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Might as Well Break Out the Brown Bags

By Austin Thompson and Nicholas Owen
Black College Wire

Howard and Hampton students are proving every day why some students at historically black colleges and universities may be turning back the progress black leaders fought for in our past.

Kenon White/Black College Wire To the authors, the upcoming bourgeoisie ball conjures up images of paper-bag tests, HBCU elitism, consumerism and coonery.

An upcoming party between Howard and Hampton students is called the "Howard and Hampton Bourgeoisie Ball."

Aside from the fact that "bourgeoisie" is a pejorative term used to describe a ruling class that exploits the working class, these students are fitting perfectly into the age-old stereotype that HBCUs protect and foster black elitism, consumerism and good old-fashioned coonery.

Students protested this image in the '60s and '70s, and now we are celebrating it.

The April 7 "Bourgeoisie Ball" in Richmond, Va., will include the "First Annual 'Who is the Flyest' Competition."

These so-called "intellectual" black students remind us that "Hampton dominates Howard in sports, however, Howard is known for being one of the most fashionable campuses in the country."

This is the type of stuff only a Ku Klux Klan member could come up with: black people being celebrated at a historically black college or university as sports players and fashionable dressers. The party will also have "non-biased judges who will give the three flyest people of the night expensive awards."

The creators might see this as a joke, but oftentimes what you find funny speaks volumes about the type of person you are.

So far, 835 students are confirmed guests.

Only about a fifth of that number showed up on March 15, when the Campus Pals organization and the Howard University student government put on "The Celebration of the Black Man," a program intended to address the issues black men face.

We see where your priorities are. This party is a sad reminder of Howard's uglier history, including brown-paper-bag tests, where one had to be lighter than or the same color as a paper bag to be socially acceptable, and the black elite coordinating with the white superstructure to fight against black mass progress, the black working class and the civil rights struggle.

These "talented" individuals spent most of their free time amassing large amounts of wealth by helping the dominant class exploit other black people.

Were it not for a few courageous students at the time, the university would no doubt operate the same way today.

As Howard University students, we are appalled by the direction this institution is heading in the hands of a few insensitive and apathetic students. We cannot believe this kind of elitism is taking place and being glorified.

Howard University is supposed to be a symbol of something more than this. How dare we disrespect the legacy of our forefathers and mothers?

Instead of being a vanguard in the fight for social and economic justice, we are celebrating the divide between the haves and have-nots. If Howard and Hampton are coming together for the first time, it should be for something bigger than this coonery.

We are not saying that every student should be about making a difference in the black community and portraying positive images as a university, but if we aren't about that, we need to stop recruiting kids to this school based on its so-called legacy.

This is no way to be the Mecca and the leaders of the black diaspora.

Austin Thompson and Nicholas Owen are students at Howard University. This article originated at the Hilltop. Articles in the Voices section represent the views of their authors, and not necessarily those of Black College Wire. To comment, e- mail [email protected].

Posted March 22, 2007

This Is Coonery

To the editor:

When I got to Hampton back in '88, I remember the stigma that was associated with both our institutions, but I paid it little attention. To me, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting individuals from all walks of life, from areas besides Detroit, where I grew up. Students fell into three categories:

1) Upper to high middle class
2) Middle class
3) Getting through on a wing and a prayer (hey, we've all been there at least one semester.)

As time progressed, I saw the caliber of upper-class students who were being recruited, and more and more, every year, the stigma became a blatant reality. The responsibility to your people and to excel became overshadowed. Mamie Locke, the professor at Hampton who went on to become a state senator, said to me right before I graduated that the trend was changing, favoring the same students described in your article.

These institutions were put in place to give us the education that no one else wanted to give us. The new generation does not appreciate this and has COMPLETELY taken this for granted.

"Who is the flyest competition?" What the hell are you talking about? Is first prize a lifetime supply of chicken and watermelon? Promoters, why you are capitalizing on sheer stupidity? This is coonery and blatant promotion of black elitism.

Enjoy your evening, but if someone called you a "nigger," you would be sitting around wondering why, screaming bloody murder. We're better than this.

Marcus Maddox, M.A.
Atlanta
March 27, 2007