Good afternoon, lovelies!
With this being my first blog post, I’d like to get the ball rolling and immediately bring up a controversial issue involving Florida State University, as well as FAMU (Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University).
On September 4, a white FSU student posted a picture of black students to her Instagram account of with the caption “Welcome to FAMU….I mean FSU #monkeysareeverywhere #FSU #MarketWednesdays.” Instantly, several people took screenshots of her disgusting caption and it was re-posted across Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pintrest, basically every place Google can imagine.
Now, I get that she has a right to free speech and the right to post anything on her Instagram, but can we all just agree that racism is still alive?? I get the fact that blacks have come a LONG way, but as far as equality goes, we’re not there yet. Yes, we do have a President and First Family who are black, but that doesn’t mean racism doesn’t exist anymore. Look again at this student’s caption “monkeys are everywhere”, I mean that in itself just screams racist. I truly believe this is why colleges (especially predominantly white colleges) need to have black student associations of some sort. Organizations like the NAACP or black student associations were created solely on the basis so that minorities would have a place to assemble, mainly because during the times of segregation and even after integration was in place, blacks weren’t allowed to join predominantly white organizations (this is the MAIN reason why blacks began to form their own fraternities and sororities).
In no way am I saying that America as a nation is full of racism, but there are definitely still some closet racists who occasionally stick their heads out and say their two cents. The FSU student, Mandy Thurston is reportedly claiming that her account was hacked and that she would never post anything racist. FSU released a statement shortly after the incident claiming that “Florida State has zero tolerance for racist speech, no matter which medium is used to communicate the message,” they said. “Please be assured that the University is investigating this situation and will take appropriate action within University policy.” I think it’s great that the college is stepping in and taking responsibility for the action of one of their students, but this situation just makes you wonder, what is it about Florida that is drawing so much racial tension? Think back for a moment:
1. Trayvon Martin’s death, which I think was obviously a result of racial profiling.
2. Jordan Davis’ death, again, another teenager murdered as a result of racial profiling.
3. The FSU incident, it’s clear that the post was racially motivated.
Now these were just recent events that happened to catch the attention of the media which drew national attention. But, if you really think about everything, can you honestly admit that racism still does exist in 2013?
Stay Blessed,
Quortney R. Kolen
With this being my first blog post, I’d like to get the ball rolling and immediately bring up a controversial issue involving Florida State University, as well as FAMU (Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University).
On September 4, a white FSU student posted a picture of black students to her Instagram account of with the caption “Welcome to FAMU….I mean FSU #monkeysareeverywhere #FSU #MarketWednesdays.” Instantly, several people took screenshots of her disgusting caption and it was re-posted across Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pintrest, basically every place Google can imagine.
Now, I get that she has a right to free speech and the right to post anything on her Instagram, but can we all just agree that racism is still alive?? I get the fact that blacks have come a LONG way, but as far as equality goes, we’re not there yet. Yes, we do have a President and First Family who are black, but that doesn’t mean racism doesn’t exist anymore. Look again at this student’s caption “monkeys are everywhere”, I mean that in itself just screams racist. I truly believe this is why colleges (especially predominantly white colleges) need to have black student associations of some sort. Organizations like the NAACP or black student associations were created solely on the basis so that minorities would have a place to assemble, mainly because during the times of segregation and even after integration was in place, blacks weren’t allowed to join predominantly white organizations (this is the MAIN reason why blacks began to form their own fraternities and sororities).
In no way am I saying that America as a nation is full of racism, but there are definitely still some closet racists who occasionally stick their heads out and say their two cents. The FSU student, Mandy Thurston is reportedly claiming that her account was hacked and that she would never post anything racist. FSU released a statement shortly after the incident claiming that “Florida State has zero tolerance for racist speech, no matter which medium is used to communicate the message,” they said. “Please be assured that the University is investigating this situation and will take appropriate action within University policy.” I think it’s great that the college is stepping in and taking responsibility for the action of one of their students, but this situation just makes you wonder, what is it about Florida that is drawing so much racial tension? Think back for a moment:
1. Trayvon Martin’s death, which I think was obviously a result of racial profiling.
2. Jordan Davis’ death, again, another teenager murdered as a result of racial profiling.
3. The FSU incident, it’s clear that the post was racially motivated.
Now these were just recent events that happened to catch the attention of the media which drew national attention. But, if you really think about everything, can you honestly admit that racism still does exist in 2013?
Stay Blessed,
Quortney R. Kolen
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