Stereotypes stretch across campus

The Colonnade printed a column a few weeks ago asking why black people, in Sodexho, tend to sit at the same table. Now, while this may or may not be a pertinent question for our society, there were some ideas and even accusations which we felt needed to be revisited and discussed.
Let’s go back, to 1776, which was the first year of the American Revolution. It was in this year that the Great Seal Committee adopted not one but three Latin phrases as mottos for our country, all of which can be found on the one dollar bill. These Latin phrases are annuit coeptis, novus ordo seclorum, and the most notorious, e pluribus unum. E pluribus unum; out of many, one, is the noble principle on which our great country was founded, right? Yes, but not for the romanticized reasons that many believe today. That motto, at the time of inception, had nothing to do with the many different peoples that would come to live in the United States of America. The phrase was adopted because of its reference to the thirteen original colonies that were integrated into one united country. Later, when the American Revolution started to fade into the past a bit, and the motto’s reference shifted from colonies to people in the minds of the colonists, you can be sure they were not talking about colored races of people. The reference as it pertained to people meant whites.
As the different immigrant groups came to America they were identified according to their nationality: French, German, Irish, Italian, British, etc. However upon arriving in the U.S.: they dropped their loyalties, languages, even many customs under the name of America. In as little as a generation or two these people were no longer (fill in the blank) they were American, white American to be precise, thus the phrase: Out of many, one. Out of many European peoples, one white American. Do not be na’ve enough to think that this motto is how we have always lived; if that were the case, American history would not clearly state that blacks were only counted as three-fifths of a person. We would be ignoring the fact that the elite founding fathers did not intend for Africans to be included in their “one.” Then we would also have the right, as Americans, to ignore the Native American genocide and the African slave trade. We could also ignore Post Reconstruction Jim Crow, Japanese Internment, the race riots of the ’80s, the surge in hate crimes of the ’90s, and the post-911 unlawful detainment of hundreds of Middle Eastern people around the country. However, if you are a person brave enough to look straight at the truth, no matter how bright it might burn, then read on.
Ignorance, even naivety, is a dangerous thing. It lulls us into a sense of complacency, a feeling that everything is all right. It allows us to think that racism, should we choose to acknowledge its existence, which surprisingly many of us do not, is no longer “a big deal.” It makes us think that, because we do not see it manifest itself in our everyday lives, it does not rear its ugly head in the lives of others. If this is you, count your blessings, but do not turn a deaf ear to the protests of others, or blind yourself to free information. Take a look at the news, at census statistics, at the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, and ask yourself why there is such a disproportionate number of blacks in the penal system. Ask yourself why you have never been looked at crazy or even followed when you walk into a high priced store. Ask yourself why the common phrase “He/She is cool/athletic/hot/smart/talented, for a ____ guy/girl” is so common. Should it matter? No. Does it matter? Yes. You do not have to be black or even “colored” to be a victim of racism – some of the most outspoken and even dangerous racists are non-whites – however, racism in America most directly and negatively affects the lives of the nonwhite. You disagree? Federally mandated policies of racism from pre-1776 and onward must count for something.
Choice is a word that we heard a lot when reading and discussing this topic, and it is a word that we will continue to use. You have a choice as to whether or not you will believe what is written here. We have a choice as to whether or not we will believe what somebody tells us about their daily walk through life. We have a choice as to whether will we empathize or devalue their message.
Unfortunately, many of us choose to devalue and depreciate what we are told. This leads to resentment and distrust from those of us who have tried to share. I am not saying that this is the sole reason for separation of groups in Sodexho, but I will not count it out either. We have the option to choose who we are friends with. Groups of friends have the option to choose where they want to eat. If these groups of friends choose to eat at Sodexho, they can also choose to eat together at the same table or disperse themselves out amongst the dining hall like, in this case, raisins in a rice bowl.
Instead, these groups of friends have been accused of deciding to sit together because they feel like they can get away with something. According to the Federal Bureau of Justice, the national incarceration rate for blacks is 8.2 times the rate for whites. In states where the disparity between whites and blacks is the greatest, the incarceration rate is even higher.
Take Minnesota for example. Blacks are incarcerated at a rate that is 23 times higher than whites. However, they do not even make up a quarter of the population. Crime is committed in almost direct correlation to percentage represented in the population, so why is it that 45 percent of the people sitting in prisons are black? It should be closer to 13. According to these statistics, blacks have a hard time “getting away with anything.”
But let us flip the coin. Let us ask, “Why are there white tables at Sodexho?” Or is that question off limits? Is it just another privilege of the majority that that question is never asked of them?
Yeah, it is noticeable where the black people sit, because they are black. Not only are they black, but they are black at an overwhelmingly white school. So the only people who would not notice the color contrast in Sodexho would be blind or walking around with their eyes closed. If the few white people who attend historically black colleges, and yes it happens regularly, decided to sit together could we then ask why are the white people sitting together? Or could we just assume they must be friends? No, that cannot be right, they must be trying to get away with something, or even worse they must be trying to create an elite society that will one day conquer the nation and outnumber the blacks. Wait a second.
These absurd assumptions about the motives of people based on their race have gotten us where we are now: relatively nowhere. Centuries have passed since e pluribus unum has been talked about by the founding fathers and we still do not live by it. Yes, racism and stereotypes affect everyone, but do not be na’ve enough to think that it affects everyone to the same degree. The smart Asian stereotype gets you a job, while the dumb, dangerous black thug stereotype gets you followed by the cops; idealistically neither should exist.
So why do you sit with who you sit with? Why are you friends with who you are friends with? I dare say you probably have something in common. I would also venture to say that you and your friends are not out to create an elite society. But step out your comfort zone. If you want to know why black people, or any people for that matter, sit together to eat, next time you walk into Sodexho, walk up to a table and ask them. Who knows, you might be invited to sit down, you might engage yourself in a stimulating conversation, and best of all you might end the meal with some new friends.

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Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 9 2007. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry