Separate But Separate

We once had Separate but Equal in the Good Ole USofA. Now we have Separate but Separate.

In his inaugural address in January 1963, Governor George Wallace of Alabama thundered: “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever”. 

Those who remember who Wallace was have said a lot of bad things about him since he said those Awful Words. Here are a few examples…

Ø What an Awful Guy!

Ø How could anyone ever have voted for him knowing that he is such an Awful Guy!

Ø He is such an Awful Guy someone ought to shoot him (someone did shoot him)!

It turns out that Governor Wallace is going down in history as the Awful Guy who had the power to see into the distant future about the “tomorrow” part of his Awful Words in 1963.

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More than half a century later, Racial Segregation is well engrained into many American Colleges and Universities.

Wallace had in mind the exclusion of blacks from white-only institutions. Today’s Racial Segregation, by contrast, consists of ethnic groups walling themselves off within institutions of higher learning.

A short time after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education verdict, black students in predominantly white higher educational institutions began requesting Segregation.

This has come to be called Neo-Segregation (voluntary racial segregation of students, aided by college institutions, into exclusive dormitories, common spaces, classes, and events).

Neo-Segregation differs from Jim Crow Segregation because it is voluntary: It invites students of color to separate themselves out from the rest of the campus.

In the past two years the National Association of Scholars surveyed 173 colleges and universities, public and private, in all 50 states. The surveyors found…

Ø 46% of schools surveyed Segregate Student Orientation Programs.

Ø 43% of schools surveyed Segregate Residential Arrangements.

Ø 72% of schools surveyed Segregate Graduation Ceremonies.

These arrangements are ostensibly voluntary but students can’t easily opt out because the social pressure to conform is overwhelming.

All of this is being done, not because the administrations want it this way but because the students want it this way.

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Where have I been?  

This is Fella pecking out this Blog Posting. This is the guy who notices stuff, the guy who is always blogging about what he reads in the newspaper and the guy who some consider well read but I have to admit I did not realize this craziness had gone this far.

Maybe the answer lies in that fact that, in the old days (I come from the old days) it was all over the news when people demonstrated that they wanted to Integrate. Today the students say they want to Segregate and the School Administrations give in before the demonstrations get started.

As soon as the School Administrations get a hint that their students are unhappy and are contemplating a demonstration, they rush out and say to the milling students…By golly, students, no need to go to all the trouble of organizing a demonstration. We will give you whatever it is you want. We know that you know what’s best. Who are we to question students? Besides we are afraid that you might start demonstrating and every time you do that we get so confused because it takes us weeks before we can figure out what you are demonstrating about”.

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

Lagniappe: Some of the “accomplishments” of Neo-Segregation are…Separate Dorms, Separate Libraries, Separate Dances, Separate Advisers, Separate Orientations, Separate Curriculum and the African-American Studies Program (which requires Separate Faculty Members with Separate Qualifications). All of this falls under the heading of Progress…Or does it?