I must say that I have never been more embarrassed to be a black student at Penn than at the Minority/Penn Police forum held Monday night in Houston Hall. Given the nature of the forum, which sought to address the needs and concerns of minorities and the unjust targeting and harassment of a black male student by Penn Police two weeks ago, I find it inexcusable that so few black people, particularly black males, did not show up.
I know that talking about this will bring unfriendly stares in the DuBois lobby and may even get me kicked off the black listserv, but I'm willing to take the chance because it needs to be addressed. As long as discussion of these problems is limited to whispers within our community and is not publicly addressed, we will continue to be the targets of discrimination.
For those of you who object to having this addressed in The Daily Pennsylvanian, given the historically tense relationship between blacks and the DP, I ask: What is more harmful to the cause of black people, bringing this issue forward in such a public venue? Or having the chief of police and the vice president of public safety at a public forum on improving minority relations and having only a few black people show up?
Think about the message our poor attendance sent to Police and how it undermines our outrage over our the treatment by the police. Had more black students gone to the forum Monday night, the Penn Police would not so easily have gotten away with answering only three questions. Maybe the one black cop on stage would have had an opportunity to speak.
Instead, we sent a message of ambivalence to the University and the police. We told them very clearly that we don't care. We told them that, rather than addressing the issue, we'd prefer to hide behind our PennCards.
As African Americans given the opportunity to go to college, we must not shirk our obligation to advocate social justice for our community. I don't buy the talented-tenth theory, but I fully endorse the belief that as blacks who have been afforded the social capital that we have, we must see to it that we widen the path so that others can follow.
When successful blacks don't address these issues, it creates the perception that this has become a color-blind and race neutral society. Their success and their complacency is used to discredit claims that racism persists in our society -- if racism is so bad, why don't Colin Powell or Oprah Winfrey to talk about it?
Every week, I receive tons of criticism from Penn students who argue that racism is not a big problem and that I'm crazy for writing about it. They like to tell me that by simply being at Penn, I prove that racism is no longer a concern, that any black person can be successful in America as long as they study hard, play by the rules and stop whining.
And every week, I laugh off these responses and say to myself, "boy, if they only knew what blacks who have 'made it' say behind closed doors."
I wish they could overhear the private conversations of black women in hair salons, angry that no matter how many degrees they receive or how high a position they hold in corporate America, there is always a stigma -- that they are irrational, emasculated and licentious.
I wish they could understand the angst expressed by black males in a barbershop as they discuss their constant concern over fitting into the model of the "likable black guy" so as not to arouse fear and anxiety in their white colleagues.
We must use opportunities, such as Monday's forum, to raise awareness of our concerns. As long as we remain silent and passive on racial issues in America, they will continue to be a problem.
I don't mean to suggest that all black students at Penn must adopt a "one size fits all" model in addressing the issue of race. I recognize and understand the need for people to play different roles.
I am saying, however, that every black student on this campus needs to find his or her role in the struggle. Your PennCard does not inoculate you from racism and discrimination.
Wayman Newton is a senior Political Science major from Birmingham, AL.
