Diversity in the SEC

[MaryPoppins]

Originally Posted by amIblue?

I think there's truth in what both DrPhil and carnation are saying. Yes, the sororities have to like the girl or she's not getting a bid, but I still think there's some of that look at how cool and diverse we are because we have a black sister. Just my humble opinion.

Ditto.

[MaryPoppins]

And I was going to say (but checked myself, and then decided it was in fact relevant) that diversity is a continuum for most places. You can't define yourself as diverse because of one African American, or one Asian American, or one Arab American, or one or a few anything. Diversity means picking each one on her own merit. When Recruitment is done that way it's done the way it's meant to be done, not the way someone else thinks it should be done, or the way way it used to be done.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by carnation

I imagine that forced pledging in the NPC would work about as well as it would with any GLO-- a college president, say, comes stomping into a DST meeting and says, "OK, ladies, I just made an NPC group pledge a black woman and I expect you to return the favor to me and pledge a white one. Here are 3 names, pick one."

Can you imagine how thrilled both groups would be?

This isn't about college presidents. This is about the GLOs themselves making such decisions.

Delta regional and NHQ wouldn't push white members (only because they are white) on our chapters because we do not purport to be seeking white members. It is not correlated with our founding purposes and interests. That is why you will typically not see us starting discussions about "racial diversity in Delta (NPHC, in general)." It is typically not our concern and not our goal. We are honest about that and therefore do not pretend to be shocked that 99% of our aspirants and membership for 100 years has been women of the Africa diaspora.

We also do not pretend that race and ethnicity are not part of the aspirant and membership process for many aspirants and members. Many if not most of us would never claim that race and ethnicity were no concern when speaking with aspirants. That doesn't mean that we do not have nonBlack aspirants and nonBlack members. It means that a Sisterhood of Black college women committed to public service is not pretending as though we unintentionally, coincidentally, and accidentally ended up 99% African diaspora and have no intention to remain that way. Delta has an "anti-discrimination clause" but there are also members who will honestly tell you that they would never vote for a white member regardless of other qualifications. White aspirants and white applicants are a rarity so these members are not losing sleep over this.

[DubaiSis]

It's an interesting conundrum. I think having racial diversity in a chapter makes it more interesting. But you have to start somewhere and that means you're probably going to pledge 1 black girl and that sort of screams - see? We are diverse! We have A black girl! But if 3 or 4 black girls go through rush at Bama or Ole Miss, and they don't all magically like the single same chapter (and vice versa), that means there is going to be 1 black girl in an otherwise white chapter. And in a chapter of 200, if they did pledge all 3 or 4 black girls, it's still not even a drop in the bucket.

I think the best we can hope for in the near term is eliminating the disregard for a girl outright just because of race. It's going to be pretty hard to avoid a perception of tokenism when there just aren't that many black girls interested in NPC sororities, especially relative to the population of white rushees at the same school. I'm assuming the black southern girl who is interested in the NPC is used to being the only black girl in the room and what she and the chapter thinks is all that matters.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by amIblue?

I think there's truth in what both DrPhil and carnation are saying. Yes, the sororities have to like the girl or she's not getting a bid, but I still think there's some of that look at how cool and diverse we are because we have a black sister. Just my humble opinion.

Yep. And I know I've seen stories—usually horror stories—of inter/national offices or even college administrators who have basically forced a chapter to take someone it didn't want to take. It may not end well, but it certainly has been reported to happen.

Originally Posted by MaryPoppins

And I was going to say (but checked myself, and then decided it was in fact relevant) that diversity is a continuum for most places. You can't define yourself as diverse because of one African American, or one Asian American, or one Arab American, or one or a few anything. Diversity means picking each one on her own merit.

I think that's very relevant to what a number of people have been getting at.

But I'd take it a step further. I think chapter diversity, at least in terms of racial or ethnic or cultural diversity, means more than just having some non-white members. I think it means not expecting those members to "adapt" to a majority-white chapter ethos or culture—not to be "just like the rest of us"—but rather expecting the chapter as a whole to adapt to and be enriched by how "they" are not just like "us."

[DubaiSis]

There's plenty of that to be discussed in sorority history - exclusion of Catholics and Jews for instance. It can also point out how ridiculous some of those restrictions sound now. Sexual preference and race are probably the next barriers to go away. How long before it becomes -seriously, we kept girls out because of that? - is yet to be seen.

[TNAuburnMom]

A few sororities at Auburn have all different types of minorities. I only know this from looking at pictures. As far as my daughter and her sorority are concerned, they are just sisters.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by TNAuburnMom

A few sororities at Auburn have all different types of minorities. I only know this from looking at pictures. As far as my daughter and her sorority are concerned, they are just sisters.

*Putting the "Racial Cliche' Crown" on TNAuburnMom's head*

Unfortunate.

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

Amen. There also needs to be an acknowledgement of the racial exclusion that the chapter and national organization practiced for decades. This ought to be included in NM education about the history of the group. Ignoring that history is the same as denying it, especially in the context of an SEC school where tradition and history have great importance.

Good luck getting that to fit into a 6 week NM program. I'm not saying it shouldn't be there, but pointing out that there isn't sufficient time for them to learn much beyond the basics.

[carnation]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

*Putting the "Racial Cliche' Crown" on TNAuburnMom's head*

Unfortunate.

Whites can't win. If we don't pledge black girls (they may or may not be rushing NPCs because they prefer NPHCs), we're racist. If we pledge the few who rush, we're practicing tokenism. If only a few rush, we didn't make them welcome, even though they might only want to be in Mom's NPHC. If we pledge some and don't think the right thing about them, whatever the heck that is, we get a crown for racial cliches.

We can't win.

And five of my daughters aren't white and I don't think about it much at all and I'm off to have my racial cliches crown with 5 jewels made.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by carnation

Whites can't win. If we don't pledge black girls (they may or may not be rushing NPCs because they prefer NPHCs), we're racist. If we pledge the few who rush, we're practicing tokenism. If only a few rush, we didn't make them welcome, even though they might only want to be in Mom's NPHC. If we pledge some and don't think the right thing about them, whatever the heck that is, we get a crown for racial cliches.

We can't win.

White people aren't not winning with this.

The key is multitasking. Boasting "have all different types of minorities...from looking at pictures" and "my daughter and her sorority are concerned, they are just sisters" are cliche' statements whites tend to make when discussing race. This topic has to do with race and GLOs but the foundation is the same. It reeks of "I see 'those people'...they are here...and there's plenty of them" and "we are colorblind...I need to pretend I don't notice our differences in order for us to love each other".

Originally Posted by carnation

And five of my daughters aren't white and I don't think about it much at all and I'm off to have my racial cliches crown with 5 jewels made.

Why do many white people feel the need to proclaim this? It reinforces this notion of whiteness as a carefree, race neutral, and powerful identity. Just because you claim not to notice or think about something doesn't mean it is void or invisible. It doesn't mean that everyone else, including the racial and ethnic minorities themselves, do not notice or think about it. That is one of the foundations of tokenism. Race, gender, and other minority tokens are expected to smile and pretend as though their minority status is moot 24/7.

[carnation]

Few parents of adopted non-white children spend much time thinking about their children's races. Maybe before they arrive, yes, but afterwards you're spending so much time parenting them that there's little time to think, "Dang. My child is ______." But they are not tokenists.

My daughters don't think about being non-white 99% of the time. They just live their lives. Like us, they mix with the people they want and race isn't an issue. When we took them to "cultural" events when they were children, they thought we were weird; they really wanted to go home and play with their friends. But we weren't tokenists for trying.

My mother rarely thinks about not being all white. Life's too busy. I don't sit down every day and consider racial issues when I'm checking the roll in class. I have stuff to do.

Think I'll turn down that crown, I have too much to do to go have it made.

[DrPhil]

Carnation, are you claiming to know what people are thinking at all times? Is there something wrong with noticing race? Race is not synonymous with racism and unfair treatment by others. Race, ethnicity, and culture have to do with group identifiers. I notice race and ethnicity when I twist-style my beautiful hair up at night.

We only know what people claim. There are adopted parents and parents of biracial children who invest a great deal of thought and time researching and teaching their children about race. They do this to educate themselves as well as to establish or reinforce a racial, ethnic, and cultural identity in their children. They do not stop doing this just because children seem uninterested or unappreciative. It serves a larger and longstanding purpose just like the NAACP black tie banquets I attended since childhood despite my absolute child boredom. There is nothing wrong with having an identity. Pretending it is possible to only have a "human identity" is usually a way to reinforce "white identity" that is being disguised as race neutral.

And with all due respect you don't know what your children are thinking and feeling just as you don't know how they interact with people when they are not in your presence. It is good that you took your kids to cultural events. Kids are kids so they will not understand and appreciate everything. Of course now that they are older your children will pretend to not care about race if they think you want them to not care because you have a multicultural household. However, as my college classmates who are Chinese and adopted by whites discovered when they left the confines of their parent's home, they had to research Chinese culture and understand why the world did not see them as white. They knew they looked different than the other white kids but did not learn the full extent (not the introductory version) of why until they got to college. I think that is a shame.

I think this is a good discussion to have when discussing GLO diversity. Adding a few nonwhites doesn't make you diverse. Adding tons of nonwhites but pretending no one notices race doesn't make your GLO diverse.

[TriDeltaSallie]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I, for instance, do not want DST to be racially diverse. I intentionally joined an historically and predominantly Black, African American, and African diaspora GLO. That is how I want it to remain and that is how it will remain. That is not a bad thing.

And if someone said, "I, for instance, do not want DDD/ADPi/KKG/DG/ZTA/XO/etc. to be racially diverse. I intentionally joined a historically and predominantly White, European American GLO. That is how I want it to remain and that is how it will remain. That is not a bad thing."

What would happen? Would that group even exist in ten years after the outrage that someone would say that and a group would embrace it?

I agree with Carnation. Whites can't win. We're damned if we do and damned if we don't.

[carnation]

I know what my kids are thinking because they told me time and again, "Y'all can stop it now. We don't want to go to the Filipino dinners, the Japanese parades, etc. We want to play with our friends/go out with our boyfriends/ eat hot dogs and hamburgers and we never ever want to see another noodle."

We were the poster parents for learning about diversity, our children's cultures, putting up art and collecting things from their countries. In educating pre-adoptive parents, we told them this was important.

We've hosted 10 exchange students, most from our children's countries. Our children privately told us that they were glad they hadn't grown up in our students' birth countries; they liked America just fine.

And what do we have? Adult children who love to listen to country music (we don't!), joined NPCs and had a great time, date guys of whatever culture they want, in short--they're like anyone else.

And the only time I ever think about them being non-white anymore is when I think, "It would be wonderful to have that heavy, shiny, raven hair."