Colbert’s Brilliance

I absolutely love Colbert’s take on the foolishness that is taking place in Wake County, North Carolina.  Check it out for yourself!

 

UPDATE: Charges Against Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Dropped!

Thanks to one of the comments on my earlier post today, I checked MSNBC.com to find out that the charges against Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. were dropped.

Excerpt from the article on MSNBC.com:

“Prosecutors on Tuesday agreed to drop a disorderly conduct charge against Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. after the noted African-American scholar accused police of racism when he was arrested at his home following a report of a break-in there.

In a statement, the city and police department of Cambridge, Mass., said they had “recommended to the Middlesex County District Attorney that the criminal charge against Professor Gates not proceed.”

“This incident should not be viewed as one that demeans the character and reputation of Professor Gates or the character of the Cambridge Police Department. All parties agree that this is a just resolution to an unfortunate set of circumstances,” the statement continued.”

Well, there we have it.  I’m glad that the charges have been dropped and this situation resolved; however, I do hope that we continue to view this as a sign that racism and racial profiling still exist.  We cannot continue to ignore the persistent role that racism plays in our society; whether blatant or covert.

Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Arrested

Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the pre-eminent African American studies scholar, was arrested after attempting to get into his locked home.

Here’s a snippet of an article posted on MSNBC.com:

“Police responding to a call about “two black males” breaking into a home near Harvard University ended up arresting the man who lives there — Henry Louis Gates Jr., the pre-eminent African-American studies scholar.

Gates had forced his way through the front door because it was jammed, his lawyer said. Colleagues call the arrest last Thursday afternoon a clear case of racial profiling.

Cambridge police say they responded to the well-maintained two-story home after a woman reported seeing “two black males with backpacks on the porch,” with one “wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry.”…

He was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge after police said he “exhibited loud and tumultuous behavior.” He was released later that day on his own recognizance. An arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 26. Police refused to comment on the arrest Monday.

Gates, 58, also refused to speak publicly Monday, referring calls to his attorney, fellow Harvard scholar Charles Ogletree…

Ogletree said Gates had returned from a trip to China on Thursday with a driver, when he found his front door jammed. He went through the back door into the home — which he leases from Harvard — shut off an alarm and worked with the driver to get the door open. The driver left, and Gates was on the phone with the property’s management company when police first arrived.”

Hmmm…I must say that it will be interesting to see how this turns out, and how Harvard University and Cambridge respond to this incident.  I can most definitely understand Gates’ perspective in this situation, and what bothers me most is that there is the automatic assumption by the caller that these two black men must be breaking into a house.  At no point does it ever cross the caller’s mind that this person might live there, that their door might be jammed.

Would there have been the same action taken if the only thing different about the scenario was that it was two white men seen at the house?  While I’d like to say yes, my experience has taught me that the answer would be no.  But I guess we’ll never know.

The bottom line is that when it comes to race in America, we still have a ways to go.

Yes, We Need HBCUs

I suppose that it’s a bit strange for me, a proud alumni of both the University of North Carolina and the University of Georgia, to write about the necessity of historically black colleges and universities.  But in these struggling times, it seems that historically black colleges and universities are facing extremely difficult times.  I recently posted about how the recession was affecting schools such as Morehouse College and Spelman College.  But, it’s bigger than that.

The major question that seems to be floating around is somewhere along the lines of, “Is there a need for a historically black college and university?”  People use all sorts of reasons to justify, citing the recent election of Senator Barack Obama to the office of President of the United States.  Or people will argue that racism isn’t “that bad” and having separate schools will only perpetuate the problem.  Regardless of the reason, historically black colleges and universities are important beacons of higher learning that are still needed today.

There was a time when African Americans could only dream of attending the universities that I attended.  Unless we were planning to work in the kitchen, on the grounds, in housekeeping, or some other servile position, African Americans were not welcomed.  HBCUs were established to provide African American students with the higher learning that they desired, as well was instill a cultural pride and tradition.  Students were encouraged to take what they learned at Howard, Hampton, Fisk, North Carolina A&T, or North Carolina Central (just to name a few) and go serve their communities.

Students who attended these universities will tell you of how the experience changed their life.  And while I will be quick to say that I loved every bit of the time I spent at UNC and UGA, there’s a different spirit that envelops the campus of an HBCU- from the administration, to the professors, to the homecoming celebrations, to the family lineage of attendees.  Its a spirit that celebrates being African American, and all that it means, in its various forms.

Historically black colleges and universities gave African American students an opportunity to achieve when there was no other avenue available.  And that is still so today.  Many HBCUs still hold on to their access mission; hoping to bring in as many of the best and the brightest that they can.  And while there are a number of African American students who are now able to choose between Johns Hopkins and Johnson C. Smith, we’re still finding that some will choose the Johnson C. Smith because there’s something special there that makes it a better fit.

Two articles, one in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the other from MSNBC.com detail how the financial recession is affecting HBCUs.  It’s not the first time these institutions have faced hard times.  It’s not the first time that they have been critiqued.  I believe that the schools will be able to overcome this situation, by cutting back (as several schools are doing), and hopefully with increased donations among students, faculty, and alumni.  It’s imperative for it to happen.  And honestly, I can’t see the landscape of higher education being the same without historically black colleges and universities.

What Losing White Privilege Sounds Like…

For those of you who haven’t heard/seen the John McCain concession speech, I like to think of it as “what losing white privilege sounds like.”

Tim Wise wrote about white privilege and the role that it played in the election.  You can read my entry on it here.

But for now, I think I’ll enjoy the droning sounds of Senator McCain, as he gracefully bows out…and hands over a little white privilege at the same time:

And, in all seriousness, it really was a good speech- and not because it was a McCain concession.  My sincere hope is that our nation will come together- and that we ALL take part in making our country the best that it can be.

Apparently, It’s Not Too Late to Apologize…

Yesterday, the House adopted that policy when they issued an apology for the African Americans for slavery and for Jim Crow.

Here’s an excerpt of the article that appeared on MSNBC.com:

The House on Tuesday issued an unprecedented apology to black Americans for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow segregation laws…

Congress has issued apologies before — to Japanese-Americans for their internment during World War II and to native Hawaiians for the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893. In 2005, the Senate apologized for failing to pass anti-lynching laws.

Five states have issued apologies for slavery, but past proposals in Congress have stalled, partly over concerns that an apology would lead to demands for reparations — payment for damages.

There was no mention of reparations, and I think that’s okay, for a number of reasons.  For one, we are all so intertwined, that I can see people being upset when people who aren’t African Americans receive benefits.  Additionally, I’m not so sure what issuing a check would do- other than be a symbolic attempt at what had been previously promised (40 acres and a mule).  Perhaps that’s important; however, I can’t see that being something that fares well in the United States.  I also see that being something that will divide more than unite.

But, as we’ve learned- it’s not too late to apologize.  And I am glad that it’s happened.

ridiculous and in poor taste…

Yes, I’m talking about the cover of The New Yorker Magazine featuring Senator Barack Obama and his wife:

I wonder what’s next. It’s hard for me to be surprised at anything that comes out now.

Julian Bond Speaks the Truth on an Obama Presidency

I like the NAACP and I respect their work, more so historically than presently. And that’s me being honest. I think some people of my generation feel the same way.

However, I think that Julian Bond was on point with his remarks about an Obama Presidency at the NAACP Convention. Here’s an excerpt of an article published on MSNBC.com:

Julian Bond, a veteran civil rights leader, said Obama’s candidacy doesn’t “herald a post-civil rights America, any more than his victory in November will mean that race as an issue has been vanquished in America.”

But he drew loud applause when he said the country, and “all of us here,” are taking pride in the success in this year’s campaign by a candidate who couldn’t have stayed in some cities’ hotels a few decades ago.

“We know that Obama’s electoral success — even if he should win the ultimate prize — won’t signal an end to racial discrimination, but it does mark the high point of an interracial movement that dates back to the Underground Railroad,” Bond said, referring to Cincinnati’s historical role in helping fleeing slaves reach freedom.

I think it’s a great point to acknowledge. And I’m hoping that people don’t HONESTLY believe that having a black president would alleviate YEARS of racial inequality that is still present today. It’s definitely a move in the right direction; however, as to adjust the words of Robert Frost, the United States still “has promises to keep, and miles to go before she sleeps”…at least in the area of race relations.

Oh Really: White Students Drawn to Black Colleges

I read this article this morning, and I’m not too sure what I think about it. I’ll say the opening shocked me:

Michael Roberts has done more than study finance at historically black Benedict College. He’s played football for the college, joined a fraternity and proposed to his girlfriend.

Pretty typical, except that Roberts is one of the few whites who attend one of the nation’s traditionally black colleges.

It’s as if one would expect that an experience at an HBCU wouldn’t be “typical”. This then leads us to ask questions such as “What does typical mean?” and “What is the typical college experience?”

But I’m digressing. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

The first of what are now called historically black colleges and universities was Cheyney University in Pennsylvania, which was founded in 1837 so that blacks — barred from attending many traditional schools — could get advanced educations. Since then, more than 100 such institutions have been established in the U.S. and about 285,000 students attend the schools each year.

Lawsuits have forced many of the schools — about half of them are public — to diversify their student bodies, Baskerville said. In the 2005-06 school year, nearly 10 percent of their students were white, according to her association’s data.

Scholarships, new programs and recruitment have attracted dozens of whites to schools such as South Carolina State University, where they account for around 4 percent of the student body, said university spokeswoman Erica Prioleau. The school has a minority affairs office for white students, similar to those found for non-white students at traditionally white schools.

Part of me feels that this is fabulous for HBCUs, especially when there’s the idea that they are less rigorous than a PWU/PWI (predominantly white university/predominantly white institution). I also think that it’s a good experience for white students; however, I feel that the white students who would typically go to an HBCU are already comfortable with African Americans ANYWAY.

Yet and still, there’s another part of me that is wondering why can’t black people just have anything to themselves. And I find that even more interesting as a graduate of two PWUs. Many of my family members and some of my friends have gone to HBCUs, and they have let it be known that the experiences that I’ve had at UNC and UGA don’t even come close to comparing to the times they’ve had at NC A&T, NCCU, and Howard (to name a few).

I wish I could track this and see how it develops over time…

Being Race-Blind

According to MSNBC.com, the University of California system has reached a milestone by declaring that it is now “race-blind” in the admissions process.

After reading this article, I’m not too pleased. Here’s an excerpt:

The debate over affirmative action begins with how you define affirmative action.

To Connerly, it’s a system of “racial preferences” that drive a wedge between people. To his opponents, it’s a way to recognize that not everyone starts with the same advantages.

The debate came to UC in 1995 when, in a bitterly contested 14-10 vote, the system’s governing Board of Regents voted to stop looking at applicants’ race, effective for graduate students in 1997 and for undergrads the following year.

In 1996, Connerly took the movement statewide with Proposition 209, which banned consideration of race in public hiring, contracting and education.

I suppose that whenever arguments like this come up, I get a tad bit frustrated because I feel that race DOES matter. It determines, in some senses, what your experiences in the world are, how your perspectives are shaped and maintained. I don’t want people to blind to my race. I want you to see it. We don’t need to be race-blind. We need to be race-tolerant. We need to be at a point where we accept people and love them for their differences, and in order to do that, we need not attempt to be blind to them.

What do y’all think?