Quote:
Originally Posted by libramunoz
I beg to differ. Racism, especially in the South, is as big a factor as people DO and TEND TO presume. I went to school in the South, the Heart of Dixie, and lemme tell you, it wasn't easy, pretty, or damn right at times! When you can still go into courthouses in the south, and if you look hard enough (which sometimes isn't too hard) and you can still see a door that says "Colored Only" then you'll KNOW that racism is still an issue and it's still a HUGE factor in the SOUTH.
Why do you think that MOST HBCU's are in the south? I don't know of many on the West Coast and very few on the upper East Coast.
Racism will always be a factor and it depends on HOW the person makes a choice to deal with it when a) it's presented to them overtly, b) it's presented to them covertly, c) their constantly reminded through daily actions of others, and d) it's a factor within the persons surroundings and enviornment.
So to say that it's not a true factor DOWN SOUTH, you are presuming very much. Sometimes, they saying of "Walk a mile in my shoes" turns out to be more true than what a person tends to "want" to think.
|
Most of the HBCUs are in the south because at the time of their founding black students could not attend HWCUs in the south. That is no longer the case. So to argue that most HBCUs are in the south because of continuing racism is wrong - these same HBCUs are now struggling. Is that because racism is no longer an issue? If they go under, does that mean racism is dead?
I know of ONE courthouse that had a sign that could be seen and which was in the news a few years back - it is of course no longer there. Where are these others?
My point - and others - is that it is wrong to assume that racism is more of a problem in the south, or that the other parts of the country are free from them. By arguing that it is the south that has a problem, you give everyone else a free pass. Some sociologists have said that the south is in many ways more in touch with the problem of racism because of its past problems - that other areas of the country have a more "hidden" racism, that it can be argued is more toxic and damaging. In the context of this OP - you can ASSUME that racism means a bi-racial woman would never get a bid at Ole Miss, but until you go through recruitment you won't KNOW - and even then, you wouldn't know that it was because of race. It may be that at a school which has no blacks in the NPC sororities it isn't because of racism, but because of a strong NPHC system.