Interesting Conversation With An Old Friend

In my Social Work and Social Justice class today we watched a video about Ida B. Wells (the legendary social activist and journalist) and it reminded me about a conversation I had about a white friend. He was concerned about the quotes on my facebook profile.

"I wouldn't classify 'white people' as all the same. the quote about white people classifying black people into a group of 'lazy people' also gives a racist message that all white people are stupid, and tend to classify black people altogether. just wanted to make sure you don't isolate away the white population from your life. in high school, we were all friends, no one joined ' [the UVa Choir] Black Voices' or 'Black Entrepreneurs' or 'White Greek Group' I feel like it's good to respect where you came from, but grouping together for the sake of becoming 'stronger as a people' has become somewhat of an isolation move, and in that respect becomes an oxy moron."

My response is below:

"Didn't mean to offend you or anyone else by the quotes.. But let me clarify some points as to why I have those quotes on my facebook wall. As you know I went to Tanzania this past J-Term. I was the only black person there from UVA, out of 14. We spent 2 weeks there, and on the last couple of days all I would hear was that the rest of the class wanted to go home--tired of feeling different or labeled as 'the white people.' You see, they (the rest of the class) were in an environment where the majority was black, and they were the minoirty. They were the ones who had different customs, expectations, etc. And after two weeks, they were tired and wanted to go back to America where they could 'fit in.'

But black people live this every day. We don't get the opportunity to fly back to a place were we are the majority. I think this is something that most white people take for granted. And so whenever a black person says something regarding race it has to be an isolationist attempt. But on the contrary--as mentioned above, people like to associate with people like themselves. You do, I do, everyone does. But the only difference is, because we are the minority, our attempts to associate with similar people seems as disliking or turning our backs on white people, while when you and others associate with each other, it is the norm.

But the real reason why I have those quotes on my facebook account is to expose history that is rarely told. You see, the Jewish community has never forgotten the Holocaust, chinese americans have never forgotten being forced into concentration camps in world war 2. Even native Rhode Islanders haven't forgot about how the Puritans of Massachusetts exiled them out for their religious views. Why is it, then, are we (blacks) socialized to forget about our past and our struggles? To say that everything is equal so there is no need to keep referring to the past is ignorant. The overwhelming percentage of black prisoners, or the culture of poverty seen in urban areas can be directly correlated to a lack of information about oneself that leads to self determinination, pride, and efficacy. That was what I attempted to do in the quote(s). I mean we all go to UVA, so we have some book knowledge, but the knowledge that allows great people to succeed is knowledge about themselves and their achievements. This knowledge is not in mainstream history lessons in primary and secondary school systems (at least for blacks). "

I would like to read your thoughts about this issue!