries from non-white students but is saving the information for a later report. Feagin said that the black students tended to write about what their white friends say in private and how it feels to be a “token” member of a group.

Picca’s research suggests that white students keep their conversations secret by whispering or using code words and vague language to make racial descriptions. She writes that white women appear more likely to object to the racist language and jokes, even though they might face insults for the objections.

She said the derogatory terms used to describe people of color are being recycled from previous generations.

In the journals, few students admitted to being a principal actor in the derogatory conversation, but some admitted to participating.

“For many white students, they felt bad [hearing this talk] and wrote that they wanted to confront their friends but didn’t have the courage,” Picca said. “There is a glimmer of hope for raised awareness of what’s problematic here.”

— Elia Powers

The original story and user comments can be viewed online at http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/02/02/racist.

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Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption

Post Number: 1736
Registered: 10-2005

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Posted on Saturday, February 03, 2007 - 01:22 pm:   Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Well, not much you can do about this particular white bread racist mindset that is probably common on many universities. You have no more control over them than you do over the self destructive knucklehead culture that is embedded in the black underclass. Too bad.

“What strikes me is how common these antics are and how casually students say the ‘N-word’,” said Leslie H. Picca,"

Oh really? Wonder why? Blacks have the same issue. They never flinch nor hold their tongue when mindlessly uttering the same racist epitaph. What's the difference? No one is holding their feet to the fire for doing so. Opps! I forgot...I forgot....it's ok for blacks to openly and consistently call one another the "N-word" on a never ending basis because....because...well, it's their prerogative to degrade themselves. They're black. It's like women calling one another bitches. Men are not allowed least they be seen as misogynists or disrespectful. My bad! I got it..I got.... Sorry about that.

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