Another instance of racial discrimination has reared its head. This time at the University of Missouri, an institution not far from the Deep South but yet in an area of the country where racial tension has been on a rolling boil for some time. Black students took to the street and campus grounds to make it known that they will not accept the ignoring of the obvious mistreatment of students of color. On October 10, 2015, they presented their concerns during the homecoming parade in front of then president Tim Wolfe's car and hundreds of parade viewers. By November 6th, the Black football players had announced they will not participate in football activities in accordance with this movement to have the school president removed. The fallout of the eventual resignation included white students making threats towards Black students, and the media taking exception to not being allowed access to the activist group.
In about four weeks since the interruption of the homecoming parade, there was silence from the media and the university administration. Those sympathizing with the media must understand that these actions were of little importance to most of the media until the football team and athletic departments lifted their voices to the movement. Also, such a bold move as disrupting the homecoming parade should have garnered some recourse from the administration. One would suppose that crashing into the crowd and killing bystanders would be the extreme needed to gain national attention and a twitter "moment". Both media supporters and defenders of the administration, can have a time out on this one. Both groups seemingly took a "wait and see" approach to the events leading into the resignation of Wolfe. Maybe they figured a group of young Black kids were just acting out and would calm down so the situation could blow over.
The final group to jump in this discussion were the tired PWI vs. HBCU debaters. I have no disregard for the place that historical black colleges and universities have in the grand scheme of Black lives and education, and I also do not feel that an education at a predominately white institute equate to a higher standard of education than that at an HBCU. As a matter of fact both have pro's and con's that vary per individual. For me personally, the PWI I attended offered an engineering degree that was not offered near me at the time I entered college; and I was not yet mature enough to handle being in an environment of my people. One could look no further than my freshman year where I spent more time making and hanging out with friends that doing school work.
There are those who are of the belief that attending an HBCU is an opportunity to avoid racial discrimination; that line of thinking is just as problematic as the one where Blacks at PWIs feel they are receiving a higher form of education than their counterparts. Essentially, the idea of not attending white schools because they don't want our kind there is the exact idea in which supported Jim Crow. While I am very supportive of the excellence that Black colleges have and will continue to produce, I will not accept the fact that Black students are not to explore the opportunities of higher education at its fullest just because they are not wanted. Besides, being treated as an outcast in white space is not a sufficient reason to avoid said space especially when it provides a means to accomplish personal and professional growth.
The movement at the U of Missouri receives a round of applause from me. Those who feel shunned by a power systems built on discrimination and avoiding conflicts should feel compelled to take similar action. Action can come in several methods none of which include airing grievances in these forums of political correctness. The opposition does not use political correctness to offend, oppress, and ignore. Be heard.
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