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Feeling a little gross after celebrating the @AlabamaFB video acknowledging Black Lives Matter. So many of my classmates were eager to scream "Roll Tide" and "Black Lives Matter" in the same breath, but participated in a Greek life that wasn't integrated until their senior year.
They sat in a lily white student section cheering on Black football players, went to parties knowing Black students would be turned away, turned a blind eye to the blatant representations of systematic racism on campuses.
When are we going to talk about that? Because we do not get to hollar "Black Lives Matter" with our football team, if we just now decided to notice the color of their skin. Let's talk about it. I'll start.
I was in a sorority for four months at Alabama. My second swap theme was "BET v. CMT." We had zero women of color and no one batted an eye at dawning unstylish versions of "hip hop" clothes. It was gross and I'm embarrassed. I'm sorry.
I quit the organization four months later. What I did was wrong and hurtful. I have vowed since to life lift up Black voices and fight for a more equitable Alabama. I'm sure that's not the only time I've messed up. But it's definitely the one that would get me canceled on twitter
We don't get to cheer for the Black men in Bryant Denny to win trophies for us and not acknowledge the roll we played in actively segregating our campus and harming the livelihood of our Black classmates. I think it's your turn now.
EDIT: White folks, by admitting our shortcomings in the fight for racial justice, by acknowledging our participation in racist organizations...
we are NOT seeking a pat on the back from Black folks. We are NOT looking to be consoled. What we are doing is putting it in the open so we can grow. We are staring the ways in which we hindered our Black classmates from thriving and vowing to do better. It's on us.
