"Self-Segregation" -An article
 

I thought this was interesting reading, I pulled from another site.
:D


Self-Segregation
By Myra Washington
Vanderbilt Hustler - Vanderbilt U.

COLUMN: Self-segregation has two sides
Feb. 15, 2002 (U-WIRE)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Self-segregation. I think I used that term when I addressed this very same issue of racism last semester. I believe I also placed some blame on the minority student body for not being more aggressive in diversifying this campus.
I would not and could not say minorities bear all the blame for campus segregation.

Perhaps even more prominently displayed in our minds, more so than these ignorant and hateful words are popping up with more frequency on our campus, is the seating arrangement in the dining hall.

I used to be a part of the camp that wondered why minorities did not attempt to meet more people, sit at other tables, branch out more. I figured, if I do it, why can't they?

Then I heard a wise Vice Chancellor of Student Life say at a meeting last week that my people will not be blamed for sitting with whom they are comfortable.

He pointed out that to see these three or four tables of black people, one had to pass countless tables of whites, all clustered together, sitting with whom they are comfortable.

I have to say that this point has become entrenched in my mind these last few days. Why is it up to the minority to disband and assimilate into the majority?


Instead of wondering why minorities sit together, why don't whites mingle outside their race?

Who are they sitting with? Has the thought occurred to them to leave their table and join another one? Probably not. And if it has, they did not act on it.

Why? Because they wanted to sit with their friends and I am sure the tables of minorities simply want to do the same.

I heard someone relate the story of a professor at this school who saw two Asians in the class sitting next to each other, and proceeded to make a comment along the lines of "look, the Asians are sitting together."

Now, I am thinking, why then didn't this professor also say, "look, all the white kids are sitting together?"

Last week, I went to hear Harvard Professor William Wilson speak on the urban ghetto. The most interesting point I took away from that lecture was a comment he made about a primarily black Chicago neighborhood.

He said the other neighborhoods, which were either primarily white or Hispanic, only had negative things to say about the other races.

The exception was this black neighborhood, which did not waste energy attacking other races. Instead, they put their energies towards portraying a positive black energy.

That is what I think we do as a minority community at this school. We are not walking around saying, "Kill Crackers" and writing on elevator walls. Instead, we are saying that it is great to be a part of this community we make up.

Militant? Not even close.

For anyone who tells me they do not see color, I would respond by saying that they are lying. Because they are not colored, they can say that. But to see color is not a bad thing. It is inevitable. What would be wrong would be if someone acted on assumptions or stereotypes of that color.

As for me, I am a black Vanderbilt student, who still manages, quite nicely, to be a part of this community.

Copyright ©2002 Vanderbilt Hustler via U-Wire

Thanks for posting this
 

Ms. Washington's commentary is thought-provoking, and she makes some good points regarding Professor Wilson's comments on not expending negative energy trashing other people and working on our own identities. :cool:

This situation happened at my undergrad PWI as well. The 'problem' is that we are more physically distinguishable than whites. Unfortunately/fortunately (?), we must be our own support system and cannot rely on the 'majority' to support us nor can we afford to shoulder the responsibility of their issues.

Taking me down Memory Lane
 

I can relate to the article as well. I attended University of Virginia (known to many as UVA).

The issue of "self-segregation" permeated campus discussion throughout my entire four years there.

What I remember most is that we had names for "separate" events:

B.E.T. - Black Eating Time... (6 pm at Newcomb Dining Hall)
B.B.S.- Black Bus Stop.... right across from the COMM school

The issue never bothered me because to me, college is supposed to embody a microcosm(???) of larger society and the truth is all of us live where we live by other choice or circumstance. Black students *never* made a point to keep white students out. They did not get attacked if they chilled at the BBS or ate at BET.

What I know for sure (sounding like Oprah... :rolleyes: but not meaning to at all) is that a lot of black students I went to school with went to elite, white private schools most of their lives and they enjoyed the opportunities to chill with more black folks. That's all.

But I do remember that when it counted, every student came together.

Just my $19.13 worth... Peace