NUBIANMESSAGE
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY | RALEIGH, NC | THENUBIANMESSAGE.COM | wednesday, NOVEMBER 1, 2017
Diversity Education Week
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Letter from the editor Hello lovely people, I hope everyone made good choices on Halloween, and if not, I hope the repercussions aren’t too bad. The end of October saw this year’s Diversity Education Week and there were so many amazing events that happened. Sadly, we couldn’t cover them all, so in this issue you’ll find a selection of coverage from the events we could attend. These include speakers like Franchesca Ramsey and Porsha O.’s amazing performance and workshop. If you’ve never heard of Porsha O., she’s an incredible poet who writes on social justice and personal issues in a very raw and powerful way. You can find many of her poems on YouTube, and I fully recommend that you do. There was also a very important talk hosted by TRIO about food insecurity and homelessness amongst college students. As someone who benefitted from SNAP programs and was actually homeless for a while, albeit before college, I understand how important fostering these kinds of conversations are. In this issue, you’ll also get a review of play “The Exonerated,” which, sadly, is over and done for now, but was an important part of Diversity Education Week. Even if you didn’t get to see it, University Theatre puts on some pretty incredible productions during the year. I believe next up is “Beowulf, Lord of the Bros” and I, for one, am pretty darn excited about that. Epic poetry meets rock musical...too interesting to miss.
THISISSUE 3 FOOD INSECURITY A community conversation
4 FRANCHESCA RAMSEY Power of social media
5 PORSHA O.
Spoken word and workshop
6 ISLAM FAIR 2017 MSA hosts Islam Fair
7 THE EXONERATED University Theatre sparks discussion
8 INCLUSIVITY Reflecting on inclusivity at NC State
And don’t worry; we aren’t ignoring the homecoming concert. You’ll be able to view a gallery of photos on the website. But some events and behavior at the concert inspired (read: provoked) one of our writers into an opinion about inclusivity on our campus. You’ll find that on the very back of the paper. Lastly, this is the Nubian Message’s birth month! Yes, I am one of those extra people that celebrates the whole thing. I’m super excited for our special Nubian issue on the 29th. If you guys have suggestions of anything you’d like to read about the Nubian, let us know. Also, if you have anything you’d like to say about the paper and what it means to you and campus, you can submit a few words to our email, nubian-editor@ncsu. edu. I would really love to have some of your words in the paper, because the Nubian is nothing without the community. That being said, love always, Anahzsa
COVER PHOTO BY Hannah Shea
The Sentinel of the African -American Community at N.C. State Since 1992. Anahzsa Jones
Editor-in-Chief
Keilah Davis
Managing editor
Allona Wilkerson
LAYOUT DESIGNER
Only with the permission of our elders do we proudly produce each edition of the Nubian Message:
Dr. Yosef ben-Yochannan, Dr. John Henrik Clark, Dr. Leonard Jeffries, The Black Panther Party, Mumia A. Jamal, Geronimo Pratt, Tony Williamson, Dr. Lawrence Clark, Dr. Augustus McIver Witherspoon, Dr. Wandra P. Hill, Mr. Kyran Anderson, Dr. Lathan Turner, Dr. M. Iyailu Moses, Dokta Toni Thorpe and all those who accompany us as we are still on the journey to true consciousness.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 | 3
news
TRIO Hosts Community Conversation on Food Insecurity YESENIA JONES Correspondent On Friday, Oct. 27, students and staff gathered in Talley Ballroom to discuss the complex issues of food insecurity and homelessness over upcycled appetizers catered by RAVE. Some of the appetizers included apple and carrot latkes made from reclaimed apples from the farmers market and carrot peels from on campus kitchens. Hosted by Student Support Services, also known as TRIO, and mediated by Mike Giancola, assistant vice provost and student ombudsperson, the event featured guests from local organizations and anecdotes from alumni about their experiences with these issues. The community conversation opened with a statistic that displayed the severity of the issue, stating that 20 percent of college students across the nation are food insecure and seven percent have experienced homelessness. During this conversation, Kalysha Clark, a current graduate student, described her experience with food insecurity as an undergraduate at NC State. Clark was a first-generation college student and came from a lower income family. She had to work three jobs throughout her undergraduate experience to maintain financial stability. Clark said that without the help of on-campus organizations like TRIO and federal programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), she is not sure how she would have made it through college.
“TRIO really provided me with resources that I needed to be successful, but also a team of professionals who were always supporting me and always had my back. They were always my cheerleaders,” Clark said. “Through TRIO, I was able to apply for food stamps or SNAP, EBT benefits.” In order to lessen the severity of these issues on campus and prevent other students from having to go through the hardships that Clark went through, faculty and staff have done continuous research and created multiple initiatives. Dr. Mary Haskett, a psychology professor, along with other faculty, created the Food and Housing Security Among NC State Students Initiative. Their vision is that “all NC State students will have access to sufficient, nutritious, culturally appropriate and affordable food and safe affordable housing accessible to the university.” Culturally appropriate food addresses dietary needs for students who practice religions that require specific diets, such as Muslim students who eat Halal and Jewish students who eat Kosher. The initiative recently released an online food and housing security survey that was sent to a representative sample of the student body to determine the exact number of students who struggle with the issues discussed at this community conversation. The results of the survey will be released during the spring semester. Haskett said she decided to get involved and make a
change after interacting with a young boy who shared his winter coat with other members of his family. As a result of this interaction, she decided to place a coat rack outside of her office. She filled the coat rack with approximately 50 coats. They were gone within days. She used her speech to say that we as students can do small things that will impact the greater community and help students who are experiencing food insecurity and homelessness. “I think that If each of us did one small step, it would make a huge impact,” Haskett said. At the end of the conversation, participants were asked to pair up with an accountability partner and make a pledge to create change in the NC State community. The pledge template went as follows: “From today, I will ____.” Partakers in the pledge filled the blank with things such as volunteering at the food pantry and creating awareness of food insecurity on campus. If you are a student who is currently struggling with food and or housing insecurity, resources are available. There are financial, educational, housing, and food resources that can be found on campus. See thenubianmessage.com for a link to the presentation.
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wednesday, NOVEMBER, 1 2017 | 4
news
Franchesca Ramsey: Social Media for Social Change keilah davis managing editor On October 23, Franchesca Ramsey, the current host and executive producer of the MTV web series “Decoded,” delivered a talk entitled, “Your Powerful Online Voice: Social Media for Social Change” in Witherspoon Campus Cinema. Ramsey was the Fall Diversity Dialogue keynote speaker for the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity’s Diversity Education Week 2017. She began her presentation by introducing the concept of privilege through an illustrated story about a caterpillar and a snail. In the story, the two friends’ journey to a party comes to a halt when the snail’s shell prevents it from getting past a fence that the caterpillar quickly crawls under. Ramsey’s cartoony voices drew laughter from the audience throughout the tale. “Sometimes you are the caterpillar and sometimes you are the snail,” Ramsey said. “This story, on its face, just seems to be about a caterpillar and snail, but in reality it’s a story about privilege and the fact that we all have privilege.” Ramsey explained why she chose to begin by discussing privilege and acknowledging that she is heterosexual, cisgender, and able-bodied. “In my experience, I found that if I talk about my own privilege it can help people be more cognizant of the privileges that they have and the life experience it affords them,” Ramsey said. Ramsey explained how she got her start in media when she began wearing locs and sought out help online. She found a group called Get Up, Dread Up on LiveJournal, but most of its members were white. “Where are all the black people?” Ramsey said. “I was one of two, and at that time the natural hair space online was nothing like what it is now, so I decided to start making my own videos about my natural hair journey. I figured if I need help and don’t know where to turn to, maybe there are other people in similar positions.” Ramsey continued making hair, beauty and comedy videos until 2011, when she made her most popular video to-date, “Sh*t White Girls Say to Black Girls.” She created the video as a response to the viral “Sh*t Girls Say” and its viral parodies like “Sh*t Black Girls Say.” “I uploaded this video before I went to work,” Ramsey said, “and when I went to lunch, I had 1.5 million views. For one day, I was officially more popular than Justin Bieber.” After showing the video, Ramsey explained why this video was so significant for her career. “I thought this was just a video about my life experience growing up in West Palm Beach and going to Catholic school and being the only black girl in my circle of friends,” Ramsey said. “But in reality, this video was about the experience of microaggressions, which are not something that are exclusive to black people or people of color. This is something marginalized people often face when they are in spaces with privileged folks, and they’re really
Sam Feldstein/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Franchesca Ramsey, social media activist and host of MTV’s Decoded, looks at a reporter while answering a question asked during a press interview in the African American Cultural Center in Witherspoon Monday, Oct. 23. Ramsey was the guest speaker selected to headline the campus Diversity Dialogue as part of Diversity Week.
those unintentionally harmful and hurtful comments that really just highlight someone’s privilege.” The popularity of this video caused Ramsey to pivot from hair and beauty to comedy and social justice in her videos. Since then, Ramsey has written for “The Nightly Show” and “Black Girls Rock,” presented at film festivals around the world, and finished a pilot for Comedy Central. While she has experienced great success, she has also been the target of internet trolls and harmful comments and videos. Ramsey explained that discussing race, oppression and privilege often makes people uncomfortable, as these conversations are often perceived as blaming or attacking a particular group. “Anger is a defense mechanism,” Ramsey said. “People get angry because they don’t know how to process the feelings that they’re having.” According to Ramsey, being a better activist and ally starts with acknowledging and understanding your privilege, owning your mistakes, committing to change and speaking up for, but not over, marginalized people. One student said, “I’ve watched a lot of her videos before, but it was still pretty cool to be reaffirmed in the
message. I liked her use of gifs and memes, it was really engaging.” Another student, Jake Petrillo, a first-year student in exploratory studies, said, “I really like how she talked about issues that I think push people’s comfort levels. I thought it was really interesting how almost uncensored she was about the topics she talked about.” This was Petrillo’s first time hearing about Ramsey. Ramsey also reminded the audience that hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter, #ShoutYourAbortion, #WhyIStayed, #GirlsLikeUs and #1000BlackGirlBooks sparked conversations around the world on police brutality, access to reproductive health care, intimate partner violence, visibility of trans woman and representation in children’s books, respectively. Most of these hashtag creators weren’t famous at the time, but were regular people who chose to speak out on social media. “If you have something that you feel is worth saying, then the internet can definitely be a place for those conversations,” Ramsey said. “There is a place for you to reach to different people and potentially take that to a level that you never anticipated.”
news
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER, 1 2017 | 5
PORSHA O. SPEAKS ANAHZSA JONES EDITOR-IN-CHIEF During Diversity Education Week, the Union Activities Board’s Diversity Activities Board invited well-known poet and feminist Porsha O. for a writing workshop and spoken word performance. Her writing workshop also acted as a workshop about diversity that included themes of structural racism, sexism and systemic oppression. Nury Castro, a graduate assistant for Student Involvement, said that the goal of inviting Porsha O. was relatability and “for people to see someone like Porsha O. and where she is now and how powerful that is, and how that resonates with them. As well as ... learning something new, even if that means becoming uncomfortable and realizing their own privilege and how systems of oppression and privilege affect those of marginalized communities.” These systems were the themes of the workshop. The participants were tasked with analyzing a scenario that featured characters that were analogous to entities involved in the experience of oppression: minority groups, authority figures, institutions, white men and the Bill of Rights. Porsha O. closed the workshop by urging participants to have more dialogue about diversity on campus. Following the workshop, Porsha O. performed in Talley Ballroom. She was introduced as “coming in on a dragon,” and the power of the image set the tone for the poetry she performed. Porsha O. talked about her life experiences and how they contributed to her poetry, finding inspiration in unexpected and mundane places. Two poems she performed were inspired by Disney movies, and they were especially geared towards illustrating racism and microaggressions. The first, a new poem called “The Genie Takes a Walk 150 Years After Being Emancipated,” used the plight of the Genie in “Aladdin” and hypothetical situations as an allegory for modern expectations and prejudice. The poem and its message, as well as her performance, resonated deeply with audience members. “That was amazing,” one attendee said. “The way she said the word ‘Genie,’ I could hear the n-word in that.” Another poem, entitled “Tangled a.k.a. Repunzel a.k.a. Long-Hair-Don’tCare and What,” focused on a classic example of microaggression: a white person asking a black person, typically a girl, “Can I touch your hair?” while simultaneously touching their hair. At the lines “I wonder if I ever belonged to me anyway. I wonder if I’m just a beautiful thing meant for others to make theirs,” one attendee in the back of the room said, “Wow. That sums it up perfectly.” Porsha O. also managed to illicit an emotional response with the poem “One Black Boy Down.” Several attendees were seen wiping their eyes as the poem reached its conclusion. The second-to-last poem Porsha O. performed was “Capitalism,” in which she is capitalism personified as a pimp who built America. “I am Capitalism. Racism is my son, Gentrification is his sister, the Jail System is my illegitimate daughter and Public Schools are my bad a** grandkids. Can’t you see? All your oppression is related back to me,” she said. Porsha O. said she chose the poem specifically because it was Diversity Education Week, and one thing we all have in common is that we live under and are oppressed by capitalism. She ended her performance with the poem “Ode to My Mouth,” which celebrates the power of speaking up and individuality. “The crowd was very receptive and interactive,” said Castro. “The workshop went great as well… a lot of people said they learned something new and that was kind of our goal.”
RETIREMENT PLANNING? THERE’S NO FREE LUNCH! (Except on November 6th when you can learn about retirement planning and enjoy a free lunch)
Monday, November 6, 2017 Program begins at 11:00 a.m. NC State Campus, Talley Student Union, Ocracoke Ballroom
Make sure you don’t outlive your savings and learn about the challenges facing the U.S. retirement system HEAR FROM
U.S. Senator Richard Burr Ron Pressman, CEO, Institutional Financial Services, TIAA Professors Robert Clark and Melinda Morrill from Poole School of Management RSVP to go.ncsu.edu/financialsecurity Complimentary lunch for all those who RSVP by Wednesday, Nov. 1. Raffle for five lucky winners to receive a gift card to Wolfpack Outfitters. All NC State students, faculty, staff and community members are welcome.
©2017 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund, 730 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 289504
wednesday, NOVEMBER, 1 2017 | 6
news
islam Fair promotes Cultural Understanding KENNYSHA WOODS CORRESPONDENT On Tuesday, Oct. 25, NC State’s Muslim Student Association, MSA, hosted their annual Islam Fair as part of Diversity Education Week. The event was centered on education and discussion about Islam. Shiraz Ahmed, a fourth-year student studying international politics, co-outreach chair of MSA and primary organizer of the event, said the Islam Fair was also a part of Da’wah. “Da’wah is an Arab term which means invitation to Islam, and outreach is a part of that,” Ahmed said. The Islam Fair was tailored specifically toward the non-Muslim population on campus with the goals of educating people on the basics of Islam, discussing contemporary issues in Islam and communicating with those unfamiliar with Islam. The event included refreshments and the opportunity for attendees to get henna tattoos. “We’re building a relationship with the community,” Ahmed said. The Islam Fair attracted a plethora of students from different backgrounds, faiths and academic disciplines. “I’m really interested in the religion,” said Hanna Lawrence, a first-year student studying business, “and I feel it’s important to learn about religions different from my own.” Gabriella Dangler, a first-year student studying engineering, said, “My boyfriend practices Islam, and I wanted to see how his views on it compared to other people’s views. His parents are from Sierra Leone, West Africa, and I wanted to see (how) the cultural influences on the religion was compared to Middle Eastern culture and American culture. Like, the differences in cultures and how they affect religion.” There were four main discussion topics: “Basics of Islam,” “Women in Islam,” “Jesus in Islam” and “Religion, Culture, and Islam’s Place.” Each topic had a station with speakers, and attendees rotated between stations in groups every 15 to 20 minutes. Ahmed chose knowledgeable speakers for these topics who have contributed to previous MSA events. Some of this year’s speakers had participated in past Islam Fairs. “Basics of Islam” was headed by Fiaz Fareed, Da’wah (Outreach) chair of the Islamic Association of Raleigh, the IAR. He talked about the Five Pillars of Islam, Six Articles of Faith, and the history and culture of Islam. Amal Khdour, who founded the Al-Aqsa Community Clinic in February 2009, presented “Women in Islam,” reviewing the treatment of women throughout history among different theologies, and how they compared to treatment of women in Islam. “If you do research and see how the woman has been treated through history, you’re going to find out that women have been treated unfairly,” Khdour said. Khdour provided examples from different ideologies--ancient Greek religion, Christianity and Judaism, to name a few. According to Khdour, across these faiths, women were seen as unclean, impure, shameful and had to fulfill the pleasures of men, and the emergence of Islam brought
Muslim women the right to work, to education, to earn money and to free speech. “When Islam came, so many important things were given to women,” Khdour said. “She (the woman) was treated as a human being. She had equal rights. She had duty, she had responsibility, but at the same time, she was treated as a human being.” Isa Ibn Matta, from the Al-Hirz Institute and a graduate student studying Islamic Studies, presented “Jesus in Islam.” “The way that we as Muslims believe in Jesus acts categorically different than a lot of belief systems today,” Matta said. Matta talked about Jesus as an astrotheological literary hybrid, “the personification of a human being described in astronomical events. For example, the twelve disciples being twelve constellations, and the son of God literally Jordan Taylor/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER being the Sun in the sky.” Vice President of the Muslim Student Association, Sinthia Shabnam Jesus is personified differently across different gives classmate Zerwa Syed a henna tattoo at the Islam Fair on faiths. “It literally brings people together and Tuesday Oct 24, 2017. Sinthia is a second year at NC state studying separates people,” Matta said. “We as Muslims nutrition and Zerwa is a first year studying international studies. believe that Jesus is the Messiah.” Matta continued, “The Word of God was sent and born through the miraculous birth to Mary. Believing in Jesus is actually a prefect of our the narrative, and they’ve told us what Islam is about. faith. If you don’t believe in Jesus, you can’t be Muslim.” That puts Muslims in the spotlight, and that’s great beDr. Amin Asfari, who is also from the IAR and a profes- cause it coerces and forces us to try and struggle and give sor of criminal justice at Wake Tech Community College, our own narrative. Part of the process is understanding discussed “Religion, Culture, and Islam’s Place,” focusing we’re a victimized group, we’re being outcasted. They’re on how Muslim people integrate their faith with their trying to outcast and marginalize us, so we have to prove American identities and into American society. ourselves.” America is a multicultural society, and Asfari used the Attendees and MSA members expressed how important multiculturalism spectrum to explain the key difference events like the Islam Fair are for NC State organizations to between integration and assimilation. host on campus. “The very right of multiculturalism says, ‘Ok you come Lauren Emer, a first-year student studying biological from India or Zimbabwe or whatever, that’s great,’” Asfari sciences, said, “A lot of times people are hateful and disresaid. “‘So long as you shed everything there is about that, spectful out of ignorance, and the best way to combat that including your language, we’ll accept you.’” This is assimis to educate.” ilation. Sinthia Shabnam, vice president of MSA and a third“Left-wing multiculturalism says, ‘We’ll accept you year student studying public policy and sociology, said, and your differences,’” Asfari said. “That, by definition, is “As long as everybody here walked out with something America--a melting pot.” This is integration. new to think about with a little bit more open minded“But America poses challenges to groups,” Asfari said. ness--that’s what’s important to me.” “The way America was founded, it’s a multicultural soci“Organizations bring life to campus,” Ahmed said. They ety, and when you go into a heterogeneous, multicultural connect people and foster a welcoming environment in society, you always find that a powerful group tries to which we can understand each other’s differences and marginalize, tries to ostracize, tries to out another group.” similarities, which, according to Ahmed, is essential for a According to Asfari, groups were perceived as threats healthy society. to the dominant culture include women with the woman’s For information about upcoming MSA events, or if suffrage movement and African Americans with the Civil you’re curious about Islam and would like to learn more, Rights Movement. After 9/11, Muslims were affirmed as a you can visit the MSA’s organization page at https://orgs. threat group in the American psyche, and the American ncsu.edu/msa/ or contact them at ncsumsa@gmail.com. media, especially the news, contribute to that perception. The next MSA general body meeting will be Thursday, “Who’s been in the news media talking about Islam?” Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. in Riddick 301. Asfari said. “Muslims? No, non-Muslims have co-opted
features
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER, 1 2017 | 7
‘THE EXONERATED’ EXAMINES CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM RIKI DOWS CORRESPONDENT University Theatre’s Open Door Series presented “The Exonerated,” with showings that ran throughout NC State’s Diversity Education Week. Based on true stories, the one-act play followed six wrongfully-convicted death row inmates as they told the audience their stories, including the circumstances that led up to their arrests, the misconduct of the criminal justice system, the cruel conditions of prison and death row and life after their exoneration. One of the exonerees was Delbert Tibbs, played by Ron Foreman. Tibbs was convicted of rape and murder even though local police had already determined he had an alibi. Still, the judge issued a warrant for his arrest and he spent three years on death row before being exonerated for mistaken witness identification. In reflecting on the injustice of his case, Tibbs says, “As I sometimes tell people, if you’re accused of a sex crime in the South, and you’re black, you probably shoulda done it, you know. Because you’re gonna be guilty.” Robert Earl Hayes was played by Jeremy Wesonga. Hayes was also accused of raping and murdering a white woman in 1990, and knew that he was going to prison because there were “eleven whites and one black on (his) jury.” Hayes’ wife, Georgia, portrayed by Skylar Skinner, implores the audience with this question: “And do you think, seriously… if the roles had been reversed, if it had been a black woman and a white man, it would’a been like that?” When I heard this line, my mind immediately went to the number of cases where we’ve seen this double standard play out in America’s criminal justice systems. I thought about Dylann Roof, who was allowed a calm arrest, com-
plete with bullet-proof vest as per his basic civil rights, in comparison to police brutality victims like Eric Garner, forcefully brought down in a severe chokehold that crushed his windpipe and eventually killed him. I thought about Brock Turner and how he was only sentenced to six months in prison, and was out in three, for the rape of an unconscious victim versus the 15-year sentence Cory Batey received for the exact same crime. Hayes’ line is a perfect reflection of the way we see law enforcement use race as a deciding factor in how they treat suspects of a crime today. On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have Sunny Jacobs. Jacobs’ story was unique in that the veil of discrimination did not color her conviction the way it had for the other inmates. She was white woman, and still, the system failed her when a perjured witness condemned Jacobs, along with her husband Jesse, for the deaths of two police officers in 1976. Jacobs, as portrayed by Natalie Sherwood, gave a monologue about the degradation of these “correctional facilities.” “They take your clothes, they give you a number, so basically they’re taking who you are from you. You no longer have a name, you’re a number, you’re locked inside this tomb.” Pondering the words of her character, Sherwood wondered, “Where is the ‘correction’ in that...How do we expect these people to re-embrace our guidelines when they have been suffering from our ‘moral’ punishments for years on end?” Jacobs’ story is the perfect testimony to why we all should care about the failings of the criminal justice system and the implications of the death penalty. Wrongful conviction is not
just a problem for people of color. It isn’t restricted to only people that have done wrong. Sunny Jacobs was a white woman who was in the wrong place in the wrong time. It can happen to anybody. When asked about why being a part of this production was important to her, Sherwood said, “(It) addresses the infinite complications within our justice system; how it is elitist, how it lacks a checks and balances system to ensure compliance with ethical practices, how it disadvantages those of lower socioeconomic status and those belonging to minority groups often vilified in this country, how it prioritizes finality above truth and its namesake of justice.” The audience was floored by the commitment of the students to portraying such a controversial and emotionally-packed plotline. “It was super chilling and captivating,” Molly Riddick, a senior studying political science and theatre arts studies, said, “I don’t think I got an emotional break from the entire run of the show.” In addition, the audience really appreciated the story’s ability to make the audience think about current social issues. Rachel Walter, a senior studying biological sciences and Spanish, backed this up by saying, “It’s shocking to realize that their stories are not the work of fiction, but are the result of a broken system that far too few people are aware of...it prompted me to remove the rose-colored glasses I so often wear to critically reflect on and examine the state of our judicial system and nation as a whole.” I was also impressed by the actors’ willingness to take their performances to the extreme. The material required some actors to say racial slurs and
express discriminatory mindsets that they would never say outside of acting. Their commitment to telling the story made the image more vivid, which really increased my emotional reaction to the stories. Overall, I think this show was an amazing way to start a conversation that not a lot of students knew we needed to have. The retelling of the exonerees’ stories informed the audience of an epidemic that has been improved by the innovation of DNA evidence and organizations like the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence but is still happening to people, especially people of color, today.
Jordan Taylor/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Ron Forema portrays Delbert in The Exonerated on Tuesday Oct 17, 2017 in Titmus Theater. The Exonerated, is a play that focuses on the injustices in the criminal justice system including race, class, and gender.
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opinion
The Pack is Integrated, not Inclusive NC State prides itself on its inclusivity, and I would also champion this idea if it were true. Ladies and gents, I hate to break this awful news to you, but NC State, being a predominately shawn white institution, is FREDERICKS not as inclusive as CORRESPONDENT advertised. During this past weekend, I had the amazing opportunity to attend the 2 Chainz and K Camp homecoming concert. While I did enjoy the festivities, there were some shenanigans that went down that I cannot ignore. Here at NC State, I am constantly reminded of how privileged--and to be frank, spoiled--people can be, and unfortunately these are the people that NC State caters to, thereby setting the tone of a campus culture that excludes non-whites. This past weekend, I volunteered at the 2 Chainz concert because I do not pay for events (#thefinessekid). So in my curly head, I decided the job for me to do was stopping people from cutting in line. Well the privileged folk, who consistently chuckled at my futile attempts to keep order, were having none of that. Now racial stereotypes would make you think I had to stop black people from cutting the line. But no. They weren’t being drunk and disorderly. It was white people.
And mind you, this was all before the concert doors even opened. During the actual concert, I repeatedly heard the N-word being uttered by white people. I honestly do not feel all white people are bad, and understand that not every white person does this. However, it does not change the fact that it is trendy in the white community to be “edgy” by saying the N-word in environments that bear no consequences. White people also consistently showed disrespect for black artistry by throwing things on the stage while people were on it. If it was a pop concert, I do not see this happening. All of this got me to thinking; As a university, how can we claim to be an inclusive campus when people are being excluded, not by any law, but by the conflicting values of campus culture? What I mean to say is, NC State’s administration tells prospective students this is an inclusive campus, but the actual students who belong to the majority that go here as a collective say, “Hell no.” How are black students specifically supposed to feel included when racial slurs are being said casually in front of them? White people feel very entitled to black culture; they feel the need to twerk, use slang, and use the N-word freely with no respect afforded to the people of said culture, but when actual black people do it, we are depicted in a very disparaging manner, to put it lightly.
Because, let’s be frank, white empowerment always comes from excluding others, whether it’s colonialism, excluding whole populations from basic human rights, or NC State campus culture, which often discourages minorities from being complete members of the community. White people as a collective fail to realize how their actions lead to minorities not feeling included in greater campus culture. For example, members of our student body felt it was appropriate to host CMT vs. BET parties within the last few years, where white students dress as black stereotypes such as the gangsta. Even last year there was a GroupMe incident where white students felt “uncomfortable” about black students gathering for peaceful protest and joked about bringing a gun. Looking at the history of this institution, one will not be surprised at the amount of white supremacy on campus. There’s even our alma mater which speaks about “the winds of dixie” blowing, with “dixie” referencing the Confederacy. It may feel redundant to bring up this simple point, but the Confederacy stands for white supremacy. If we are to be an inclusive environment, how can we reinforce white supremacy with joyus singing of a song that places its roots in the Confederacy? I believe it is pertinent to highlight how white supremacy is built into the very foundation of NC State, which did not want to admit African American students
under the Second Morrill Act of 1890. Instead, they decided to annex Shaw University to be the Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race, now affectionately known as North Carolina A&T University, which started in Raleigh before moving to Greensboro. Honestly, I’m not even mad about this fact, because had the white supremacists not done this, GHOE (A&T’s homecoming) would not exist, and I do not want to participate in a reality that does not have GHOE. The Wolfpack did not want black people then, and looking at our six percent black population, reported by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning, I see begrudging acceptance now. The relationship between this institution and the black community started with dismissal, and now, being actual students on campus, our presence is being dismissed not by any administration, but the actual student body. That is why initiatives like Diversity Education Week are important. As a public university, NC State is supposed to be for the public as a whole, not just white people. Everyone should feel included on campus no matter their identity; they should feel included in setting the values of the campus they live and learn on. NC State students should think about our history and do better to make this campus inclusive for all.
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