By David A. Love
9:00 AM on 10/14/2009

Hampton University senior Nikole Churchill was crowned Miss Hampton University on Friday. She was the first non-black to win the title. (Joi Louviere, October 9, 2009)

The crowning of Nikole Churchill as the first non-black Miss Hampton University has caused a ruckus at the historically-black college and throughout the African-American community. Hampton alumni, bloggers, and callers into black radio talk shows are upset that Churchill, 22, was selected to fill a representative role for a traditionally black institution.

As a student at Hampton, Churchill was certainly eligible to compete and ultimately win the award. Any objections to her crowning that are based on her skin color are nothing less than hypocritical.
Churchill, who is from Hawaii, was selected to be Miss Hampton University from among 10 contestants. In addition to receiving a $1,500 scholarship, she will serve as the school's homecoming queen and will compete in the 2010 Miss Virginia pageant.

Churchill's mother is of Italian ancestry, and her father is from Guam. In a letter to President Obama - a fellow Hawaiian - the nursing major said that many Hampton students do not accept her crowning, and have made negative comments about her.

"It would be much easier to say that possibly some were not accepting of the news because I wasn't the most qualified contestant; however, the true reason for the disapproval was because of the color of my skin. I am not African-American," she told the president. "Despite the unfortunate beliefs that some are saying I should not have won, I am desperately trying to focus on those who believe in me and support me and my goal to represent this beautiful, multicultural campus the very best way that I can."

Churchill later apologized to the Hampton University community for writing the letter.

No apology was necessary; black folks should be able to relate to Ms. Churchill's situation. The black experience in America has been one of exclusion, of society questioning our abilities and qualifications. The troubling legacy of racial exclusion by white universities is why historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were founded in the first place.

When black students first integrated into the public schools and colleges, they were greeted with insults and death threats, and were ostracized until graduation day. Even today, people of color are still scrutinized. They are the object of suspicion at school and, in the workplace, their credentials and capabilities are questioned. America's first black president won a fair election, despite race-baiting from his political opponents. Yet an entire segment of the population believes he is unqualified, illegitimate and unfit to serve.

Dr. Martin Luther King talked about the drum major instinct, which he described as "a need that some people have to feel superior. A need that some people have to feel that they are first, and to feel that their white skin ordained them to be first." Sadly, the oppressed internalize their own oppression from time to time. In the past, this resulted in "paper bag tests" for admission to exclusive African-American organizations, or the denial of so-called "lower-class" black people. Then there were the lighter-skinned blacks who were able to pass for white and occasionally abandoned their darker family members for a full-fledged life in mainstream society.

Yet, the black community has always had a tradition of bringing in others and claiming them as their own. African-Americans, as longstanding victims of discrimination, are in a special position to show tolerance and inclusion. We can't afford to do any less. Anyone who gets upset over Churchill's victory has not learned the lessons of history.

It is fitting that Churchill has invited President Obama to come to Hampton to speak about diversity. Hopefully he will accept the offer, and allow a constructive dialogue to take root.

Proud to be White

Michael Richards makes his point................
Michael Richards better known as Kramer from TVs Seinfeld does make a good point.


This was his defense speech in court after making racial comments in his comedy act. He makes some very interesting points...


Someone finally said it.. How many are actually paying attention to this? There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc..

And then there are just Americans. You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction. You call me 'White boy,' 'Cracker,' 'Honkey,' 'Whitey,' 'Caveman'... and that's OK..


But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head, Sand-nigger, Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink .. You call me a racist.


You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you... so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?


You have the United Negro College Fund. You have Martin Luther King Day.


You have Black History Month. You have Cesar Chavez Day.


You have Yom Hashoah. You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi.


You have the NAACP. You have BET... If we had WET (White Entertainment Television), we'd be racists.. If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists.


If we had White History Month, we'd be racists...


If we had any organization for only whites to 'advance' OUR lives, we'd be racists.


We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce. Wonder who pays for that??


A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant, but any color can be in the Miss America pageant.


If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships... You know we'd be racists.


There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US . Yet if there were 'White colleges', that would be a racist college...


In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.


You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists..


You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist.


I am proud.... But you call me a racist.


Why is it that only whites can be racists??


There is nothing improper about this e-mail.. Let's see which of you are proud enough to send it on. I sadly don't think many will. That's why we have LOST most of OUR RIGHTS in this country. We won't stand up for ourselves!


BE PROUD TO BE WHITE!

I got this in an E-mail a while back and feared posting it here because of the backlash, but in this topic, it seems to be on-topic.

but folks, it's a BEAUTY PAGEANT. do people *really* care so much?

Really? Really? You are asking this after the article you just read?

Seriously Drew, it matters. So what it's a BEAUTY PAGEANT? The issue is not about BEAUTY nor is it about the PAGEANT. It's about discrimination.

Anyone protesting only because it was a white girl who won is a racist.

Racism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.

We disagree.

The very fact of black colleges instead of fully integrated ones, the existence of BET, NAACP, Miss Black America and on and on is by definition the epitome of racism.

Oct 15, 2009 15:47 EST

A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.

Neither Bardwell nor the couple immediately returned phone calls from The Associated Press. But Bardwell told the Daily Star of Hammond that he was not a racist.

"I do ceremonies for black couples right here in my house," Bardwell said. "My main concern is for the children."

Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said.

"I don't do interracial marriages because I don't want to put children in a situation they didn't bring on themselves," Bardwell said. "In my heart, I feel the children will later suffer."

If he does an interracial marriage for one couple, he must do the same for all, he said.

"I try to treat everyone equally," he said.

Thirty-year-old Beth Humphrey and 32-year-old Terence McKay, both of Hammond, say they will consult the U.S. Justice Department about filing a discrimination complaint.

it just doesn't work that way. inherent in the definition of 'racism' is a sense of power and control. for the people in power to call those without nearly as much power 'racist' is to continue to assert their dominance over them.