Colonel_Reb
Hall of Famer
I just found this, and it is over the purple and gold Confederate battle flag so-called "controversy" at LSU. At the end of this article, the writer makes a great suggestion. I wish they would take his advice!
Black equality, LSU...obviously an oxymoron
BY MYLES MINIX
November 11, 2005
It's truly a tragic situation for the black students at Louisiana State University. They are forced to deal with Eurocentric attitudes, bigotry and a flag, that, for some people, makes an indirect correlation with a period in history when our ancestors were treated as second-class citizens and forced into slavery.
Now, while it may be tragic, It's also interesting how LSU's black student population is in peril, calling on the state's historically black colleges and universities - particularly Southern - to assist them in getting rid of something which is indigenous to history in the south. These are some of the same students that have in the past, raised their noses at Southern students. These are some of the same students that have made every effort to refrain from even coming to "our side" of town. These are the same students that thought they were better than us. Now, they're in trouble and they expect us to care-the audacity.
Why should we care? Why should we run to their rescue? I have to ask, what did those black students expect from a school that was among the last to adhere to desegregation laws? If they honestly expected a school with a history of being a racist institution to role out the red carpet and welcome them and their demands with open arms, they were sadly mistaken.
I'm dealing in reality and I understand that if I don't want to deal with racial issues at another institution, I'm certainly not going to attend a predominantly white school with a racist history. I'm not saying blacks shouldn't go to LSU-not at all. I suggest going wherever you feel your educational needs will be best suited. But don't go in being the minority expecting a new attitude from the majority and certainly don't expect Southern or any other HBCU to bail you out.
The truth is, we can't, not even if we wanted to. A united effort of every HBCU in this state is not going to make the purple and gold confederate flag go away. It's not going get more black faculty members and it's certainly not going to get money for a new African American Cultural Center. That flag, the limited number of black faculty and the slave quarters black students have for a cultural center are subtle methods of showing the black population that LSU does not want them there. If that's the case, don't support the institution by becoming part of it and going into debt to attend a school that really doesn't welcome you. Boycott it.
When buses wouldn't let blacks come to the front, they boycotted and eventually the bus systems gave in. Gather your black students, especially those on the football team and leave. Send out a nationwide plea to all blacks that plan to attend a four-year institution asking them not to consider LSU. Maybe it will work or maybe it won't, but the Southern University System can't save you, neither can Dillard or Xavier. This isn't our battle anyway because every black student at LSU knew the terms and conditions of attending LSU beforehand.
When our ancestors arrived in the 1400s, they didn't know the terms and conditions and even if they did, it wouldn't matter because it wasn't free will that brought them here. It was free will that brought the black students to LSU, so why be angry and upset over their traditions of acting as oppressors to the black community? I've been told the situation compares to a black person getting upset at a Ku Klux Klan rally for being called a ******.
It's 2005 and racism is alive and kicking right on the side of bigotry. Those things are permanent and anyone who is realist should know that.
Black equality, LSU...obviously an oxymoron
BY MYLES MINIX
November 11, 2005
It's truly a tragic situation for the black students at Louisiana State University. They are forced to deal with Eurocentric attitudes, bigotry and a flag, that, for some people, makes an indirect correlation with a period in history when our ancestors were treated as second-class citizens and forced into slavery.
Now, while it may be tragic, It's also interesting how LSU's black student population is in peril, calling on the state's historically black colleges and universities - particularly Southern - to assist them in getting rid of something which is indigenous to history in the south. These are some of the same students that have in the past, raised their noses at Southern students. These are some of the same students that have made every effort to refrain from even coming to "our side" of town. These are the same students that thought they were better than us. Now, they're in trouble and they expect us to care-the audacity.
Why should we care? Why should we run to their rescue? I have to ask, what did those black students expect from a school that was among the last to adhere to desegregation laws? If they honestly expected a school with a history of being a racist institution to role out the red carpet and welcome them and their demands with open arms, they were sadly mistaken.
I'm dealing in reality and I understand that if I don't want to deal with racial issues at another institution, I'm certainly not going to attend a predominantly white school with a racist history. I'm not saying blacks shouldn't go to LSU-not at all. I suggest going wherever you feel your educational needs will be best suited. But don't go in being the minority expecting a new attitude from the majority and certainly don't expect Southern or any other HBCU to bail you out.
The truth is, we can't, not even if we wanted to. A united effort of every HBCU in this state is not going to make the purple and gold confederate flag go away. It's not going get more black faculty members and it's certainly not going to get money for a new African American Cultural Center. That flag, the limited number of black faculty and the slave quarters black students have for a cultural center are subtle methods of showing the black population that LSU does not want them there. If that's the case, don't support the institution by becoming part of it and going into debt to attend a school that really doesn't welcome you. Boycott it.
When buses wouldn't let blacks come to the front, they boycotted and eventually the bus systems gave in. Gather your black students, especially those on the football team and leave. Send out a nationwide plea to all blacks that plan to attend a four-year institution asking them not to consider LSU. Maybe it will work or maybe it won't, but the Southern University System can't save you, neither can Dillard or Xavier. This isn't our battle anyway because every black student at LSU knew the terms and conditions of attending LSU beforehand.
When our ancestors arrived in the 1400s, they didn't know the terms and conditions and even if they did, it wouldn't matter because it wasn't free will that brought them here. It was free will that brought the black students to LSU, so why be angry and upset over their traditions of acting as oppressors to the black community? I've been told the situation compares to a black person getting upset at a Ku Klux Klan rally for being called a ******.
It's 2005 and racism is alive and kicking right on the side of bigotry. Those things are permanent and anyone who is realist should know that.