Episode nine of the animated series “The Boondocks” is perhaps the most politically provocative piece of television to be broadcast in the last decade. Entitled “Return of the King,” its plot revolves around Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. rising from the dead in the year 2000 — well, almost, anyway. In the show’s cartoon world, Dr. King’s 1968 shooting results in the civil rights leader falling into a coma, only to be suddenly awakened 22 years later to our modern world with its modern woes.
This shocking scenario sets the scene for a tour de force of social commentary, with Dr. King functioning as a foil throughout the episode to compellingly critique the current state of civil rights, race relations and the media.
Although nobody can truly speak for the dead, I think it’s worthwhile to apply this thought exercise to our campus today.
If Dr. King were to walk onto UC Berkeley now, would he be satisfied with the social state of our campus? Passing by the plethora of multicultural clubs that pervade Sproul Plaza, would he be happy to see that the segregation he so ardently fought against is now taking place voluntarily? Would he be pleased that instead of truly integrating ourselves as a student body, we have chosen to be categorized and divided along the lines of race, religion and sexuality?
Our campus is obsessed with labels. A walk down Sproul shows an abundance of cultural clubs that seek to celebrate — or rather, segregate — particular identity groups. However, this trend is not exclusive to student organizations. A trip to Barrows Hall reveals it’s also happening in academia, as we have entire departments dedicated to every ethnicity imaginable. Even our residence halls can be segregated as well, with our campus offering several themed-housing programs divided by race and sexuality. Indeed, a student today could theoretically go through all four years of Berkeley without having any meaningful interaction with others of another label. Don’t believe me? Let’s put my hypothesis to the test.
Imagine that you are a new Asian American admit. You can choose to live at the Asian Pacific American Theme House for your freshman year, where you would likely create a circle of newfound friends, who happen to primarily be Asian. Walking with your floormates to Calapalooza, you may decide to join the Asian American Association, where you may make more acquaintances, who also happen to primarily be Asian. Perhaps in four years, you may even graduate with a bachelor of arts in Asian American studies!
Don’t get me wrong — this multicultural machine does play an important role in making students feel at home at our intimidatingly large campus. However, it is just as hurtful as it is helpful by mentally and physically dividing ourselves along superficial labels. Indeed, I myself experienced this unintentional self-segregation firsthand.
I came to Cal three years ago as a bright-eyed freshman with a passion for politics in my heart and a leaning towards liberty in my mind. After dishearteningly discovering that no libertarian student organization existed on campus, I decided to start one myself. As my club began to blossom, I figured my college experience was turning out to be a dream. But then I woke up.
It was during one of my regular Tuesday tabling sessions on Sproul that I found myself arguing with a friendly fellow who simply wouldn’t accept the libertarian line that private charity can take care of the poor.
“How does he not get it?” I asked myself. “After all, my friends agree!” It was then it hit me that I had unintentionally self-segregated myself according to political ideology. In creating my club, I had also constructed a personal echo chamber where my beliefs were being reinforced by my acquaintances instead of being educationally challenged by dissenting viewpoints and experiences.
Certainly there is nothing inherently wrong to associate with others of our own labels. After all, without labels, politics wouldn’t even exist. However, excessively clinging to our labels too often results in a distorted view of reality, as was my case, where we can get stuck in a microcosm of our own making without trying to understand others’ worldviews. That is an unhealthy and uneducated attitude to have, especially at an institution of learning like Berkeley.
Rather, if we truly want to educate ourselves politically, we should see our labels for what they really are: superficial facts about our skin color, genitalia and preferences that don’t give a full picture of our inner selves. Instead, we should free our minds of these collectivist chains and approach each other as the beautifully complex individuals that we are. Only then can we truly achieve the integrated society that Dr. King had dreamed of.
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2000-1968=32 not 22. Oh and you’re a jackass.
I would pay money to watch a bunch of Asian kids wearing bright yellow hoods and robes light some giant incense sticks on fire on Sproul at night.
While shouting “Asian Power!” and making the shaka sign with their right arm fully extended.
If they did it unannounced, this town would sh!t itself for a week.
It would be the greatest prank on this campus of all time, especially if they were able to keep the cops away for long enough to transition the audience from the initial wtf shock into omg this is the greatest inside joke ever.
They would not be attacked, because people here are cowards. When have you ever seen anyone around here take any sort of real, interventionary physical action in public when not part of a mob? The cops will be there by then. Plus they will be scared, by the awesomeness of asiankkk.
As an African American student on campus who comes from what
many in my own community would consider a unique background (even amongst most
of the middle and upper middle class African Americans), with often unique interests
that deviate from social norms. I would
say that I have had the experience in life where I have had to navigate through
and learn to adapt to various social and local cultures.
Growing up in a mostly white suburb, where I attended a
mostly white private school (k-8) and then being shuttled out to both sets of
my grandparents who lived in mostly black urban areas on weekends and summers, I
quickly had to develop social strategies that meet the needs of given communities.
By the time I was in high school the demographics changed
and there was a larger Asian Pacific Islander population. So in making friends, I naturally was able to
mingle within the various ethnic groups.
One thing that made it easier for us to intermingle is that
we knew that we were all POC’s (persons of color) or minorities as we are generally
referred to as in mainstream America (and for some of you reading this, the
mere mention of myself as a POC already has you rolling your eyes). Even then I was doing a dance between 3
cultures: one African American, one Asian, and then one Caucasian. But none of this seemed to be much of an issue
until later.
As I entered high school the white coaches assumed I would be
trying out for football & basketball and pretty much offered me spots on
the team. I declined and went for soccer
and lacrosse instead. Later I became a
theater and political and periodical enthusiast. Hardly the kind of thing
expected from the average young black teen from anyone black or white, whose
language and style were considered too proper and often unexpected.
Also my lack of linguistic “code switching” in which your
words change with crowd became a source of contention for a particular group of
African Americans whom often unofficially were the cultural ruling class. This would regularly cause issues with my
fellow African American friends from my grandparents neighborhood and would ultimately
lead to the experiences of a “racial litmus test” where my own blackness was
put up to a test based on likes, dislikes or where my position was on the
issues at hand.
This type of cultural wrangling at times left me severely depressed
and feeling like I needed to do more espouse the acceptable blackness.
This type of scrutiny from within my own community was
coming well before I even entered the collegiate ranks. And
this is an issue many of my fellow African Americans like to sweep under rug in
exchange for the “greater cause.”
At the same time I was often looked at suspiciously by many
white adults from my suburban enclave. There were times when a friend’s mother
would all of the sudden misplace some jewelry or a something valuable when I was
around and would make hints to the fact that she believed I had somehow taken
the items, only to later find them right where she had put them.
There were also times when my white friends would bring to
their home that for the first time in their lives their parents had suggested
that they “let them know before they had visitors at the house.
On the other hand I have come across people of all races
whom were kind, nice and just plain decent human beings. I would say now that my closet circle of
friends are mostly people whom for one reason or another never fit neatly into the
boxes that exist in society as it relates to their ethnic, racial or social
cultures.
Based on many of my experiences I could be a mad and bitter man
with good reason. Instead I have chosen
to attack the issues head on and build a better sense of myself or coming into
my own being for me as me.
With that being said I often find myself battling two
mindsets that are prevalent on campus.
1.
1) That race, culture etc. does not exist and that
we should live in this “colorblind society.” I often hear some students
seething at the idea of the various clubs that exist but somehow believe that
their own club is the model for success.
To this I say that America was not created
as a country unified around multiethic and multiracial solidarity. Given the latter part of its history there
roots of all kinds of segregation (ethnic, racial, gender, sexual, religious
etc…) were laid centuries ago and these long systemic issues cannot be rooted
away within a few decades. So if it took many centuries to embed this culture
into our society it is equally going to some time and work to make it a minute
presence in our lives.
Also it is natural that people who come
from various cultures want to rally around each other for support, understanding
and to celebrate traditions.
Try going to NYC where people tend to
identify and group themselves based on country of origin vs. color lines.
So the clubs that are created can be a
great way for students to create a cultural, social, political etc. community. This is especially done when they are in the
minority.
2.
2) That based on the differences we have and based
on histories of oppression and/ or lack of inclusion into the mainstream social
or political cultures (for a variety of reason) that we must strive to only group
ourselves with like-minded people or those easily sympathetic to your cause. That we must focus more attention on what is
yet to come and not equally on what has come to pass.
That we find it more interesting and
engaging to mock our differences and to lash out in vehement opposition at those
with a different point of view from our own… This leads to us drawing lines in
the sand and labeling one another as the lesser than or as the willfully ignorant. And yet we are all ignorant to one degree or
another at different times. So the very
behaviors we often admonish in others are the ones that espouse on ourselves.
While it is okay to have clubs and
groupings of oneself in ways that would happen naturally we need not to let the
past or lack of numbers keep us from crossing the lines and getting to know one
another.
I try to talk to someone new every
day. Strive to get to know people
various social, cultural and political backgrounds and not just my own. I hold no contempt for anyone accept for
those people who may wish to bring harm due to their differences.
At the end of the day I suggest that a
little more understanding, a little more of putting yourself in other people’s
shoes and little less of trying to use Dr. King fit into one’s own personal
social, moral or political ideology will go a long way to trying achieve his
dream.
Mothmag, I suspect you composed this elsewhere and pasted it when you were finished. That’s fine (I do it myself) but can you do us all a favor and either (a) use the EDIT button to clean up all the line breaks, or (b) retype this in whatever you are using as an editor, and NOT type in enter/CR/return at the end of each sentence, at it posts a bunch of extra breaks that make it a complete pain in the rear to read. That will make it a lot easier for others to read your post. Thanks.
“use the EDIT button”
What Edit button? I only see Like and Reply.
Hmm, I’m able to edit without a problem (see above).
They actually tried this in the sixties; the footage is in a BBC documentary somewhere on youtube.
The white liberals had a bunch of black panther guys come down to Big Sur to have a “dialog”. The while liberals couldn’t understand why the black panthers wouldn’t give up their self-segregation and form a wider movement. It degenerated into a scream fest with the black panthers b!tching out the white liberals for being racist.
Later it was finally realized that the black panther organizational model is (1) a superior organizational model to defend people of your same skin color from racism and (2) has the covenient side benefit of providing power processes and roles for its members. In other words, if what is affecting you is racism, you choose a self-segregating organizational model to defend yourself.
The question that really could not be legitimately asked at the time, but can be asked more legitimately today, is: If you are being affected by forces other than racism, do you not have less need for a self-segregating organization, and therefore don’t the people identifying with such organizations have less power (and hence more reactionary incentive to suppress contrary opinions and enforce the notion that everything affecting you is still caused by racism)?
The truth that an individual can shape their own destiny, even if it is a half-truth (only true in part) is a direct threat to the power and continued existence of the self-segregating organizational model. At the same time, those organizations continue to provide some benefits. So you get exactly the situation we have now: some people in those organizations acting reactionary (especially if they depend on the organization for identity and power), the majority of people in the organizations along for the ride, taking advantage of the benefits while realizing that not everything is caused by racism.
Dude, your math sucks. First you say King rises from the dead in 2000. Then you say he woke from a coma 22 years after his 1968 shooting. First off, death and coma are NOT THE SAME THING. Also, 1968+22=1990, not 2000. Credibility shot in the foot there, bro.
“Don’t get me wrong — this multicultural machine does play an important
role in making students feel at home at our intimidatingly large campus.
However, it is just as hurtful as it is helpful by mentally and
physically dividing ourselves along superficial labels.”
This is key. He sees the significance of all these multicultural programs but clinging too much on them, such as only associating yourself with people from that community, is ultimately deleterious to MLK’s goal of equality of all. As a Latino, I can easily join all these Latino-themed programs on campus where I can meet people of a similar culture and background. However, surrounding myself only with other Latinos would narrow my understanding of other cultures and perspectives. Thus, it’s better to be open minded and oversee the socially constructed labels.
[As a Latino, I can easily join all these Latino-themed programs on
campus where I can meet people of a similar culture and background.
However, surrounding myself only with other Latinos would narrow my
understanding of other cultures and perspectives.]
A good point, which illustrates the inconsistency of many of the people harping about “diversity” in the first place. Richard Rodriguez, who you may be familiar with, took exception to the mindset voiced by many academics in the 1970′s that education had to be more “relevant” to the hispanic community, which he viewed as a form of pandering. His argument that was that the role of public education was not to morph itself to try to be relevant with the barrio experience, but to introduce the mainstream culture INTO the lives of young hispanics who were culturally isolated so they could gain access and succeed in mainstream society. Hard-core advocates of “diversity”, however, operate from a left-wing world view, and instead ENCOURAGE this isolation as it provides a dependency group of people who can be manipulated to push their particular agenda, resulting in the racial and ethnic Balkanization occurring across college campuses these days.
I agree with the writer on this one. He is not trying to shut down multicultural clubs, but in fact elucidating that these self-selected race- and gender identity-based clubs are creating factions and fissures amongst the student body. It is not unreasonable to look at what we’ve got here at Berkeley and say that we’ve got “de facto segregation”, and not just directed by people of historical minority groups (because whites are definitely not a majority on campus, don’t kid yourself). If you’re feeling lonely as an Aryan male you could join SAE, for example. There’s a niche for every interest group on campus, a niche that can turn into a pitfall trap with regards to a “diverse campus experience.”
I agree with Michael 100% on this one. Also, I’m not sure if it’s right to take what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said over 50 years ago and try to apply it today in a “what would he think if he saw…” sort of way. That would just be taking his words out of context and applying them to a different time period and different atmosphere.
Of course, continue to beat down and “villainize” communities that you’re not a part of. I understand where you can get this perception, but have you spoken to members of these communities? Don’t you see that since being part of the majority here on campus, writing such a column looks down and discredits the hard work that students of color put to ensure our existence on campus is known. It is having a culturally diverse student body, and having the right to perform our cultural practices, that makes OUR college experience worthwhile–especially in a climate where the predominant race does not give “2 cents” about our opinions, our history, nor our presence on campus. Yet, when it comes to “Compton Cookouts” and Cinco de Mayo” celebrations, the predominant race is quick to get involved in that they think is “multiculturalism,” right?
You should get to know our programs and spaces before passing judgement and stating that we’re continuing segregation.
with respect.
[Of course, continue to beat down and "villainize" communities that you're not a part of.]
As if certain “under-represented” minorities accusing us of having “white privilege” would NEVER villainize people in a community they are not part of, right?
Come on, Michael, cut the crap and grow a pair. If you really think that you’re that persecuted, then you need to get out in the real world and get some perspective. Insisting that people are judged on their merits as opposed to their membership in a particular racial/ethnic group is NOT an attempt to impose some form of segregation or racial discrimination, in fact it is the complete opposite. Stop your whining and start offering more positive solutions, and maybe you will get more respect out of people…
Accusing white people of having white privilege (which I cannot believe you put in quotes…) is not “villainizing” a community. It isn’t even an accusation; it is FACT.
This article is arguing that we should all embrace each other, ignore our differences, and rejoice in some idealistic race-less world when in actuality, probably the greatest factor in determining your life outcomes is your race. The way institutions respond to your needs is based on race. The job you will get, the city in which you will live, the network you will build, and the list goes on and on and on. So, to disregard the different ethnic voices of this campus and to think of them as just “labels” is ignoring the fact that those “labels” mean everything and they are deliberately perpetuated to make sure those in power, stay in power.
Also, How DARE this student try to speak for Dr. King
Jessica, what you are arguing for is fortress building. You want every race to establish its own fortress on campus to protect its members from the mean white people, who by the way are not allowed to form their own white racial advocacy groups. However, fortress building destroys the main argument for diversity based on race. How can students benefit from diverse points of view if every racial group is segregated into virtual fortresses? We really ought to discourage diversity then. When voices are projected from fortresses, they sound like battle cries. So stop worrying about white privilege. By the time you look for a real job in the Bay Area your interviewer will probably be a Chinese or Indian with zero guilt about the legacy of Antebellum slavery.
[By the time you look for a real job in the Bay Area your interviewer will probably be a Chinese or Indian with zero guilt about the legacy of Antebellum slavery.]
That just might be a good thing for the likes of Jessica and her ilk. Maybe if she had the opportunity to see how some other cultures have NO problem in showing open preference to people who look, talk, and sound exactly like them, she might realize that Americans are pretty tolerant, accepting, and open-minded compared to the rest of the world…
I think you should re-read your comment and see how it works against you.
Were you trying to make a point about something?
[Accusing white people of having white privilege (which I cannot believe
you put in quotes...) is not "villainizing" a community. It isn't even
an accusation; it is FACT.]
What a bunch of bull, unless you consider coming from a cultural background that emphasized hard work, perseverance, education, personal responsibility, thrift over conspicuous consumption, and deference of immediate pleasures for future benefits to be a “privilege”. In any case, these aren’t exclusive traits based on anyone’s skin color or ethnicity, given that people from all backgrounds can be quite successful in this country if they adopt these traits as their own.
If you think all us white folks were born with silver spoons in our mouths and have some secret handshake that lets us into the country club where we sit around drinking mint juleps and try to think up of new clever ways to keep the colored people down, you’re full of it. My parents weren’t wealthy, nor did I live a life of ease before or AFTER attending Cal. I lived on my share of powdered milk, cheap cereal and day-old bread, bought clothes from the Salvation Army, and patched together my share of junk cars when I couldn’t afford anything better. I also lived in many of the same ‘hoods as some of you, having at various times in my life cribbed in Oaktown, Southwest LA, and NYC, and went to many of the same crappy, underfunded public schools as well. I also spent 6 years in the armed forces (USAF) as I certainly couldn’t afford to go to college. In addition, I have been technically “homeless” at more than one point in my life, in fact I lived out of my beat up old Mazda pickup truck for the better part of one semester while attending Cal – yet I survived, got my degree, and managed to keep myself gainfully employed in (more or less) various positions of increasing responsibility (and compensation).
You need to take your bitterness and attitude problem and get over it, because blaming the white folks for your predicament isn’t going to gather you much sympathy in the real world. If you’re a student at Cal, then you already have a privilege and opportunity that the vast majority of people in this country will never have. The ONLY place your skin color is an obstacle is in your own narrow, resentful mind – and in all honesty will be your biggest stumbling block to success, because it gives you an excuse not to excel or put out the effort. Got it?
If you can agree racism affects people of color more than white people, ie statistically greater number of minorities in jail vs white people (proportionally). Or acknowledge the greater number of police brutality cases again minorities, or feeling awkward/unsafe when walking down a primarily ethnic neighborhood, or feel more confident on receiving a job as an equally qualified minority, or look down on any minority as a recipient of affirmative action, or assume that the Civil Rights movement effectively eliminated racism, or say that skin color doesn’t matter… Well, this is all examples of what it means to be born in a white dominated society. White privilege allows white people to ignore any cultural/racial hardships that people of color face every single day. It assumes in one or two generations after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that all minorities will have equal footing as white people. This assumes that schools in ethnic neighborhoods are just as good as those in white neighborhoods, with equal funding and equal access. White privilege assumes equal opportunity for all through hard work and merit, and discounts any racial hardships a person of color may have experienced. When society has such low expectations of hispanics and blacks, how is it reasonable to say they have the same opportunity as “everyone else”, ie white people. A hispanic person in my sociology class related a story that every time she saw a class advisor in high school, they initially always tried to put her in easier classes and expressed shock and surprise when they found out she was actually ahead and doing quite well. How can people of color really be expected to have the same opportunity when in reality they are not treated the same.
[If you can agree racism affects people of color more than white people,
ie statistically greater number of minorities in jail vs white people
(proportionally). ]
Ever consider that the reason a larger proportion of minorities are in jail is because minorities commit more violent crimes on average than white folks? At the same time, there are proportionately less Asians and Jews in jail than average, as those groups tend to commit less crimes on average. Once again, a silly attempt to play the race card…
Schools in California are funded by the state, not individual neighborhoods, and any discrepancies are due to population density and number of special education students. Even though some neighborhoods pay much higher property taxes, their schools are still funded at the same level as poor neighborhood schools of comparable size. The reason wealthy neighborhoods provide higher quality education is that good teachers beg to be reassigned to those schools, and parents volunteer time and money to supplement programs. I would suggest that Latino and Black parents volunteer more at their children’s schools instead of whining about unequal opportunity. A poor child of any color (even white) will never get exactly the same quality education of a wealthy child, but the existence of low income Asian immigrant students at Cal proves that even poor inner city schools provide enough opportunities for those motivated to learn.
“I would suggest that Latino and Black parents volunteer more at their children’s schools instead of whining about unequal opportunity.”
And how do you suppose this is feasable for single parents, such as mine, who have to work multiple jobs and/or full time and honestly did not possess the free time to volunteer for their child’s school? Should my mother have sacrificed paying rent to ensure that I have an operative learning experience in school? Is that your suggestion?
“A poor child of any color (even white) will never get exactly the same quality education of a wealthy child, but the existence of low income Asian immigrant students at Cal proves that even poor inner city schools provide enough opportunities for those motivated to learn.”
Well that is fine is dandy, we have made it to Cal, but you fail to mention the hardships we endure while in Cal. Many of us come for underfunded schools which did not provide the curriculum that tailored us for the rigors of Cal. Motivation only takes you so far here, success at Cal as primarily based on whether or not you have had access to a [high school] curriculum that was designed to prepare you for the rigors of such cutthroat environment.
“White privilege assumes equal opportunity for all through hard work and merit”
No, people of every color assume equal opportunity for all through hard work. Some groups, like Jews and East and South Asians, are assumed to work harder than whites. Only the ethnic groups enslaved by the liberal Democrats believe they face insurmountable odds and wait for welfare checks and racial preference in admissions and hiring. Young Black men commit so many crimes that even members of their own ethnic group profile them as potential thugs, yet when whites do the same it’s called racism.