It seems despite how far we have come, some want to take us backward. After years of fighting segregation, Jim Crowe laws, racism, and inequality it seems that rather than achieving equality, some want superiority as a sort of penance for past wrongs.
Self-segregation has now become a thing.
Ivy league universities such as Harvard have bought into this ideology and as a result, they are holding a special separate graduation ceremony this year for black graduate students, with plans to expand the new segregated graduation tradition to include all black undergraduate students in the future.
The segregated ceremony and reception for the 125 black students will take place on May 23 and claims the intent is to place “special emphasis on the struggles and resilience that black students have had to possess in order to thrive in higher education,” especially in a predominately white environment like the campus of Harvard, at least according to The Root.
Funny but it seems to me that getting into an Ivy League school is quite the accomplishment for any student, no matter what shade of melanin they happen to have been born with.
Maintaining what used to be rigorous academic standards was also something to be proud of, again regardless of race or creed.
Graduate to be with a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, Michael Huggins, states –
“This is an opportunity to celebrate Harvard’s black excellence and black brilliance.
It’s an event where we can see each other and our parents and family can see us as a collective, whole group. A community. This is not about segregation. It’s about fellowship and building a community.
This is a chance to reaffirm for each other that we enter the work world with a network of supporters standing with us. We are all partners.”
Except that a graduation ceremony is already provided at a venue where parents, family, and friends could celebrate the academic achievements without regard to race, color, or creed so I am a little perplexed as to why a separate graduation ceremony is needed for JUST black students, yet it is NOT about segregation….perhaps because THAT is exactly what it is?
Definition of segregation
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1: the act or process of segregating : the state of being segregated
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2a : the separation or isolation of a race, class, or ethnic group by enforced or voluntary residence in a restricted area, by barriers to social intercourse, by separate educational facilities, or by other discriminatory means b : the separation for special treatment or observation of individuals or items from a larger group segregation of gifted children into accelerated classes
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