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Unpacking BaggageJust going through my luggage, clearing out some things to make way for enlightenment Monday, November 14, 2005Clarification On The Last PostingFirst let me say that the only points I make are that it's good to be "the only" sometimes, HBCU students are predominately children of Black priviledge, Black America has a pronounced class structure and the media is biased. Everything else is from the author of the article. While I believe that our students, especially Black students, should be culturally aware and engaged in the struggle for human rights, it may be unfair to write Howard students off as completely lacking political conscious. After speaking with a parent of two Howard graduates, I got a better understanding. "These children aren't coming from a place where protest is common. They are taught specifically not to make waves, but to go through every proper channel to achieve their end." I also remember an exchange with Nikki Giovanni where she talked about how her friends complain about their kids and their expectations. She was saying that these kids are rich. They are used to things like caribbean vacations and weekends on the Vineyard. They are not engaged in a struggle. The parents can't be upset because that is the world they gave them. What results is a huge buffer between the past struggle, which was very obvious and the present struggle, which is a bit (though not much) more subtle. What we really lose is the fact that there is no gap between struggles. There was never a time in this country that Black folks didn't have to fight for something. If nothing more than to be seen as an individual and not a representation of the entire race. What I would like to see happen is that our protests become as subtle as our opression. I'd like to see every black person code-switch into the queen's English when they see a news crew coming toward them. I'd like to see malt liquor sales decrease to the point that you have to search real hard to find it carried. I'd like to see a chinese food/liquor store go out of business. I'd like to see mothers who are old enough to be mothers. I'd like to see a whole lotta shit!  
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