Throughout time, racism has been actively present throughout the nation. It had been seen all over from restaurant counter tops to public bathrooms to educational facilities. Fast forward to the 21st century, one would think that we have moved to another level with issues of race starting to decline and improved race relations becoming an improvement. However these dreamed about notions have not come to past, especially when considering college campuses, in particular the University of California Irvine.
Recently at UIC there was a parody video of the Justin Timberlake/Jay-Z video "Suit and Tie." What has caught the attention of the video is not just the fact that it is a parody but who is casted in this parody. One of the students, who is White, is portrayed as Jay-Z is blackfaced. What may have been seen as a harmless joke has caused an uproar on the campus and brought into question whether the campus really understands issues of race there. This is not the first time issues of race have come up on the campus. The campus also experienced an issue when on the Martin Luther King, Jr Holiday, the menu in the cafeteria was Chicken and Waffle, a stereotypical food staple for Black people. I believe that the school has allowed the racial issue to go too far without it being properly addressed. Yes you can punish the students, put them on probation or even kick them out. But what good will it do if the proocess continues? There has to be a solution to ending the cycle of continued racism on the campus.
Here is the questions that I want to leave you with: Is there anyway that someone can be "unintentionally racist?" What can be done to ensure no racist acts are conducted on college campuses? Does racism exist on college campuses?
This is a hard question to answer. It seems a little cowardly to me to say that someone can be "unintentionally racist"... like the negligent song, "Accidental Racist." Sure, we all make mistakes. But when people need to be considerate and think before they act. Actions have consequences and the blackface character for Jay-Z may have seemed like a joke at the time. Granted, if they would have thought it out a little more before acting, they would have seen the racist connotations. It may be necessary to take disciplinary actions, but it would be best to teach the school about living in racial cohesiveness. They need to learn the positive effects of multiculturalism. And to answer your last, yes, racism still does occur on college campuses.
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