White College Students Dress Up In Blackface As The Jackson 5 In Spokane Washington
Spokane Washington KXLY- This picture of Whitworth student athletes dressed up as their interpretation of the Jackson 5 made waves in the Whitworth community today. The school responded quickly we understand how offensive and damaging blackface is to a number of people of many racial ethnic backgrounds of course particularly of African Americans Whitworth associate vice president for diversity equity and inclusion Dr. Larry Burnley so this issue goes beyond five students dressing in black face it's about a lack of awareness of our country's history of oppression talking to some students they have shared with me personally that they were not aware of the history of blackface now for some that's hard to believe how could you not be aware of this history and in fact you're not some people are frankly are not what does that say about an educational system I'm not talking about Whitworth I'm talking about education in the United States Dr. Burnley says students will be held accountable for this incident students that I spoke with are contrite remorseful don't believe that there was intention to hurt or harm but again it does not diminish the impact that is having on people both here and beyond Whitworth campus Persons need to be held responsible for that and moving forward Whitworth will use this incident as a teaching tool how are we positioning are students to engage and serve humanity if they're not exposed to their stories and narrative particularly those who are suffering in this country
Comments