Hampton is proof.
The University thought of possibly expelling students who protested against George W. Bush by participating in a nation-wide student walkout against Bush’s administration and the war in Iraq, it is proof that the spirit of the Civil Rights era is a distant memory.
Many blacks detract from their race rather than aid, by actively trying to revoke the spirit that led blacks in this country to get many of the freedoms that they now own.
The scary part is that these Uncle Toms, or to modernize it: Clarence Thomas’, are the ones that are running historically black institutions.
In the book, “Miseducation of the Negro,” the author and historian Carter G. Woodson talked about the problem of many HBCU’s trying to fit into the popular American culture, and neglecting to train students to be proud of who they are and their ancestry. Basically what Woodson was saying is that many black colleges were educating their students about everything but themselves.
Woodson wrote this particular literature in the early 20th century, and it’s sad to see that the same problem often still exists. Black colleges have been somewhat lacking when it comes to living out what a black college is suppose to be. A black college is supposed to be more than just a place that gives many young black adults a college degree. It is supposed to encourage students to be proud of self and to speak out against the power when respect of self is being denied.
The black college is supposed to have leaders that put students before anything. The fact that Hampton thought of expelling students because of their voicing against a president that has been apathetic towards their feelings and the feelings of this whole country, especially soldiers in Iraq, is ludicrous.
The school claims they were going to possibly expel the students because the students went about protesting the wrong way. The black college experience is suppose to give students the feeling of being proud of who he or she is. Instead, for many, the experience is going to an institution with people who are more interested in kissing the backsides of people who could really care less about them. I just want the black college to be a black college with experiences for black students.
Rudy Jean-Bart is a senior public relations student from Miami. Contact him at rudyjeanbart@excite.com.