The son of one my closest friends just graduated from college and will soon be moving to Texas to begin a new career and working towards his masters. Unfortunately, life happened and I didn't get to know my friend's children as well as I would have like to. However, I couldn't have been prouder when I received the graduation notice.
President Obama delivered a moving commencement address at Howard University to the class of 2016. I'm posting this in honor of my friend's son and to all the graduates of 2016. CONGRATULATIONS! Now go change the world.
Members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE), University of Oklahoma chapter, dressed in formal wear while on a bus, were caught on video singing a racist chant. SAE is the first national fraternity to be established in the deep south, it was founded at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, on 9 March 1856 and is one of America’s largest college fraternities. The group reportedly was on their way to a day party to celebrate the fraternity's founder's day.
How many of the members shown in the video or others with similiar views will be future public defenders, prosecutors, judges, government administrators, political office holders or even police officers?
This is why developing information about our legal and justice system is crucial, especially for those that are the targets of this type of behavior. The video below does not bleep out any word and is offensive, also the text of the chant is shown below the video.
Text of chant: "There will never be a nigger at SAE, there will never be a nigger at SAE, you can hang him from a tree, but they'll never sign with me, there will never be a nigger at SAE!"
SAE national headquarters has closed its Oklahoma Kappa chapter and the university president said the university's affiliation with the fraternity is permanently done as a campus group and called for the expulsion of fraternity members. This is the type of swift decisive action that was called for in Ferguson and is to be expected in situations such as this.
Racism and bigotry will remain in our country for a very long time, but when there are no consequences for participating in this type of dispicable behavior, future instances of the same behavior is encouraged and validated.
In contrast, Ferguson, MO in their effort to protect the questionable actions of a single police officer, resulted in million of dollars of property damage, a Justice Department investigation, the firing of several city employees, the loss of their municipal court system and staining their city's reputation to the point where they are now the new face and ground zero for a resurgent national civil rights movement. Even President Obama invoked Ferguson during his speech about the 50th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday" in Selma, Al.
