Here is a man talking simple common sense about race in contemporary society. When are we going to do away with government-sponsored segregated graduation ceremonies at colleges and universities?

Because our daughter is African American, we had the dubious honor of attending two ceremonies — one for African Americans only, and then the next day, one for the general population of graduates. This was our third child to graduate from college, and all three universities — two in California and one in Washington — had these twin exercises.

Personally, I no longer see the need for two graduation ceremonies for the same individuals. I am not so naive that I do not know the original purpose of these "extra" affairs, but I feel that their usefulness has expired. To some, it is questionable if they were ever necessary.

During the civil rights era of the 1960s and early 1970s, many minority educators felt these special programs were needed for the morale and well-being of many minority students. Forty years ago, there was a belief in some minority communities that minorities were totally neglected and often not treated fairly in white-dominated colleges and universities. There was a strong belief that school administrators could not care less if these students passed, failed or graduated. Consequently, ethnic specific programs and activities were instituted to make college life more appealing to minority students.

These graduation ceremonies were generally smaller in size and designed to publicly recognize minority students for their academic achievements and to give these students an added sense of pride, importance and belonging — something that may have been absent from the general graduation exercise. In the black community, it was an extension of the "I'm black and I'm proud" theme.

However, many changes have occurred in our universities. Minority students are not only represented in much higher numbers on campuses, they also are much more involved in college life and student activities.

That is not only true, but it has been for years. I attended a university in the 1980s which was about 70% white -- but we had elected a student body president and vice president who were black. They were not tokens -- they were well-respected individuals who got their positions based upon their merits. The same is true at most schools today. Minority students are judged by their peers based upon the content of their character and their academic ability -- not their skin color. The only time that such considerations even enter into the picture is when discussing the racial preferences that still exist in admissions programs, because it is all too often true that schools are consciously making admissions decisions based upon skin color rather than qualifications.

What is more, such separation results in the promulgation of racism and and a victim mentality among the students who are ostensibly being served by them.

In the general public graduation exercise my wife and I attended, the black and Latino students wore special sashes, which they had received at "their" ceremonies. Could we handle whites having their own "sashes"? The days of "white only" have ended. Great! However, shouldn't the same be true for "black only," "Latino only," "Asian only," etc.?

When we speak of a nation striving for "integration" and "diversity," what does this mean? Are these terms only to apply to some groups and not to others? As we seek freedom and become freer, we segregate more and become more exclusive.

At the African American-only graduation exercise, one of the speakers, after charging the students to be successful in life, concluded by saying, "After all, we are not the racists; they are." I would like to know who "they" are and who "we" are. I think "we" have become "they."

No, sir, you haven't become the racist -- but it is clear that too many of those who have made their careers by fostering racial separatism and division have become latter-day bigots whose jaundiced view of the world requires them to view every white face as the enemy. As a society, we cannot afford to pass that hate-filled belief system on to another generation.

Posted by: Greg at 01:57 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
Post contains 694 words, total size 4 kb.