Anti Black History Months: #DoBetterUC

On February 9, 1982, the University of Cincinnati suspended Sigma Alpha Epsilon for hosting a self proclaimed, “Martin Luther King Jr. trash Party”. To promote this shameful event, attendees were encouraged to bring a host of stereotypical items and or perform stereotypical behavior attributed to Black people. The flyer that boasted this event included a list of 45 painful, hurtful, items, which trigger images of anti blackness, especially for those who understand the depth in which it pervades this nation.

This list included but was not limited to: watermelon, a stolen hub cap, cancelled welfare check, corn row hair, a cotton gin, a picture of James Earl Ray (Dr. King’s alleged assassin) and a basketball. Although my heartaches as I replicate the language emulated in the flyer which can be found below, it mostly hurts because of the second item listed, which lead me to write this reflection. That item was a directive to, “paint your face Black” otherwise known as performing blackface. Blackface has a painful history associated with Jim Crow, and for white folks who participated in this act, it was utilized to further dehumanize and exploit Black bodies which had been subject to centuries of brutalization.

Fast forward to February 18, 2015, I find myself similarly disheartened as photo of a presumed white student whose face is covered in Black, beard colored red, (arguably to celebrate school spirit), circulated through the redistribution of our University of Cincinnati President, Dr. Santa Ono. I am not disheartened because this white kid, knowingly or unknowingly participated in an act that triggers historical trauma … I am however disheartened that the commentary surrounding the backlash has focused more on the intent on the perpetrator, and less on the impact of the injured marginalized group.

Perhaps I’m sensitive because this comes literally weeks after the African American Cultural and Resource Center streamed, “Dear White People”, a film that explores the subtle and overt difficulties of being Black at a predominately white institution of higher education. Perhaps I’m sensitive because I still don’t have answers to why the university sloppily handled the public mistreatment of the first Black Dean of A&S. Dr. Ronald Jackson. Perhaps I’m sensitive because we’re literally living in a time where we Black folks are taking to the streets yelling Black Lives Matter, just to authenticate our own humanity … or nah. I think, better yet I know, I’m sensitive because it’s relatively simple to dismiss the claims of the under resourced and underrepresented to protect the image and esteem of the privileged. As the self proclaimed #HottestCollegeInAmerica I’m sensitive because we continue to avoid opportunities to deconstruct racial inequity by failing to address our own issues as an institution. Hopefully the course of action taken by the administration and campus leaders moving forward will ensure that the frustration myself and so many other Black students and alumni alike share, is not in vain.

Happy Black History Month…

Christina D. Brown,

A&S, 2010

#DoBetterUC









Sigma Alpha Episilon, MLK Trash Party Invitation



