Field trip for black students sparks controversy at Ann Arbor elementary school

[Wolfpack]

It's hard to make an even comparison between Athens and Ann Arbor just considering the percentages of minorities in each place. Athens is pretty much like any town in the rural South (which until recently was pretty much the South as a whole aside from exceptions like Atlanta and New Orleans). That is, a slave-holding region, then after the Civil War, a Jim Crow region, but the populations despite segregation were largely intermingled so African Americans were always a large proportion of any given place's population. Ann Arbor is pretty much like any rural town/small city in the North. All the major factory jobs were concentrated in the big cities like Chicago or Cleveland or, in this case, Detroit, so when the Great Migration occurred, African-Americans went there instead of places like Ann Arbor. It wasn't so much that Ann Arbor didn't invite blacks, the city just didn't have anything they were interested in.

Ann Arbor is as liberal-progressive as they come and sometimes they fall over themselves to show it off, so given any sort of chance to burnish their multicultural values, they'd gladly do so. Still doesn't change the fact that the town's cost of living is very high which is its own deterrent to lower-class (and by extension lower-class minority) influxes into the city. It's not as steep of a grade as it is between Detroit proper and any of the Grosse Pointes, but it's still there.

[Karlifornia]

YES IF IT WAS A WHITES ONLY FIELD TRIP PEOPLE WOULD BE MORE PISSED. WHITES ARE THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION. WHITES WERE NOT ENSLAVED.

YES IT IS A DOUBLE STANDARD. IT EXISTS, AND IT'S NOT GOING AWAY ANY TIME SOON. IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE POINTED OUT IN EVERY THREAD ABOUT RACE, BECAUSE WE ALREADY FUCKING KNOW!!!!!!


Ah, I feel much better.

[RainMaker]

One of the other big contrasts in Athens and Ann Arbor is money. And in fact when you look deeper into financial success, it's typically not found in areas that promote segregation. It's why the South is for the most part, very poor. When your community is focusing on making sure the lesbian girl doesn't attend prom, you aren't worrying about your kids doing their homework and applying for college.

[Abe Sargent]

Two of my sisters are black and two are white. It;d be a little weird to only invite half of my family to a field trip, you know?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

One of the other big contrasts in Athens and Ann Arbor is money. And in fact when you look deeper into financial success, it's typically not found in areas that promote segregation.

'Course, those areas also tend to have a larger black population, areas that aren't often known for financial success either.

[nole4sho]

Originally Posted by Noop

Considering I've seen white police officer murder people in cold blood and still retain their jobs, I raise your bullshit with a you're tremedously full of shit.

You still suck at poker.

Originally Posted by Noop

3 lefts will bring you right back where you started though.

Marvin your online persona is not as funny as your real life persona.

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by nole4sho

You still suck at poker.



Marvin your online persona is not as funny as your real life persona.

Thread winner.

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

Two of my sisters are black and two are white.

Did Lungs have something to do with that?

[Solecismic]

The club has been disbanded, according to the school district, and the scientist has been invited to the school to speak to all of the students.

No word yet on whether the principal will be disciplined.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

The club has been disbanded, according to the school district, and the scientist has been invited to the school to speak to all of the students.

No word yet on whether the principal will be disciplined.

Wait a minute wait a minute...is this the American Idol Season 9 thread?

[CU Tiger]

In a conversation about racial equality why is it ok to assume the rocket scientist had a difficult and troubled childhood?

Is it really ok to assume black=poor, because that is not my experience at all. Sure there are population segments, but I'd imagine most rocket scientist come from UMC-> families and Id assume this one is no different.

I personally find it offensive to blacks when the story is assumed to be a rags to riches story or when the Myron Rolle story revolves more around his race then his achievement.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by molson

It's not a popular opinion, but I think there is a difference between the majority/privileged race segregating/excluding, and a minority race doing the same.

I disagree with this vehemently - even 'positive discrimination' like the example given causes bad feeling between the groups as was shown by the reaction of the class mates who weren't taken on the trip.

The only times I think that discrimination is right is if its done in an encouraging fashion as a reward for performance or attitude, that sort of thing.

If the people who went on this trip were the top scorers in an end of year test - then yeah thats cool, thats showing real-life cause and effect and encouraging others to try harder.

If someone's a white American guy in Saudi Arabia (not quite a perfect comparison, but whatever), they would be all about establishing a white community, white clubs, looking out for each other, etc.

Actually my father worked over there for a couple of years when he was younger and no he wasn't that way inclined at all ..... don't paint everyone with the same approach that you yourself might take.

Similarly I don't 'get' English people over here who feel the need to try and become my 'buddy' because I'm English - people are people, if I'd get on with someone then it doesn't matter what accent they have (although if you're a soccer fan it doesn't hurt ).

[Passacaglia]

What was the motivation for making it exclusive anyway? Jesus H. Christ, it's like they *want* to miss opportunities to teach the white kids that African Americans can be successful.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

What was the motivation for making it exclusive anyway? Jesus H. Christ, it's like they *want* to miss opportunities to teach the white kids that African Americans can be successful.

This is Ann Arbor we're talking about. The white kids probably see President Obama's picture hanging in most every classroom (and that was before the election). They haven't yet (as far as I know) begun singing patriotic songs about Obama with the fervor of a school in North Korea or Cuba or Newark, but I'm sure someone on staff thought about it.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by nole4sho

You still suck at poker.



Marvin your online persona is not as funny as your real life persona.

I might suck at poker but at least I don't suck at life.