April 24, 2018
By now, we have all heard story of the carnage and heroism at Waffle House. On Sunday, a naked white man walked into an Antioch, Tennessee Waffle House, armed with an automatic rifle, gunned down four Black patrons and wounded two others before James Shaw, Jr. wrestled the weapon from the gunman with his bare hands. James Shaw, Jr. sustained burns and bullet wounds and saved countless lives in the process, but has rejected the title of “hero,” (Source: Hero Customer Wrestled rifle away from Waffle House shooter,” by Justin Carissimo, CBSNews.com, 4/23/18). Meanwhile, the NRA, Trump and others are eerily silent. You may be less familiar, though, with the other Waffle House incident this weekend, in Saraland, Alabama. In that Waffle House incident, when Black patron, Chikesia Clemons, balked at paying for plastic cutlery and requested to speak with the manager,the waitress responded by calling the police. When the police arrived, they wrestled Ms. Clemons to the ground, threatened to break her arm and left her topless and humiliated on the floor of the restaurant. All of that was punishment for having the temerity to demand reasonable service (Source: “Outrage growing over black woman’s arrest in Alabama Waffle House by white police officers,” by Connor Sheets, Al.com, 4/23/18). Every day, it is increasingly evident that scores of white people, from Philadelphia to Alabama, have been emboldened by Trump’s election and the climate that he has encouraged, to give full vent to their racist rage and hatred.Lest we think that these actions are confined to uneducated, working class white people or Southerners steeped in “Lost Cause” mythology, consider the news that emerged from Syracuse University – a top flight school responsible for training many high ranking people in media. Members of the fraternity, Theta Tau, were caught on tape denigrating Black people, Jewish people, Latinos and disabled people using the vilest of slurs (Source: “Syracuse University expels fraternity involved in racist video,” by Dakin Andone, CNN.com, 4/22/18). Although Syracuse took the right step, by permanently expelling the fraternity and continuing the investigation of the students involved, these incidents, like the scores that have occurred in the last 18 months on campuses from American University to the University of Pennsylvania, must be viewed for what they are — acts which raise the specter of violence to communicate forcefully to Black students that they do not belong in these institutions. It is the logical conclusion of the cottage industry of pseudoscience attacking Black intellect as a means of resisting Black equality that goes back more than 100 years.Sadly, these institutions put precious little effort nto examining the impact that these incidents have on Black students who are simply trying to get an education, or communicating to Black students that they are valued members of the school community. From the not so subtle challenges to their intellect to the outright hostility and violence being meted out at many predominantly white institutions, it is no wonder that applications to HBCUs are skyrocketing. Many of us received wonderful educations and made lifelong friends of all backgrounds at schools from Harvard to Michigan to Arizona State, but at a point in our country’s history where we can’t be certain that we can buy a Caramel Macchiatto or brunch after church without being arrested, assaulted or killed, what a gift to send our children to institutions with a legacy of black excellence where they can spend at least four years being educated by people who want them to win.