A Short Story (Fiction)
There once was a prep school, typical in its demographics. Predominantly White with an upper class bent. A new Headmaster was appointed with great promise. He brought on board a popular gay African-American married to his black partner. The new teacher was prone to wear Afro-centric garb, Kente cloth and prints. There was no question he was of the community.
(Sometimes, politicians looking for a Hispanic judge will pass over Anglo-appearing judges for a real Hispanic-looking judge. President John F. Kennedy considered William Henry Hastie for the U.S. Supreme Court but passed him over because what was the point of appointing the first black U.S. Supreme Court Justice if no one knew who he was? A few years later, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall who better fit the part of the First Black Supreme Court Justice but I digress.)
One day, there was a presentation of song and dance at a public assembly. The mood was pleasant and festive. While the students were singing and dancing on the bleachers, the black students (who happened to be sitting together) began to “step” in a fashion common to black fraternities. Like that famous scene out of Back to the Future, the crowd at first joined in excitedly and then became quiet as the black students became more exuberant. The black students, encouraged by the partner of the new black hire, himself an Alpha Phi Alpha man, stepped in militaristic fashion with arms in the air, robotic-like movements.
The old prep school had never seen such a thing.
When the performance was over, the headmaster said he had made a mistake. The new hire had stepped beyond his bounds. There were expectations for student behavior on campus. What the Headmaster had seen was disruptive conduct at a public assembly. That the new hire had encouraged stepping in assembly was disturbing. (What the headmaster really feared was a culture change on his watch.)
And so he terminated the new hire’s contract on the spot.
I turned to a white friend and said, “isn’t that unbelievable?” She whispered in my ear, “it’s not about ending racism. It was never about ending racism.”
Step Show Courtesy of Alpha Phi Alpha
-I turned to a white friend and said, “isn’t that unbelievable?” She whispered in my ear, “it’s not about ending racism. It was never about ending racism.”
DEI, Affirmative Action, etc., is about keeping us divided and afraid of each other. All the race hustlers from Sharpton to Crump have no desire to end racism. The race hustle pays their bills, so instead of coming up with way to slaughter the cash cow, they create ways to fatten it up.