Racism At The University Of Mississippi

Minority serving institutions have been an integral part of the education system in the United States since before the Civil War (LeMelle, 2002). Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have, for much of their existence, been criticized for the level of academic rigor, political context, and their social agenda have created controversy for generations. With that being said, HBCUs hold a valuable place in the landscape of US higher education institutions. The culture, history, and perspective that is taught and shared are unparalleled and cannot be replicated at a predominately white institution (PWI).

“Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs, have played an important role in enriching the lives of not just African Americans, but our entire country.”(Keller) What Ric Keller states here is an opinion that outlines a compelling fact about HBCUs that along with several other significant information that may come as a surprise. Essentially, the great debate between the choice of whether an Historically Black College and University or Predominantly White Institution is more beneficial or not can become a pondering interrogation. Each acronym defines itself, Historically Black Colleges and Universities(HBCUs) were established by the means of providing an education for predominantly African American students. Whereas, Predominantly White Intuitions(PWI) serve to instruct and educated the opposite or in other words those of Caucasian descent.

Racial diversity is something that is often discussed on college campuses. As a student who self-identifies as a minority in more ways than one I often feel like I have a pretty good understanding of the subject of racism and race. However, often times when these issue are discussed I learn something new; this was the case when reading the articles this week. This week’s articles examined the issue of race from different perspectives. This allowed me to re-examine the issue in a fuller manner; it also allowed me to question some of my own notions that I hadn’t really challenged before.

College Universities such as the University of Memphis proud itself for its diversity and inclusiveness. Everyone from the teaching staff to the janitors is equally treated right. There is no racism or discrimination here at the University of Memphis. This belief that the U of M does not have racism/ discrimination and everyone is equal is an inaccurate statement believed by those who do not experience it. Actually racism and discrimination is very present at the university.

Companies and educational institutions greatly benefit from the guidelines of affirmative action because they profit from the different ideas, work styles, and contributions unique to each diverse individual. As quoted in Paul Connors’s compilation, Affirmative Action, President of Columbia University, Lee Bollinger, addresses the importance of a diverse educational system by stating, “The experience of arriving on a campus to live and study with classmates from a diverse range of backgrounds is essential to students' training for this new world, nurturing in them an instinct to reach out instead of clinging to the comforts of what seems natural or familiar” (12-13). A statement by Southeastern Oklahoma State University further supports the idea that success in modern day society stems from diversity saying, “Our country is strong because of the rich diversity of our culture, not in spite of it” (Affirmative Action).

Racial preference has indisputably favored Caucasian males in society. Recently this dynamic has been debated in all aspects of life, including college admission. Racial bias has intruded on the students’ rights to being treated fairly. Admitting students on merit puts the best individuals into the professional environment. A university’s unprejudiced attitude towards race in applicants eliminates biases, empowers universities to harness the full potential of students’ intellect, and gives students an equal chance at admission.

According to Rawls, citizens, or campus community members in this case, must work toward creating equality for the disadvantage. Therefore, I first argue that community members should have the liberty to not have to be constantly reminded of their social, political, and economic oppression. To this end, I hone in on self-respect as a liberty that these traditions do not allow. Then, I analyze the 2013 Diversity Matters: The University of Mississippi Diversity Plan to illustrate how administrators are envisioning the universities continued departure from the confederacy. My aim is to show how the university is working toward Rawls’ second principle of justice with the proposed plan.

"I'm a Mississippi segregationist and I am proud of it," the governor declared. James Meredith, the Air Force veteran said Ole Miss "was the Ivy League of the Southern way of the life." A crisis in Oxford occurred at a time when staunch segregationists — and oftentimes violent racists — dominated the political structure in Mississippi. It was the college town of Oxford's struggle to preserve white supremacy. Segregationist mobs stormed the campus though the federal government insisted that Mississippi honor the rights of all its citizens. Despite Mississippi's segregationist state government, James Meredith, in a calculated move he applied for admission. Ole Miss citied administrative technicalities and refused his application. This prompted

Racism is a controversial point that has been taking place in the United States since early times. This same point was affecting students in the University of Missouri since several months ago. The Missouri University’s president Timothy Wolfe has been accused of not taking action against the persistent racial epithets and actions in the university. After the biased demise of Michael Brown, by a white police officer, an abundant number of students and faculty members were inspired by this incident and held demonstrations and protests against segregation. However, the crucial impact that cause Wolfe’s retirement of his responsibilities as a President of the University was the Football boycott. The country’s most dominant college football league

Mississippi was seen important in the challenges against segregation because when the growth of cotton was a huge back in the 1850s, the plantation owners became richer due to their soil. Mississippi’s farm land was super productive and the price of cotton continued to increase in the international market. This primarily led to a noticeable difference in social classes between the whites and blacks in the state. Mississippi had got a lot of attention of the American Civil Rights Movement, due to the actions and attitudes of the white politicians, as well as the creation of the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, the contribution of many Mississippians in the White Citizens' Council movement, and the violent acts of the Ku Klux Klan

Historically Black College and Universities have played a essential role in changing the scene of advanced education in the United States. Today, in a time of quick change, HBCUs confront difficulties and also new snags. Not only does the HBCU itself face difficulties, but being a student at one can definitely be challenging at times. They face multiple issues such as debt, discouragement, and mental illnesses. All of this could affect both their futures, and worth ethics. In order for the students to be career steady, these issues they are facing must be fixed.

American society likes to believe that race relations in our country are no longer strained. We do not want to hear about the need for affirmative action or about the growing numbers of white supremacist groups. In order to appease our collective conscious, we put aside the disturbing fact that racism is alive and well in the great U.S.A. It hides in the workplace, it subtly shows its ugly face in the media, and it affects the education of minority students nationwide. In the following excerpts from an interview with a middle class African American male, the reader will find strong evidence that race plays a major role in determining the type and quality of education a student receives.

Race is known to be a group of people sharing the same culture, ethnicity, language, and history. Ethnicity is considered to be the fact or state of being categorized in a group that shares a common nature or cultural traditions. Being a part of a family that is very diverse having a total of eight immediate family members. My father and two brothers all being Caucasian, my mother and oldest brother are African American, and my littlest brothers and I are biracial. We don’t view each other any differently than brothers. Meeting new friends or family, it’s never been an issue for us. As we got older we began to see it more and more with relationships, sporting activities, also stereotyping African Americans with one another and Caucasian

The other encounter with the world we live in and racism was in college. We lived in an apartment style dorm with 4 other people. There were 3 bedrooms and a common area. The entire building was composed with males and females from all over the world and of different ethnicities. It was a melting pot just like New York City. My friendship with the other roommates really opened up my mind to other cultures and understand their differences. It was a very enlightening experience.

In order to study the need of a racially and culturally diverse college campus, the journey and battles fought must be dicussed. While there is a lack of diversity on college campuses today, they are not completely devoid of people of color. However, there was a time when college campuses were one hundred percent Caucasian. Jonathan R. Alger, Jorge Chapa and a team of researchers conducted studies on various college classrooms. They then went on to publish their findings in a book titled Does Diversity make a Difference? The purpose of their paper was to discuss the importance of diversity and reveal the effects of non-diverse campus. They begin their book by taking a look into the history of diversity in America. The start of the Civil Rights movement along with President Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty took place in the mid 1960s. These events forced the country to face the reality of the people of color in America. These Americans of color did not have equal access to education, jobs, housing, or other valued resources (Alger et al. 2000). College administrators and faculty were starting to understand the necessity of a diverse campus. The realized that people of color had just as much to offer to the United States as the Caucasian majority. During that time, “many higher education faculty members and administrators were deeply concerned that abandonment of race sensitive admissions and hiring, at a time when most minority groups continue to be unrepresented in higher education, will severely limit campus diversity and would undermine the learning environment for all students.” (Alger et al. 2000). Additionally, a lot of the traditionally white colleges and universities were provoked and questioned by the concerns of their students. The universities and colleges began to notice their inability to extend the same educational