Omaha School Teaches A Course Of A Different Color: South African-Americans Need Not Apply
By John David Powell (01/27/04)
Not too long ago, when compared to the lives of elves and hobbits, a web news site banned this writer quite unexpectedly and without even so much as a “by your leave.” Such is the ephemeral existence in the world of cyber fame and glory.
The site’s publisher found one column’s comments insensitive to African-Americans. My question regarding why only black folk can be African-American was my apparent demise. I base this assumption on the fact that he is African-American. I have no reason to think otherwise, because he did not have the common decency to respond to my repeated inquiries about my banishment.
Here is what happened, I believe.
The column carried the following paragraph: “The genesis for [the Washington state] bill was the goofy idea that all African-Americans are of African descent. OK, technically, yes -- and no. Ethiopians are Africans, but they also are Caucasians. Moroccans, Libyans, and Egyptians would argue that they are Arabs. If a white South African family moved to the US, would their future children be African-American? Try explaining that to the boyz in the 'hood.”
The piece centered on a Washington state law forbidding the use of the word “oriental” when referring to individuals of Asian ancestry. A well-respected Japanese-American legislator introduced the bill that forbade the use of the word in certain circumstances, because many Asian-Americans apparently consider the word offensive. This was news to me, an American Born Chinese (ABC), who, until then, felt quite comfortable in my ethnic orientation.
Little did I realize when writing the piece that I possessed an amazing gift of prophecy, probably inherited from ancestors who read tea-leaves. Observe the following, mere mortal.
Westside High School (http://whs.wst.esu3.org/WHS/whs.html) in Omaha, Neb., is a school that provides a warm, family environment and prides itself on a strong record of success, according to its web site. Each year, teachers at this predominately white school vote on which African-American senior they believe should receive the “Distinguished African American Student Award.” The competition is not too keen considering the school has round 50 or so African-American student out of a total of about 1,600.
Trevor Richards is in big trouble with principal John Crook and district superintendent Ken Bird. They suspended Trevor, a junior, for two days because he and some friends put up posters on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day promoting him for next year’s award. The school’s administrators quickly removed the posters, because they were “inappropriate and insensitive,” according the school’s spokesperson.
The administrative action did not stop with the removal of the posters, though. Trevor got kicked out of school for two days and two of his friends also got disciplined, according to Trevor’s mom.
When pressed to describe an African-American, the school’s “superior staff, administration, and Board of Education” might paraphrase the words of former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart and say, “We can’t describe one, but we know one when we see one.” And they don’t see one in young Trevor, because he is a white South African. His family moved to Omaha from Johannesburg six years ago.
I turned to my 15-year-old daughter, the only person handy who might offer some insight into the weird logic of high school. I handed her a copy of the wire story and asked for her opinion.
“That’s pretty wrong,” she said.
What’s wrong? I asked.
“They both were wrong,” she said. “The school shouldn’t have suspended him. He just put up some posters. He didn’t do anything illegal. And besides, it’s the teachers who give out the award. So who cares if he put up posters?”
Yes, but understand why they did it, I said. It was because he was a white student, even though he is from South Africa. And his action may have hurt someone’s feelings.
“Didn’t he know that only black people are African-American,” noted the blonde, brown-eyed Chinese (formerly Oriental)- American.
But, he is fresh out of Africa and living in America, I said. Technically, therefore, he is an African-American. Or at least a South African-American. Which is nothing like being a South Philly-American.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. And not really,” she said. “Besides, he did it on Martin Luther King Day, and Martin Luther King fought for civil rights.”
Yes he did, I answered. Yes he did.
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