Zaw-Tun, I. et al
For more information on racism at universities, follow #BlackInTheIvory on Twitter, read Dealing with Institutional Racism on Campus: Initiating Difficult Dialogues and Social Justice Advocacy Interventions, and The Cost of Balancing Academia and Racism.
In response to the Justice for George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests, a university named after a man who claimed “white men are the superior race, as evidenced by the dominant slope of our skulls” says they have made a promise to “not condone hatred of any kind.” The brave statement was carefully curated by the university’s all-white PR staff and was unanimously approved by the university’s all-white board.
Dean Harvington, sitting in front of a prominently displayed bust of the school’s racist founder, tried to appear stern and reflective as he reiterated the school’s firm stance on racism. His voice echoed through the halls of a building named for one of the school’s most racist alumni.
“This is 2020, not the middle ages,” Harvington says. “There is no place in the modern world for racism. Those ideologies are a thing of the past! The distant, distant past,” he continued, possibly referring to 1951 when the school’s athletics mascot was literally a Black man who lived in the boiler room.
“The men who founded this university wouldn’t have stood for it. They were idealistic individuals,” said Harvington, gesturing to the lavish portraits of men who designed residential schools and owned slaves. “Here at this University, anti-racism is in our very blood! Why, one of our founders even had a mixed-race child who we…” he paused, “must never discuss.”
The university, also famous for its students’ wild parties in which they wear blackface as a lighthearted joke, has issued the following statement on its Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn profiles:
“Here at this University, which may as well be any University in this fair and beautiful unnamed country, has come to the resoundingly courageous decision that racism is bad and we don’t like it, not one bit.
We long for a future where students of all different backgrounds of generational wealth can post selfies condemning racism, together, on our magnificent courtyard, between their unpaid internships.
We, as a university, must continue asking the hard questions, then immediately remind people how noble it was to ask that question in the first place. And if we don’t like the answers given to us by people with lived experiences of racism, throw our hands up in the air and proclaim that the issue is “too complex.”
We hope that the public continues to hold us accountable for our wonderful hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow.“
For more information on racism at universities, follow #BlackInTheIvory on Twitter, read Dealing with Institutional Racism on Campus: Initiating Difficult Dialogues and Social Justice Advocacy Interventions, and The Cost of Balancing Academia and Racism.
