2008 Woodie Awards
RSSTo some, I'm still just a nigger
Letter to the editor
By Kaloma Cardwell
Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: Opinion
During the historical and long battle to desegregate America's first public schools in Little Rock, Ark., Federal Judge Harry Lemly recognized in 1957 that black students had a constitutional right to attend white schools but also claimed "the time has not come for them to enjoy that right."
In this era of American history, Judge Lemly and others viewed blacks as niggers, blacks who were inferior and easily dismissible. Twelve years later in 1969, Lehigh had only 40 African American students out of 4,000 students. That 1 percent does not sound great by any means, but maybe that was an accomplishment for those times. Maybe.
It is now 50 years after Judge Lemly's remarks and it is clear that for African Americans "the time still has not come." Fifty years later, Lehigh's African American enrollment percentage is now three percent. According to Lehigh's Web site, this statistic has never been more than 3 percent for the entire student body for any semester going back to 2000 and possibly further (Web site statistics stop in 2000). This semester, there are only three Africana studies courses being offered and about 10 African American professors out of more than 400 professors.
Two weekends ago, our campus celebrated Young Alumni Weekend. It would have been nice to be able to say that the most memorable thing about this weekend was seeing old friends and classmates. As an ex-captain and player on the football team, I thought the most memorable moment would be celebrating our team's victory over Holy Cross College.
Unfortunately, neither would be the case. What will stand out is that on Friday night at an off-campus Lehigh party I overheard a white male say, "I hate blacks." Soon after, a white female approached me. I was told I looked intimidating and was asked if I could not fight anyone. When I asked her why she approached and questioned myself and the only other black person there, she responded with, "I don't know."
Just 20 minutes later, in a completely separate location, by completely different white students, I was called a nigger when I told them I didn't have any weed to sell them.
In this era of American history, Judge Lemly and others viewed blacks as niggers, blacks who were inferior and easily dismissible. Twelve years later in 1969, Lehigh had only 40 African American students out of 4,000 students. That 1 percent does not sound great by any means, but maybe that was an accomplishment for those times. Maybe.
It is now 50 years after Judge Lemly's remarks and it is clear that for African Americans "the time still has not come." Fifty years later, Lehigh's African American enrollment percentage is now three percent. According to Lehigh's Web site, this statistic has never been more than 3 percent for the entire student body for any semester going back to 2000 and possibly further (Web site statistics stop in 2000). This semester, there are only three Africana studies courses being offered and about 10 African American professors out of more than 400 professors.
Two weekends ago, our campus celebrated Young Alumni Weekend. It would have been nice to be able to say that the most memorable thing about this weekend was seeing old friends and classmates. As an ex-captain and player on the football team, I thought the most memorable moment would be celebrating our team's victory over Holy Cross College.
Unfortunately, neither would be the case. What will stand out is that on Friday night at an off-campus Lehigh party I overheard a white male say, "I hate blacks." Soon after, a white female approached me. I was told I looked intimidating and was asked if I could not fight anyone. When I asked her why she approached and questioned myself and the only other black person there, she responded with, "I don't know."
Just 20 minutes later, in a completely separate location, by completely different white students, I was called a nigger when I told them I didn't have any weed to sell them.
