Blackface forum, shirts work against progress
It all hit me Monday morning .
I was sitting in Grounds for Change, when a student walked into the coffee shop wearing the infamous “Blackface?! F*** No!” t-shirt.
I was well aware of the discussions on race that were happening on campus.
I knew the Association for the Advancement of Black Culture sponsored the t-shirt that the student was wearing.
I knew of the situation that sparked these discussions.
The t-shirt greatly offended and appalled me to no end.
For one thing, the shirts themselves turned people away from addressing the issue.
In a time that called for professionalism and civility from all involved, the shirts were unprofessional and vulgar.
Displaying a profanity on your chest does not make someone who might otherwise want to learn more about the issue feel welcome to ask questions.
It inhibits discussion.
It does not encourage it.
The shirts turned me away and left me apathetic until Monday morning, when it was shoved in my face.
On top of this, ABC blew the whole situation out of proportion.
The forum itself gave me a negative impression.
One might expect such a discussion to be held in a room in the Campus Center; to hold the forum in the lobby comes off as desperate because it forces people to pay attention.
Instead of providing an opportunity for discussion for those interested, the public setting turned people away.
It seemed less like a civilized discussion and more like a cry for attention and sympathy.
Vulgarity should not be associated with Allegheny.
I cannot fathom how a student here can wear a name tag with Bentley Hall on it next to a shirt that exclaims “F*** No!”
I thought we were moving more towards civility, not away from it.
Mark Ostrowski '91 • Dec 30, 2010 at 2:51 am
Wow. Are people at Allegheny really having a serious discussion about the appropriateness of blackface? You’re giving the fools who did it way too much power. Clearly, they should be chastised but do you need a summit to do that? Are there really more than a couple (or even a couple) of students at my alma mater who believe that wearing black face is acceptable? And forget this ridiculous debate about whether the f-word is as bad as the n-word. The fact is, neither one of them should be displayed on shirts in public. Hopefully by the time you finish your education at Allegheny, you will have learned to protest racism in a more eloquent manner.
Katie McHugh • Nov 29, 2010 at 12:29 pm
It’s funny how people hyperventilate about someone expressing perfectly normal reservations about a group on campus wearing shirts that have “FUCK” splashed across the chest. So far, this is the most succinct column on the whole “blackface” debacle. That summit was a joke. Allegheny bends over backwards to accommodate every whim of every “minority,” and I’m finding it difficult to continue to manufacture false, polite sympathy for every emotional outburst by a member of the protected classes.
You want racial harmony? Stop screaming, stop crying, and when you’re offended, express yourself in a civilized, dignified manner. Maybe a couple of Halloween costumes worn in bad taste aren’t worth such a show of gnashing teeth and renting of garments. But don’t ask me. I’m white. What do I know?
Kritika Kapadia • Nov 21, 2010 at 5:23 pm
https://alleghenycampus.com/2010/11/18/letter-editor-11-18/
Alex Sproveri • Nov 19, 2010 at 3:54 pm
Extremity turns off moderates, whether its a political issue or a racial issue.
While I am a Democrat, I become angry with organizations such as MoveOn.org that are so extreme and vocal that they inhibit discussion by turning off sympathetic groups, detracting positive attention from our views. The Tea Party has the same affect by turning off moderate Republicans.
Is Blackface a terrible idea? Certainly. But were the cases outward expressions of racism, or just displays of terribly-calculted insensitivity?
We need to be careful. As our culture becomes colorless,must we be prevented from emulating our cultural icons that happen to be of a different race?
Dressing as a bank robber with your face painted black is racist, because it makes the statement about criminals being black.
But is dressing as Lil’ Wayne, a shared culteral icon, inherently racist if one attempts to miror his complexion?
I am not brash enough to pretend that I can understand the pain that must be felt by blacks when society is repeatedly incensitive.
And because people like me don’t understand, we need to increase discussion to increase understanding. If I see a group advocating any cause that comes across as overly agressive and unyeilding to challenge their own assumptions, I will be turned off.
I am your reasoned moderate, and people like me were turned off, and scared to join discussion. In the future, please return the same sensitivity you ask for.
Steve J. • Nov 19, 2010 at 2:35 pm
I do have a certain level of disagreement with the article.
The space is meant for open events at any point during the day, and I believe before the event was scheduled, Queers & Allies was planning to hold the floor for a rally as well. It is meant to draw people in and to a lesser extent force it to the front of student’s minds. And while I think the mention of several people wearing sombreros and large mustaches being equated to prejudice against Mexican people, the use of black face on any level has historically racist intentions and believe ABC hardly blew the incident out of proportion when it would have most likely passed through word of mouth and no higher than that.
However, I will agree that the use of profanity might not have been 100% necessary. I think the button Clay is wearing in the shirt could have been made as the t-shirt design as well and would have pushed home the point pretty well. Of course using vulgar language pushes across a more emotional message and obviously created the series of discussions on the topic and the strategies of ABC.
I guess if I were to direct any comments towards Kat, I would say do not entirely rule out Roveda’s ability to have sustainable dialogue simply from an op-ed which is limited to 400 words. Just as people had emotions about the events that transpired and effectively expressed them, Roveda is expressing his own feelings and thoughts. I feel it is unjust to pass judgment on his character based solely on one article. Engage in healthy dialogue to gain a serious understanding of the content of his character.
Kat Bengston • Nov 19, 2010 at 10:14 am
Well, this one made me think.
Exhibit A: “I thought we were moving more towards civility, not away from it.”
You know, you’re so darn right. Why should we care about Blackface when those offended by it are SWEARING? Gosh darn it! Cursing is far more offensive than racial stereotypes!
Exhibit B, addressed seriously: “One might expect such a discussion to be held in a room in the Campus Center; to hold the forum in the lobby comes off as desperate because it forces people to pay attention.”
How sad that you see the world this way.
First, numerous groups have booked the Campus Center lobby for forums. The lobby is perfect for discussion because the room is open on all sides–easy to slide in and slide out as you like. No pressure.
Second, the lobby doesn’t force students to pay attention to anything by way of its location. To close your ears (and your mind) just step into McKinley’s–the place muffles all sound–or head up to GFC. If memory serves, when the lobby gets too loud they close the doors.
Third, if Allegheny WAS “forced” to pay attention, then it is about time. The school is focused on appearance–no where is that more evident than in letters to the editor this week. Potentially controversial occurrences are consistently shoved into folders or tossed aside. How long do you expect students and former students to gently voice their displeasure in carefully worded e-mails? The time for a public stand is long overdue.
However, I feel that discussion is somewhat wasted on you given how determinedly you insist that the forum “seemed less like a civilized discussion and more like a cry for attention and sympathy”. I admit I am at a loss as to why you are bothering to be offended by anything at all. Your rhetoric is aimed at justifying all of the reasons you shouldn’t be involved in solving Allegheny’s race issues. You seem far more comfortable condemning ABC for their apparel than calling out the students who found it okay to use Blackface. I seem to have looked into the face of the problem and its name is “conscious and rationalized apathy”.