Brandi Addison
Latest posts by Brandi Addison (see all)
- Malaysian Artist Uses Hijab To Look Like Disney Characters
Instagram star looks like Disney characters with great make-up stills and creative hijab uses.
- April 4, 2016 - Women’s History Month Spotlight: Maria Sharapova
No. 7 female tennis player in the world and highest paid female athlete.
- March 25, 2016 - The UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme To Accelerate Action To End Child Marriage
Child marriage is hoped to be diminished by 2030.
- March 14, 2016
On Friday, Feb. 12, Texas A&M University was noticed for racist remarks (or implications) made by a few of the students on their College Station campus. Uplift Hampton Preparatory School of Dallas, TX, traveled to College Station that day to tour. A young lady approached a couple of Black and Hispanic girls, asking if they liked her earrings. These earrings were of the Confederate Flag.
I am the epitome of the ideal Southerner. I’m very white, very conservative, and very Baptist (and, evidently, I don’t mind using the grammar of a Southerner either). To be honest, being that it has never correlated to me specifically, I have never thought much of the Confederate Flag. I have never taken the time to learn the specifics of it or to read about why the Confederate Flag should be considered offensive or racist. To me, specifically, it has never been relevant enough for me to learn about.
But, as someone with three partially-Hispanic nieces, racism matters greatly to me.
While there is a huge argument about whether or not this should have actually made big news, here are a few valid arguments from both sides.
On the side of the student body at A&M:
- The ratio of racist to not racist: The estimated group of students to have made racist comments was 3-4 people—just a handful. This is roughly .0005% of the student body population. How in the world could this define the entire campus of Texas A&M? And why would it have made such big news?
- The location: While I’m not saying it shouldn’t be considered racist because of the location, I am saying Texas A&M is one of the most conservative, if not THE most conservative university in the South. The South, alone, is pretty conservative. I’m sure the student wasn’t expecting such controversy. Racism isn’t excused, nonetheless.
- The southern view of the flag: Often in the South, Confederate Flags are not seen as racist, but seen as a part of history. While I am not speaking for the whole, I am speaking for quite a few individuals I have met across various southern states. Some individuals just don’t quite understand how the Confederate Flag is racist. Being that it was only a remark about her earrings and there was no name-calling, some people cannot understand why it was such a big deal.
On the side of Uplift Hampton Preparatory School:
- The timing: Not to say there’s any correct timing to be offensive, but the timing definitely was not right for this A&M student. Hello! It’s Black History Month!
- The party: It might have not been on the news if it were to have happened to a few everyday people walking around the sidewalks of A&M’s campus. But it wasn’t. It, in fact, was a black-dominated school, touring. To do that to a group of students showing interest in the university doesn’t really give them great impression of the university.
- The presentation of her earrings: Unless the student showed her earrings to every girl she came across—white, Asian, Hispanic, Black, etc.—she did have certain intentions when going up to a racially-diverse group and telling them to look at her earrings. I’m not sure whether those intentions were to be funny or to offend, but I do know, she understood it could be taken offensive. Again, unless she had shown her earrings to every girl she came across that day, it was inappropriate to do.
While I understand both sides and will take neither, I certainly do not mind presenting both sides of the argument.
Advice: next time you wear your Confederate Flag earrings, it may be best not to show them off, and to go about your day.
Texas A&M Student Body and Uplift Hampton Preparatory School, I’m sorry this happened to the both of you. You shouldn’t be defined by actions of a few students and you shouldn’t have received such harsh criticism due to the actions of those few students.
