writeswrongs:

Black Man to Lose Scholarship For Refusing Racist Assignment

Timothy McNair is a graduate student of opera at Northwestern University’s famed Bienen School of Music. McNair is at the school on a full scholarship, but the 25-year-old is standing up to his school after his professor, Donald Nally, gave him an assignment to perform a song created by a racist American poet named Walt Whitman. McNair asked his instructor if he could be assigned to perform the work of other artists but Nally denied him the opportunity and told him if he didn’t turn in all of his completed work by Friday, May 17th he’d receive a failing grade. McNair refused.

“Certainly I do not deserve to fail this class.  I have a 3.7 GPA.  I’m an officer on three committees of this university.  So what is deserving for me?  Is to be able to perform two pieces and have the third piece removed because of the insensitivity,” McNair told Chicago’s WGN news station. Although the piece McNair is instructed to perform does not contain any blatant racism, McNair believes it is still offensive that he was asked to complete the works of a devout racist. “We know (he) was historically racist.  He’s called African Americans ‘baboons’ and was for oppressing voting rights,” McNair said of Whitman.

There are far too many instances when African-Americans at predominantly White institutions are expected to compromise their integrity to fit into the mold of the institution. Just last month students, community leaders, and alumni of Temple University challenged Dean Teresa Soufas for decisions she made regarding the school’s prestigious African-American studies program. Protestors believed she was attempting to diminish its profound reputation. Black Blue Dog readers called and emailed Soufas and voiced their concerns. Less than a week later, she finally made the decision to listen to the concerns of the protestors and complied. This week we must contact Richard Ashley, the chair of Bienen School of Music, and let him know about Nally’s insensitivity towards Black history. McNair should not be forced to lose his scholarship for respecting Black history.

Let Ashley know that Nally may not see the value in Black history, but we stand in solidarity with McNair in asking that he receives a replacement assignment that does not insult his integrity as an African-American man.

Tell Richard Ashley that Timothy McNair deserves another assignment. He can be reached at 847-491-5720 or

via email at r-ashley@northwestern.edu

sourcedumal:

rigelandsirius:

closet-racists like to claim that they’d be totally fine and dandy with traditionally white characters being portrayed by actors of color whilst they’re casually dismissing the prevalence of white-washing in hollywood. hate to break it to you, but that is NOT the typical response that actors of color receive, and if you can’t acknowledge that, then you’re only adding to the problem.

remember that time hunger games fans flipped their shit because rue, who IS actually black in the books, was rightfully cast as black in the film? apparently their rose-colored white-is-default glasses made their eyes gloss over that tidbit of info. (let’s not even get wholeheartedly into the fact that katniss was described as having olive skin and jet black hair but her casting call specifically asked for only white actresses…because non-whites could never be expected to have dark hair and tan skin amirite?!)

remember that time people actually boycotted thor because idris elba was in it? http://www.comicsalliance.com/2010/12/16/racists-thor-idris-ebla-racism/

remember that time donald glover got hoards of letters calling him the n-word because there were rumors about him possibly being the new spiderman?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lgko-xReFSs

or that time the film adaptation of avatar: the last airbender (a show with OBVIOUS asian inspiration) was almost an entirely caucasian cast except for the “bad guy”, who, in the cartoon is actually light-skinned?                                      http://io9.com/5111680/avatar-casting-makes-fans-see-white

or remember that time all those fans said it was wrong to have angel coulby play the role of gwen in merlin because it wasn’t era-appropriate. because, ya know, being era-appropriate in a made-up story about magic is srs bsns.

so that’s why i don’t give a shit if you think i’m “overreacting” about jj abrams having a white actor play khan noonien singh. i’m not that surprised by it, since actors of color are routinely dismissed, but i still reserve the right to be pissed.

Remember that time when executives said that they wouldn’t fund a movie because it didn’t have enough white people in it?

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i_e3UYOiNEhW03rcVTpcB2e15IMg

Remember the time when executives said that they wouldn’t allow a show with a majority POC cast because “Black people don’t see themselves in the future?” despite Geordi, Uhura, Sisko, Tuvok, Tyr, Zoe and so many other BLACK sci fi characters existing as past precedent?

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/07/12/black-people-dont-see-themselves-in-the-future/

Remember when it took 20 years to get a movie about Black people out because distributors BLATANTLY REFUSED TO PUT IN THE WORK TO PROPERLY ADVERTISE A BLACK MOVIE?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/10/george-lucas-hollywood-di_n_1197227.html

Remember when writers had  Batman choose a French/African representative in a comic book and people FLIPPED THEIR SHIT because how dare he choose a Black Muslim to represent FRANCE!!!!

http://www.racialicious.com/2010/12/27/bats-in-their-belfry-dc-comics-new-muslim-hero-angers-islamophobes/

But we’re overreacting when we say we’re tired of the bullshit that is systemically entrenched in damn near every form of media…..

Oh, ok…. 

luceateis:

Popular representation of “LGBT,” to scale.

(Source: the-yolocaust)