Black at the UA Pt. 7- Pleasantly Profiled--Not So Post Racial

So we’ve got a black president. We’ve got black colleges and universities. We’ve got successful black entrepreneurs and CEOs. I mean with all of this success flying around, racism must be dead, right?

Though the success of many African-Americans has marked milestones and  shown that the minds of many Americans are now open and understanding, it causes confusion among the colorblind that racism is no longer existent. At least, racism regarding African Americans.

Racism has only evolved, it hasn’t died. With that evolution, the idea of what racism means and how it is displayed has become very distorted. Most people think that to be “racist” or to exhibit racism, one must go around yelling racial slurs, or walk around yelling, “white power.” Though people still do this, there are so many underlying feelings that many people have about different races that constitute racism or racial prejudice. Those feelings can be translated in everyday life, through everyday activities and conversations.

Most recently, we’ve seen it play a role in the tragic shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla.  There is great debate as to whether race played a role in the killing or not. The suspect, George Zimmerman, is hispanic, and claimed that Martin looked “suspicious.” Martin was wearing a hoodie while walking down the street toward his father’s home. The only items he was armed with was a can of sweet tea and Skittles

Geraldo Rivera, on Fox and Friends, stated that he felt Trayvon’s wearing of a hoodie contributed to his being shot. This created an uproar from people e v e r y w h e r e. But what about a hoodie makes one so suspicious? A hoodie is a piece of attire worn by many different people, regardless of race, sex, or socio-economic background. In an article by ABC News on Rivera apologizing for his original statement, Rivera said his intention was to warn “urban parents to realize that clothing their children wear…could appear menacing to people who don’t know them and could put them unnecessarily in danger.”

“Urban” is the key word here. Though the accident took place in the suburbs,  and though non-urban kids wear hoodies all of the time. In my opinion, Trayvon wouldn’t have looked so suspicious if he was white.

UA graduate student, Sidney Fussell, says that he has experienced racial profiling first hand. He recalled an incident where he was riding in a car with a friend who was white, and they were pulled over for a rolling stop sign. “The cop who pulled us over asked for the driver’s ID, then my ID, runs them both, then gave them both back. A few moments later, another cop comes up and asks for my ID again, not the drivers, and ran my ID again. This was obviously racially motivated to me. I mean, it’s a white guy in a nice car…and then me,” said Fussell.

Though nothing ever came of it, it only adds to Fussell’s other experiences. Would you say this is racism? Would you be offended if any of these things happened to you?

What you must keep in mind is that it’s easy to say that race doesn’t matter when you have never had to experience the prejudice that tells you that it does. It’s easy to say racism doesn’t exist when you’re of the majority. And it’s easy to be color blind when you are not a person of color. Acknowledging race is not racism, and pretending that one’s race doesn’t exist is a flawed idea that only upholds ignorance. It’s all about embracing, understanding and avoiding stereotypes, and treating all people as they way you’d like to be treated — like a human being.

BLACK at the UA part 4, Numbers Talk--How far have we really come? (ALSO TITLED: University In Middle of The Diversity Pack)

Published on uatrav.com October 6, 2011.

This year’s bomb.com sorority recruitment numbers went through the roof. All eight chapters of the National Panhellenic Council met or exceeded recruitment quota, 131 girls, which added up to be 1,079 new girls who have been accepted to join Greek Life.  Putting this statistic against that of the number of African Americans enrolled at the UA it is shockingly and kind-of disturbingly close.

It isn’t a surprise that African Americans make up a small percentage of the UA, but it is surprising that this number has not changed very much during the last 12 years.

In 1998, there were only 880 African Americans on campus. By the fall 2010, the number had only increased to 1,128. That’s a difference of only 224 people. I bet this is less than the graduating high school classes of many UA students.

According to the an article in the Arkansas Newswire, there should be about a 25 percent increase since last fall. Well, the numbers are in, and 25 percent will have to remain a hopeful goal. The reality is enrollment for African American undergraduate students stands at a mere 1,128 in the Fall 2010 semester, and 1,246 for the Fall 2011. This makes the real increase 118 students, or less than 11 percent.

To put this into perspective, 14,924 students who enrolled in undergraduate courses this fall were white.

These numbers are talking, and they are saying a lot.

With an African American president, Financial Aid, diversity scholarships and popular collegiate athletic sports such as basketball and football being comprised of many African Americans, what’s the deal? And what can be done to get these numbers higher?

Well, our fabulous university has a place called, the Office of Diversity Affairs that caters to this very issue. It is a haven for information about how students can get involved and jump on the “diversity bandwagon.”

The College Access Initiative is a program that focuses on helping high school students improve their ACT scores. Students get the opportunity to come to the UA, take practice tests all the while getting a feel for college life.

In addition to this, there is the Razorback Bridge Program where UA students travel to areas across the state, helping high schools students prepare for college. Particularly those who are lacking the resources to do it themselves.

High school students can also apply to visit our awesome campus through the CAI program or the various other programs the UA offers such as Upward Bound, Diversity Impact and Talent Search.

These programs would not be able to operate if it weren’t for the hard working UA students putting the time and effort to help others achieve their goal of attending college.

Wouldn’t you want the UA to be the “it” school for getting a well-rounded and diverse education?

I would. And there are other flagship schools that are well on their way to achieving this goal.

Ole Miss is hanging in at 16.3 percent of their student population being African America and rolling in at a close second is the University of Alabama with 12.1 percent.

With other universities beating us in diversity and the fact that our enrollment has increased significantly, says a lot in terms of how far we still have yet to come in achieving a more diverse student and faculty population.

Frankly, I’m not the one to settle for second place, and being apart of Arkansas’ number one university has taught me that.

So, can we please get together and do better? Can we step up as students and fellow Hogs to help build a university moving forward in education, diversity and success?

Yep, I think we can.