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1. University of Arizona students celebrate MLK day with blackface party at Racialicious - the intersection of race and pop culture on 12 Feb 2007 at 9:01 am

   […] January 15th coming up with ways to mock the memory of Martin Luther King. Not only did students at Tarleton State University, University of Connecticut School of Law, and Clemson University throw “ghetto parties” […]

Comments

1. Rob wrote:

   What’s really funny is when they said they’re not sure how they offended others. They might as well say that they were celebrating black culture.

   Posted 26 Jan 2007 at 2:04 pm ¶

2. Angel H. wrote:

   [sigh] Well, at least they weren’t wearing blackface this time.

   Posted 26 Jan 2007 at 2:36 pm ¶

3. Carmen Van Kerckhove wrote:

   Well, it’s virtual blackface, really.

   Man, Black History Month will be here in a matter of days. I can only imagine how it will be honored by students like these.

   Posted 26 Jan 2007 at 2:40 pm ¶

4. Angel H. wrote:

   It just makes me so sad! Everyday, racism seems to be getting more and more prevalent (sp?), and then you have people who just shrug their shoulders and say, “What’s the big f***ing deal?”

   [soapbox]
   I hate the fact that as a black person, I’m a target for ridicule. As a fat person, I’m a target for scorn and disgust. As a woman, I’m a just a product.

   It disgusts me.

   [/soapbox….for now]

   Posted 26 Jan 2007 at 2:41 pm ¶

5. Just Wondering wrote:

   You know, I almost feel sorry for the kids in these pictures.

   It’s easy to say “they are blatantly racist” or “they learned that from their parents” or some other comforting bromide, and indeed it might be true for some. But these kinds of actions aren’t always easily explained away, and that’s the real issue here.

   I would be willing to bet that most of them didn’t even stop to think that their dress-up party was offensive and hateful. It probably didn’t cross their mind — just another night of drinking, this time with “fun” costumes.

   The most troubling thing is that so many go along with the idea and no one has the guts to say “this is wrong.” And then they post the photos for all the world to see? They obviously have no clue … it’s like they have a few wires crossed in their brain or something.

   The only good thing to come from exposing these campus parties is that it might help educate some young people or cause them to re-examine their motivations.

   Posted 26 Jan 2007 at 3:00 pm ¶

6. MizuWari wrote:

   Is anybody really HONESTLY surprised at this?

   We’re living in a meta-post-”bling” fallout age where Blacks are getting paid a lot of money to act the neo-coon and claiming hipster “irony” means never having to say you’re a racial insensitivist.

   I could’ve smelled this light-years ago. I remember a time when wiggerism was actually “genuine” and some white folks were down with the real deal. Evolutionary hipsterism and pop culture irony in the name of trying to get one’s 15 minutes of fame on YouTube killed that noise real fast. Not to mention it’s “okay” for whites to use the n-bomb and other related fashionable facets of Black “culture” as long as you’re part of a scene that gives you the mental ghetto pass you think you’ve been given, by nature of hip-hop’s internalization.

   Until a literal sea change of thought AND practice occurs in the minds and dollar bills of the ones who control the pipelines of the images these future leaders of America are celebramocking, you can expect to see more of these little soirees to pop up in the future. And if I hold my breath waiting for that happy day, you can best believe I’ll be breathing out of my nostrils.

   Posted 26 Jan 2007 at 3:39 pm ¶

7. Student wrote:

   I can’t speak to the MLK party, but the UConn party photos were posted with privacy settings on facebook and were shared by a partygoer with the media. So don’t assume this was a public mocking. And do acknowledge that the photos of the black students in attendance were not released to the media.

   Posted 26 Jan 2007 at 3:59 pm ¶

8. Carmen Van Kerckhove wrote:

   Student’s response is a classic example of the no. 3 most favorite tactic to deflect accusations of racism I outlined here:
   http://tinyurl.com/27ey2m

   Just because black students were in attendance, and maybe even participated, doesn’t mean it wasn’t racist.

   Posted 26 Jan 2007 at 4:11 pm ¶

9. makethelogobigger wrote:

   Student - Sorry, not buying it.

   Whether it was public or private, it’s wrong. And I would expect they would have the party somewhere they could be under the radar. Using that rational, does that mean white supremicist meetings in private are ok then?

   Maybe the UConn Law Possee can explain that to their future clients they be ‘representin’ and see if they share the same view it was harmless. And just because there were people there who were black, I can’t speak for them. (Even if there were non-white races present, it doesn’t justify or excuse it, ever.)

   Or does it in your mind?

   As a former UConn grad ‘85, I’m fucking disgusted at this and other behavioral shit that keeps happening there. A friday night kegger in any college is one thing, but an off-campus riot burning my old apartments is over the top and is just but one incident that’s disgraced the school. But hey, as long as Calhoun and Auriemma have them winning, nothing else matters, right?

   An indicator of the climate there was summed up nicely for me when I was approached on campus to join a white supremicist group. I didn’t join needless to say.

   Now they walk around after the meeting in Hartford like, “What, what’ we do?” Clearly this mindset continues even 20 years later. People know right from wrong early on in life. The ‘I didn’t know and I’m only 20′ bullshit has to stop, (not just for the racial incidents either).

   What, we’re supposed to believe now Uconn law admits idiots who don’t know this shit is wrong? Wow. I want THAT lawyer representing me. Hope he forgets a key fact. Reminds me of the stuttering attorney in My Cousin Vinny. Not buying that excuse either.

   Even the code of conduct still doesn’t address the problem. Covers everything else BUT racial issues though:

   http://www.dosa.uconn.edu/student_code_partiii.html

   Posted 26 Jan 2007 at 5:08 pm ¶

10. Rachel wrote:

    I went to grad school at UCONN, and what is most depressing is that one of the people in attendance is the graduate student representative to the board of trustees. Fortunately for him, he wore a “tuxedo,” but he was still there partying it up.

    Posted 26 Jan 2007 at 5:45 pm ¶

11. StPat Jack wrote:

    The reason why these incidents, and the many other incidents that occur everyday in this country that we will never hear about, MUST outrage every US citizen with a nonracist perspective is very simple. These “black face/cooning” parties create an atmophere that dehumanizes those that they mock. Yes, as an educated black women who does not fit these stereotypes, maybe I should be upset that some black people act in a way that makes theselves vulnerable to racist imitation but, that would be equal to “blaming the victim”. So, let me give you an example as to why this behavior is unacceptable.
    Last year in Florida, the state where I live, a young boy died while in the custody of the FL Sheriff’s Dept at a bootcamp for juveniles. At first, the medical examiner released an autopsy that the boy died from “sickle cell trait” that was aggrevated by the physical activities he had participated in prior to his collapse. The M.E. came to this conclusion, even after viewing a tape of the boy prior to his death, that shows him being chocked, punched, kicked and kneed, by several sheriffs. It was later concluded that the boy died from extremed dehydration and exphyxsia. His death has since been ruled a homicide and those involved will be on trial in the near future.
    Why is the above story an example of the effects of this supposed innocuos behavior, by proprted friends of minorities, you may ask? Well, b/c, i f these “innocent” prejudices did not exist, we, as a just society, would not think it OK to try to cover up the death of a CHILD. Whether that child was a gangbanger, whose pants hung down to hes ankles with a mouth full of gold is NOT relevant. He life is/was VALULABLE and he did not deserve to die like an animal and have gov’t employees try to convince his mother that it was genetic.We continue in this society to value white life over black/brown life b/c of acts like those that took place in TX and CT. Another example would be the mother in CA, who had been hospitilized for mental disorders, told her case worker she was going to harm her children, ended up killing them, being sentenced to prison. While another mother in TX with no history of being hospitilized for mental disorders, no threats to anyone the day she killed her children, gets a new trial, is sentenced to a hospital and could, possibly, be out in less than 10 years.
    It is important as good citizens that we do not allow this type of behavior to go unchecked. If I feel I can mock you with out reprise, why will I care if you are mudered, mistreated, abused or in any way victimized? The answer is I will not.
    Just sayin…

    Posted 26 Jan 2007 at 6:29 pm ¶

12. Meg wrote:

    The law students really stick out to me cos they’re the ones you’d be pinning future hopes on. I don’t know how good a school it is but they all have a chance at being judges, supreme court, federal court where they’d have to deal wtih the most important of isses and this is their style? That’s not even getting into the issue of class that this party betrays (imo).

    hope the law students use those pics when they try to get hired somewhere - see how far it gets them.

    as for the timing around MLK day for the other students, it reinforces to me that the day might not be as revered as it appears on the news. When i was in school in america (briefly) they didn’t observe the holiday (normal school day) or say anything about it and it was explained to me that they didn’t bother at this school “cos we don’t have any black ppl here” - that was a few years ago but surprised the hell out of me. Maybe i wound up in a peculiar school but geez to mock black ppl at a time when you should be most conscious of race issues?

    Posted 26 Jan 2007 at 6:43 pm ¶

13. Meg wrote:

    StPat Jack - i saw that video, bloody hell, it’s scary to think if it hadn’t been caught on tape it’d just be another dead troubled kid and that’d be the end of it.

    Posted 26 Jan 2007 at 6:46 pm ¶

14. P.Moore wrote:

    More YouTube-age; the following link is to an interview with the party boy who put the photos up on his Facebook profile. Apparently, there’s a lot of “healing” going on at Tarleton…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H52mjVINt4

    Posted 26 Jan 2007 at 10:26 pm ¶

15. Rachel wrote:

    You have to give some credit to the student in the news report, who actually came forward, and truly apologized, not a half baked stupid apology, but a real one. Moreover, his response to the reporter’s caveat at the end about how he was getting letters of support was also good.

    I guess university PR departments are getting word out about how to deal with these situations.

    Posted 27 Jan 2007 at 12:20 am ¶

16. ren wrote:

    Wait. So you’re saying you don’t trust these white law students perception of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment that operates under the precept that all men are created equal considering the experiences they had to endure living as a minority once in college? Hmmm, I might have to agree with you.

    I think you people give law students FAR too much credit. If you’re pinning future hopes on them, realize half the people in law school go in because they can’t find work as an undergraduate, scared of their parents disapproving of their lack of success, or delusional that practicing law is akin to the superstardom of Ally McBeal. An unbearable amount of non-reasoning idiots in the law schools of America.

    Just Wondering, I agree with your assessment that there is a lack of pertinent information. I was reading that article concerning the Tarleton incident where they assembled for a university forum…

    “It was civil, but it also escalated into a shouting match…”

    But what was said? That’s the actual news. Why didn’t you delve into the issue of what would spark a shouting match concerning an incident that is obviously inexcusable? Would it be asking too much for the Associated Press to actually engage in journalism?

    And the forum only consisted of 400 students, there are 400 black students at the college alone. Based on my experience at “diversity issues” forums, the people that actually come to the forums aren’t the one’s most likely to engage in this type of reprehensible behavior. The one’s who would are in the 7,400 students that didn’t bother to attend. And yet the fighting and bickering over the issues occur at these forums where pretty much everyone is an ally and in agreement.

    And to Student, I’m totally in agreement. Like when they catch those guys and find underage porn on their computer and they have a password on their files, hello, that’s obviously not meant to be broken into by law enforcement. That password is for privacy, the files aren’t meant to be seen by the anyone else, and the police should respect that. And if those images do get broken into and publicized as evidence you shouldn’t assume from the evidence that their intentions weren’t good. They were fine until you showed disregard for their personal privacy.

    Posted 27 Jan 2007 at 12:56 am ¶

17. Rob wrote:

    I love the response of “It was meant for public consumption.” So, what you’re saying is that you’re not sorry for the act, you’re sorry you got caught mocking others behind their back.

    Posted 27 Jan 2007 at 12:20 pm ¶

18. kim wrote:

    Rob,

    I think they were of the mindset they were celebrating Black culture.

    MizuWari: Ooh, baby! Love the way you put that .

    Posted 27 Jan 2007 at 1:54 pm ¶

19. Texan wrote:

    Which one of you bootlicking white pansy liberals would walk through a black neighborhood in the daytime or nightime by yourself. There’s not a f–king one of you who would because you’d be stereotyping. That makes you a racist even though you claim you’re not one.

    I’m offended that others are offended over these pictures of the party.

    Posted 28 Jan 2007 at 12:31 am ¶

20. mr guy wrote:

    texan:

    Why are you offended that others are offended over the pictures of the party.

    Posted 28 Jan 2007 at 12:50 am ¶

21. ren wrote:

    Texan,

    Considering that I’m probably more of a real conservative then you are, I take offense at the white pansy liberal remark. I like how you assume first that we’re white, secondly that none of us ever had to grow up in public housing. Nevertheless, following your rational we can just assume you’re a gun toting chicken-hawk who likes to cradle his Chinese made assault rife and claim how he’d single handedly drive back waves of Al-Qaeda fighters yet we don’t see you walking through Iraq neighborhoods in the daytime or nighttime. You f-king wouldn’t because you like to play the stereotype of the hardened Texan, and considering the American people’s experiences with that nobody is really impressed. That makes you a pansy, even though you’d claim you’re not one. Aren’t ad hominems fun? Unless you actually want to discuss the “issue”, please humbly go back to being the toughest talking Texan in your white gated community.

    Posted 28 Jan 2007 at 3:39 am ¶

22. Lyonside wrote:

    Texan:

    Nice assuptions - we’re all white liberals, eh? Nice to see your bias right there staring at us.

    My mom is a white conservative - she WORKS in a black inner city neighborhood, walks there often, TEACHES CHILDREN in it. And she teaches her kids respect for themselves and each other - she discourages any thug-like behavior, gangsta rap, offensive slang, etc. that these little kids pick up.

    Her kids are better behaved than the brain trusts in these pictures.

    Oh, and BTW - she teaches Preschool.

    Posted 28 Jan 2007 at 3:42 am ¶

23. justin wrote:

    I don’t really want to contribute to the degeneration of this thread, but on the subject of Chinese made assault weapons does any one know if the anti-satellite missile could overt the Armageddon scenario where guy’s like Texan have to fly into space and land mine an asteroid or does everyone have such a big grudge against China that they don’t even care?

    Posted 28 Jan 2007 at 6:31 am ¶

24. ren wrote:

    Justin,

    I don’t really care. Assuming the asteroid is in orbit to hit the earth at a distance where China is both in target and in range of the asteroid… meh… considering it was a low orbit missile and (I believe) it wasn’t explosive it merely rammed its way through the satellite which would be unlikely in Armageddon where the asteroid is the size of Texas. That would require every nuclear missile we have assuming we could fire them into space to hit the asteroid at a range where the debris alone wouldn’t just wipe out the entire planet. I would still vouch for sending Texan up into space with a nuclear warhead… and tear up as the Aerosmith music kicks in.

    Posted 28 Jan 2007 at 11:14 am ¶

25. justin wrote:

    hi ren,
    I think I’d like to see China save the world instead of just saving folk’s money by exporting the high-quality low-cost products.
    Maybe America could get by without Imported assault rifles (?) and gunsmiths really should be protected and subsidized, cause that’s your heritage, and we don’t really want good ole boys like Texan to come across like hypocrites, do we?

    Posted 28 Jan 2007 at 12:48 pm ¶

26. bertie wrote:

    Texan…um–I walk (well actually drive because I’m in Houston and no-one walks) in a black neighborhood every time I leave my house. Not all black neighborhoods resemble what you see in grand theft auto or on cover art of your 50 cent cd. We actually have 2 universities (UH and TSU) numerous churches, green spaces (McGregor Park) in my black neighborhood. You should visit the third ward sometimes and get a better feel for what you obviously know nothing about. Trust me there are plenty of non-white liberals like myself living life daily in black neighborhoods without fear.

    Posted 28 Jan 2007 at 3:16 pm ¶

27. makethelogobigger wrote:

    Texas, there’s a difference between walking through a neighborhood you may not live in and having a party dressed up as Aunt Jamima. That’s just fucking stupid. Like, Bruce Willis Die Hard 2 in Harlem wearing -a-I HATE-N-sign stupid.

    More importantly, I wanna know why they only sent one black guy up with the rest of the crazy white m’fers to blow up the asteroid. I wouldn’t go to 7-11 with Buschemi, let alone outter space. Does that make me a prejudice against cRaZy bug-eyed dudes like him? Probably.

    Posted 28 Jan 2007 at 3:46 pm ¶

28. ren wrote:

    Now hold on makethelogobigger,

    Offend Texan, that’s fine. But now you go drawing Bruce Willis into this. For starters it was Die Hard with a Vengeance, Die Hard 2 was the one at the airport with Dennis Franz playing of all things, a fat cop and John Amos from Good Times.

    Now to the real issue of why they only sent one black guy, come on now… his lone presence created major tension. Film audiences were expecting him to die before the shuttle even left the ground. Hurtling space rock, bare electrical cable, on ship reveal of a secret coke habit, malfunctioning door… come on you figured the lone black guy would buy it somehow. Anyways could the world handle being indebted to anyone else but Bruce? It was all his sacrifice that saved the world. That’s why there were no Asians in all of Armageddon. If an Asian was on that crew, our natural oriental-on-screen suicidal urge to sacrifice ourselves would take over saving Bruce from the gutwrenching dilemma. Audiences would just shrug. So what some faceless Asian just jumped into a canyon with a nuclear warhead tied to him. Yay the world is saved.

    Posted 28 Jan 2007 at 4:45 pm ¶

29. Rachel wrote:

    Texan,
    I’m a white liberal, and I lived in teh city of Detroit for 4 years. In my entire four years, I never had any major problems. I personally heard one disparaging remark in that whil foru years, so I really don’t know what you’re talking about.

    Posted 29 Jan 2007 at 12:49 am ¶

30. Fred wrote:

    Oh my goodness, people wearing sideways baseball caps and tattoos, how horrible!

    Posted 31 Jan 2007 at 10:57 pm ¶

31. Lyonside wrote:

    Fred: you REALLY didn’t look at the pics here or regarding other photos. You really only saw baseball caps? Talk about selective amnesia…

    Posted 31 Jan 2007 at 11:14 pm ¶

32. SUSAN wrote:

    U KNO WAT? I AM WHITE , 14 YRS OLD, AND LIVE IN LOUISIANA!! WHAT THEM STUPID IGNORANT “COLLEGE STUDENTS” DID IS STUPID!!! AND I KNO DAMN GOOD AND WELL THAT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM “WHITE” KIDS OVER KNOWS THAT IS WAS REALLY WRONG TO HAVE THAT PART ON DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.’S BIRTHDAY… I THINK ITS DESCRIMINATION. I THINK THAT EACH AND EVERY PERSON THAT WENT TO THE “GANGTA” PART IS EFFIN STUPID!
    AND I THINK THAT “WHOEVER” WAS THE ONE WHO DECIDED TO HAVE THE PARTY IS N EFFING HEARTLESS ASSHOLE!!!!AND I KNOW THAT WHOEVER READS THIS MITE THINK IM JUST A LIL KID THAT DOESNT KNOW WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT BUT I DO… I WOULD NEVER GO TO A PARTY LIKE THAT ESPECIALLY ON DR.KING’S BIRTHDAY… WHEN I HEARD ABOUT THIS I WAS LIKE “WHAT THE HELL WAS THEM A**HOLES THINKING???” MAYBE IT WOULD BE DIFFERENT IF THE PARTY WASNT ON DR. KING’S BIRTHDAY!!!!! DR. KING IS ONE OF THE MOST KNOWN HEROES IN THE UNITED STATES. AND MOST PEOPLE WOULD BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT HE DID AND THINKS ABOUT HOW GREATFULL HE WAS TO SHARE HIS DREAM WITH THE WORLD….

    Posted 01 Feb 2007 at 7:00 pm ¶

33. David Broadnax wrote:

    Here it is 2007, When will it ever stop? This is sad.

    Posted 04 Feb 2007 at 4:35 pm ¶

34. Elvira wrote:

    I think that it is so sad!! They really think that this would not effect colored people i mean for real. Dr. Martin Luther King Had a dream and his Dream was for all colors to get along and have the same rights. At one time whites and blacks could not even go to the same bathroom but not we can. People want to go and mess up his dream ust so they can have a little fun that is not funny!! How would the whites like it if colored people dressed up as white people an acted all white on one of there important Holidays they wouldn’t like it would they no they wouldn’t so why did they think that this is any different? You tell me. It just makes me mad that poeple caould do something like that and see nothing wrong with it. It is very wrong!!!!!!!!!!!

    Posted 09 Feb 2007 at 11:37 am ¶

35. Elvira wrote:

    I think that it is so sad!! They really think that this would not effect colored people i mean for real. Dr. Martin Luther King Had a dream and his Dream was for all colors to get along and have the same rights. At one time whites and blacks could not even go to the same bathroom but now we can. People want to go and mess up his dream just so they can have a little fun that is not funny!! How would the whites like it if colored people dressed up as white people an acted all white on one of there important Holidays they wouldn’t like it would they no they wouldn’t so why did they think that this is any different? You tell me. It just makes me mad that poeple could do something like that and see nothing wrong with it. It is very wrong!!!!!!!!!!! I mean i kno they just wanted to hve fun but they went way to far

    Posted 09 Feb 2007 at 11:42 am ¶

36. ShaunPaul wrote:

    If you ask me, we as black people make these stereo types far worse than they have to be, if we stop claiming big asses, gold teeth, slang talking and getting drunk exclusive to us then we wouldn’t have this problem. But every time a European American person does something like this we say they are acting black, none of that shit is exclusive to African Americans. There are plenty of other races of women with big asses, are just plain fat, there’s plenty of other races talking slang, every race has people that get drunk and a dentist or whoever will put gold in anybodies mouth. We need to stop getting so pissed and stop claiming this crap as being ‘black’. Anybody can behave like this, being black is like being any other race, a birthright you are born with it if I start acting like what society claims is acting white it’s not going to make my skin change and I become white, so what is acting black or acting white? A bunch of bullshit to me and we will never move ahead until we figure that out.

    Posted 09 Feb 2007 at 1:26 pm ¶

37. LM wrote:

    ShaunPaul,

    Good points… but I think the outrage is over the kids at the party “claiming this crap” as “black.” If race ridicule wasn’t the goal they wouldn’t have used blackface, etc.

    Nonetheless, cutting down on stupidity is something from which everyone can benefit. We’re together on that

    Posted 09 Feb 2007 at 5:58 pm ¶

38. Robin Fletcher wrote:

    I graduated from Tarleton State in 1999. I am sickened and horrified that thi shappened, but not at all surprised. It has, in fact, happened before. I witnessed such at a fraternity party to which I was so foolish to attend in the first place–in about 1998. No one at Tarleton should be shocked, but they should be ashamed and they must act if they ever expect me to even consider giving $$$ back to TSU in the future. I strongly recommend sensitivity training be reqquired of every student before she/she graduates from a U that has had a few such instances, just none to make national news until this. Robin Fletcher, a college professor in North Texas area

    Posted 16 Sep 2007 at 10:22 pm ¶

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