Culture Bandits: Is Anything Sacred Anymore? Morehouse’s First White Valedictorian
Loading ...22-year-old Joshua Packwood of Kansas City, Mo., will graduate Sunday with a perfect 4.0 GPA and a degree in economics…from Morehouse College. He is the class valedictorian.
Joshua is following in the steps of 19 year-old Ellie Gunderson, who last year was elected president of her Georgetown University’s NAACP chapter. She too is white.
A while back, Gary Dauphin, a contributor on TheRoot.com, wrote an interesting article entitled “Not Safe for White People.” In the article, Gary asserted that “the unintended, long-term consequences of an Obama presidency could very well be the extinction of warmly regarded, “private” cultural practices” of Black folks, like for example Tyler Perry films and the Chitlin Circuit.
I guess you can now add to that list historically Black colleges and universities.
Our organizations, churches, and sermons have been invaded. Locs aren’t just for Blacks anymore. Soul food hit mainstream America a long time ago. My ass, lips, breasts, and beautiful shade of Black can be purchased on just about any corner in Beverly Hills for the right price. And let’s not even get into hip-hop and R&B.
Why I’d like to tell you that it’s okay for a white person to run their local NAACP chapter and be class valedictorian of a HBCU, I can’t.
It says to me that there are Black people that could have stepped to the plate and assumed a leadership role and didn’t. It says to me that there are Black students at Morehouse that could have risen to the occasion, but didn’t. And like with everything in life, if you snooze you lose.
I go back to the basic premise in why these institutions even exist, because we needed a space of our own that was culturally sensitive to the needs to Blacks.
What happened?
It’s bad enough that a white girl can get a tan almost the same shade of Black as I am, but still get more respect because she isn’t. I know white boys with locs nappier and longer than mine. And thanks to collagen the fullness and roundness of my lips can be purchased and installed in an one hour lunch break. Shea butter, once a secret among sistas, is now being mass produced and sold on the shelves of major drugstores. And while we know where its origins are, you’ll never see it mentioned on the drugstore bought bottle. Cowry shells are now being used to adorn clothes that are sold in designer boutiques at prices too ridiculous to quote. But I will tell you that if another person admires my “seashells” I am going to have a heart attack.
The time is soon coming where those code words and phrases that we use in mixed company won’t work anymore because after attending our HBCUs, churches, and of course Tyler Perry films, they’ll know exactly what we mean.
To me, all my life there has always been something special about being Black. As beautiful and creative as we are, we have always shared a common cultural bond. Whether it be the way the brothas give dap, the way us sistas roll our hips when we walk, the Blackness of our skin, or the creativity we display with our hair. We continue to be the most beautiful people on Earth.
Most of us will never know where we come from. And so that means that all we have culturally is what we’ve created for ourselves and passed down from generation to generation, both the good and the bad. Is nothing off limits? At what point do we began to preserve what is uniquely ours and stop giving it away?
It’s amazing to me that while we are opening the doors for white students at our HBCUs, we’ve got Black students that want to go to college and can’t afford too or can afford to but are denied entrance because universities are no longer obligated to uphold affirmative actions laws.
This is exactly what I was afraid of happening when Obama is elected president. This idea that we’re all one race. One big happy multi-colored race. The fact of the matter is that we are not one race, we are many, and what define us are our traditions, our sacred cultural traditions.
They have apple pie, we have sweet potato pie. They tell little Timmy “no!” and we have the belt. They have square dancing and we’ve got the cha-cha. It’s a beautiful thing.
I don’t have a problem with anyone who wants to enjoy my grandma’s sweet potato pie, it’s only when they commence to duplicating the recipe and passing it off as their own and their version is viewed as being superior that we’ve got a problem and that’s what’s going on right now with Black culture and traditions. Justin Timberlake, need I say more?
So while Joshua graduates this weekend, keep in mind there’s a whole new generation of Joshua’s preparing to invade our HBCUs. And for Joshua, unlike his Black brethren, attending an HBCU is going to be viewed as progressive by prospective employers and he’s going to benefit from it financially in a way that his classmates probably won’t. Why, because he’s white and he choose to go to a Black university. The same doesn’t always apply to Black graduates, HBCU, ivy league, or otherwise.
Imitation may be the best form of flattery, but my Blackness is not for lease or sale. It is not to be duplicated in mass reproduction and passed off for the real thing. It is all we have that defines who we are. Is nothing sacred anymore?
I understand your concern that Caucasians may be diluting our institutions we love so much. I as anybody else wants to keep our black institutions alive. However, I feel that the same idea of keeping institutions to ourselves is the same idea that is applied to black people being head of Fortune 500 companies and even president of the United States.
I feel given the diversity in America, people are more likely to take aspects from many different cultures. However, I think that as long as they acknowledge where a certain school, style, or etc comes from, its all cool.
P.S.: Apple Pie isnt a white thing, its an American thing. I like my slice of Apple Pie (LOL!!!!)
Article from Chicago Tribune re : Joshua Packwood
From his first day at Morehouse College — the country’s only institution of higher learning dedicated to the education of black men — Joshua Packwood has been a standout.
His popularity got him elected dorm president as a freshman. His looks and physique made him a fashion-show favorite. His intellect made him a Rhodes Scholar finalist. His work ethic landed him a job at the prestigious investment banking firm Goldman Sachs in New York City.
But it’s his skin that has made all of this an anomaly. This month, Packwood is set to take the stage and address his classmates as the first white valedictorian in Morehouse’s 141-year history.
The 22-year-old from Kansas City, Mo., will graduate on May 18 with a perfect 4.0 GPA and a degree in economics.
He could have gone elsewhere, to a school like Columbia, Stanford or Yale, but his four-year journey through Morehouse has taught him a few things that they could not, and he makes it clear that he has no regrets.
“I’ve been forced to see the world in a different perspective, that I don’t think I could’ve gotten anywhere else,” he said. “None of the Ivies, no matter how large their enrollment is, no matter how many Nobel laureates they have on their faculty … none of them could’ve provided me with the perspective I have now.”
When Packwood applied to Morehouse, he had frequent conversations with George Gray, an alumnus who was a recruiter at the school. Gray was impressed by Packwood’s credentials and spent months trying to talk the sought-after senior into choosing Morehouse over other elite schools.
“He had outstanding numbers,” said Gray, now director of admissions at historically black Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark. “He was the kind of kid we were looking for to be a presidential scholar.”
After several conversations, Packwood began to suspect that Gray had no idea that he was white. His suspicions were confirmed when one of Gray’s calls caught Packwood in the middle of track practice.
“Don’t let the white kids walk you down,” Gray quipped.
“Wait,” Packwood responded. “You know I’m white, right?”
Silence. Uneasy laughter. Confirmation.
“The challenge was to get the best student that we could, and Josh definitely fit that,” Gray said.
And for Packwood, knowing that he had been picked on his merits, and not as a token white recruit, made the difference.
“That said I could come here and, ironically, be accepted for who I am,” Packwood said. “I thought I made the right decision then, and I know I made the right decision now.”
It was not as if this was the first time Packwood experienced life in the minority. He was among the few white students in his class at Grandview Senior High School in Kansas City, Mo. He has mixed-race siblings and his mother was married to a black man. Packwood’s experiences growing up have helped him navigate black culture while remaining comfortable with his own complexion.
Packwood’s mere presence on campus wouldn’t make history at this school founded by a black minister and cabinetmaker two years after the end of the Civil War. Howard Zehr, Morehouse’s first white student, graduated in 1966, and there have been dozens of other whites on campus since.
And so Packwood turned down Columbia University, postponing his dream of living in New York City. He ignored some in his family who warned that he might not have the same opportunities he would have as a Columbia graduate, and headed South.
Packwood still laughs when he remembers his first day on campus, wandering the grounds in pajama pants and getting stares from black classmates who wondered if the freshman wasn’t a wayward student from Georgia Tech, Georgia State or perhaps Emory University.
After convincing the photographer to take his student ID, Packwood headed to his room in Brazeal Hall. Shortly after, his roommate arrived with his mother. Four years later, Packwood still can’t get over the irony: After years of being one of a few blacks at majority-white schools in Dallas, Phillip Smithey had come to Morehouse to get the “black experience.”
Instead, he was sharing a room with the only white guy in his class.
When he came to Morehouse, Packwood was sweating a bit under his swagger, which is why he was reluctant to run for president of his dorm at the end of his freshman year. The novelty was wearing off, but Packwood didn’t want his new friends to think he was the white guy trying to “act black” or take over their school.
Classes proved to be a challenge socially and academically when the discussions shifted to issues of race. Once, Packwood was asked to sit on a panel about interracial relationships. Though he had dated black girls since high school, he spent the first hour of the panel getting warmed up, feeling out the crowd and trying to couch his thoughts.
“It was kind of heated, and there were very strong views on both sides,” he said. “But eventually I realized they put me on the panel not to just pander to the crowd, but to voice my opinion.”
Packwood said such exchanges taught him a lesson.
“Sometimes I kind of wanted to hold back,” he acknowledged. “A lot of the professors and students have been like, ‘No, don’t hold back. We want your perspective here. If we’re not going to get it from you, it’s going to be very difficult for us to get it somewhere else.’”
Both students and faculty, he said, seemed to appreciate his honesty.
“The few times I have held back and tried to pick my words wisely or even go against what I truly believe, that’s when I’ve caught the most flak,” he said.
With each semester, Packwood’s grades remained high, his confidence grew and his resume became more impressive. Summers were spent on Wall Street at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, he studied abroad in London and Costa Rica, and his studies have taken him to China and Switzerland.
He also drew attention with his looks — some Atlanta University Center coeds took to calling him ” Tom Cruise.” His photo album on Facebook shows a smiling Packwood posing with dozens of young, black women who fill his page with notes.
As Morehouse embraced him, Packwood became an unlikely ambassador for the school.
“Josh Packwood is Morehouse,” the college’s president, Robert Franklin, said in his inauguration speech in February. “He happens to be Euro-American and brings much appreciated diversity to our campus.”
Wendell Marsh, a junior English and French major who is black, said talking to Packwood as a high school senior helped make up his mind to come to Morehouse.
“Right now we live in a time where people say the black institution is obsolete, that you can get a better education at a majority institution,” Marsh said. “To see a white guy who had declined Harvard for Morehouse, I figured it was good enough for me.”
Packwood raised “the bar for everyone,” said Stanton Fears, a senior economics major.
“The best man got it, that’s how I look at it,” Fears said. “It’s about equality here, too. If he wants to come here and make a name for himself, he should be allowed the same types of things we’re allowed.”
Being surrounded by black men for his undergraduate career has taught him more about diversity, Packwood said.
“I’ve been here for four years and yet, I cannot give you the definition of black,” he said. “I cannot tell you what a black man is. I really learned to look much deeper. It takes a lot of effort to know people.”
Shake. Lean. Embrace. Release. The soulful ritual is repeated several times as Packwood greets his fellow classmates on one of his last days on campus. Some congratulated him amid the buzz that he might be named valedictorian. There were those who thought there would be some bitterness, but animosity for Packwood’s accomplishments was scarce that day.
Brandon L. Douglas, a junior business major who met Packwood as an intern on Wall Street after his freshman year, said Packwood has been a standout not for his skin, but for his successes on campus.
“He kind of sticks out, but he’s still relatable and he works with all of us,” Douglas said. “You don’t see a skin color with him anymore. You start looking more at his character.”
Douglas’ words echo the most famous words of Morehouse’s most famous alumnus, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., in his “I Have A Dream” speech. Not far from where Packwood is standing looms a towering statue of King, his bronze finger pointing toward the horizon.
It’s just a coincidence, but on this day, King is pointing toward Packwood.
WWBS? (What would barack say?)
Jas,
This sounds like a racist rant with a trace of haterade–to me!
How soon we forget that Mr. Obama made it here by way of a “WHITE” woman’s punany.
Since you are embracing the man and his idea of Change and 1 America, this post has me 100% baffled!
Besides, if the brothas at “da House” wasn’t so busy being GAY & DOWN LOW..maybe one of them would’ve been valedictorian!
I’m just sayin’…
Don’t hate–CONGRATULATE!
Lmao not if they weren’t so busy being down low ! But you never lied …
Sorry Jas, but I think you have indeed been swigging on the haterade.
Just posting to agree with the previous commentators. I don’t think a Euro-American as Valedictorian at an HBCU is the beginning of the end.
PS
Sweet potato pie is a Southern thing, too, albeit with Black roots. As well as collard greens…. It’s always baffling to me that Blacks who migrate to the South express surprise to see White folks cookin’ and eatin’ greens, sweet potato pie, and chitlins.
Mandisa,
I think that you are completely off base. I think what’s being said here is that there need to be places that are uniquely African American. Black folks often feel that we have to apologize for being black. Or there is a need for some sort of white validation – that Morehouse is somehow a better school because there is a white valedictorian. If you look at Morehouse’s 141 year history, you are able to uncover, and not to take anything away from this young man, that his accomplishments at Morehouse are the norm. So the issue isn’t that he didn’t work hard, but it’s the reception that he’s doing something more than the black men who have preceded him. When you look at the mission of Morehouse College it speaks to being an HBCU for men and we need institutions like Morehouse to remain true to their missions. Toni Morrison said:
There is no place you or I can go, to think about, or not think about, to summon the presences of, or recollect the absences of slaves; nothing that reminds us of the ones who made the journey and of those who did not make it. There is no suitable memorial or plaque or wreath or wall or park or skyscraper lobby. There’s no 300-foot tower. There’s no small bench by the road.
With that, we need to be able to preserve something.
“,,, being gay & down low…” I won’t even dignify that with a response…
jas is absolutely right and i don’t think shes hating. she is saying that because we black people have slacked up on our game others have come in and taken advantange. whether it be running for president of the naacp or attending an hbcu, i think its as much a call out of blacks more than whites. and she is right, black people started these institutions for a reason, are they irrelevant now? do we not need hbcu’s anymore? one point i will co-sign on is the ending where she points out the difference between a white boy going to a hbcu and a black boy, now that is true. hes going to get kudos for going to school with the blacks and thats going to play into his advantage, hint the reason why its a story in the first place. nowhere does this post say i hate white people or white people cant go to an hbcu but it does say, wake up black people.
I don’t have one single problem with him, he seems to be one of the rare white men who has a clue and isn’t uncomfortable around blacks and black men in particular who most whites fear for some sick reason. And, with more HBCU’s seeking people of all races to stay alive and to stay open in many cases, we should embrace students willing to go to these schools and show that we are open to diversity when most of the other elite schools pay lip service to it, like the UC system and their appalling lack of blacks at the big names schools like UCLA and Berkeley, or USC where its mainly blacks who can do the sports thing.
Jas,
If a Black student graduated first in her or his class at Harvard or Yale would you say that was a bad thing and the beginning of the end for historically White colleges?
Another instance where Jas’ racist mentality come into play.
Good lord woman, swap black for white and white for black in your post and what you have is the idiotic rantings of a KKK member.
OMG things that were once prevalent in black culture are now becoming mainstream…how is this a bad thing?
Lady you are a tool.
Thank God the people at Morehouse are more progressive than you are and are actually looking at the quality of the students that they accept and not simply the color of skin.
I AGREE THAT A WHITE BOY GRADUATING FROM A HBCU AS VALEDICTORIAN IS A DAMN SHAME AND IF I WERE IN THE 2008 CLASS OF MOREHOUSE, I’D BE ASHAMED THAT I LET A WHITE BOY COME IN AND MAKE A FOOL OF ME.
And, Steve why do you care or even post here? I guess her free advice keeps you and the rest of your ilk coming back for more, LOL! Because you ‘progressives’ are the worst kind of bigots in that same vein as Hillary Clinton and her ‘white vote’ quip. And, by the way, black culture has been mainstream for over 400 years for those with open minds.
On the topic, I don’t have a problem with it, he’s a smart, goodlooking guy with an open mind to even go to this HCBU, more power to him, and good luck to him and all the graduates of 2008. And, some people really need to look into the history of the HCBU’s from the start to now and see why this is a good thing, not the end of the HBCU’s, which all are in dire need of funding to stay alive.
Ok Annabella. This post doesn’t scream ironic to anyone? I care because I care about the message that people put out there, and sorry this one is irresponsible to me. You can believe otherwise and that is fine.
You and I actually have the same view on this. Thanks.
people are free to have their own opinions on issues like this. we won’t always agree. after reading this article and the comments, i think most of you have missed the point.
he’s white he’s valedictorian. shame on the black students in my opinion.
to the larger and more important issue of black culture and traditions being invaded, used, and duplicated, now that’s really happening and is much more important to me. We as black people should have the right to preserve and carve out our own little space where it’s just us. we shouldn’t be labeled as racist when we do so or point out what is factually true about white people copying our hair styles, skin color, lips, hips, and breasts. that is very very true. there may not a damn thing we can do about it but we have the right to comment and bring it up. and its not racist to do so. i dont think she is saying he cant go to an hbcu.
So Anon, you would argue that white americans should be able to have the right to preserve and carve out their own little space where it is just them? And they shouldn’t be labeled racist if they choose to do so? Ironic.
I honestly see the white male valedictorian as a good thing. This speaks more to Mr. Packwood’s character than anything else. He beat out every other black man in his class to obtain the title of valedictorian…dont hate on him because he out worked everyone else. The big flaw in Jasmyne’s reasoning is that she suggests that white people are infultrating HBCU’s when that simply is not the case. The reason that the Jason Packwood’s of the world get press is because it truly is an anomoly. No “culture” has a patent on anything… so this culture robbing is a ludicrous argument to me. So all of you who have an issue with this young man let me ask you this…should predominately white schools stop admitting black students to “preserve” their culture too? I bet most would have a problem if they did. Blacks can’t have it both ways. Jasmyne needs to get a grip….white students are NOT and will probably never enroll in HBCU’s en-masse.. nothing to worry about.
Steve – that last post was just dumb. White people are running things – or at least they’re allowed to. So by virtue of owning everything they already have that space set up and a system in place to keep it that way – or to at least give that illusion. I think the greater issue is buying into the white supremacy meme. If a group of people have been marginalized, unappreciated and used for their skills and labor but told they are lesser than then YES on an emotional level it would be perfectly reasonable to want to create and protect sacred spaces. Some people would try to infiltrate for nefarious purposes – to destroy from within. This is how the gov’t monitors activists and right’s groups. Where I believe the mistake would be to focus on one particular individual as the entity with the power to do that, though such a person could be used as a catalyst if there was a larger agenda at hand. I’m not sure if this person fits that circumstance but people are upset and they have a right to feel that way. Looking into Mr. Packwood’s background he seems harmless enough and is definitely a leader. He is obviously well-received by his classmates. If anyone is ‘embarrassed’ then they can just step up to the plate. Perhaps some are slacking off and need a shot of motivations again, perhaps he was just more focused. As wonderful as HBCUs are it’s the Ivy Leagues and their ilk that are still considered to be the ‘best’, so some employers would have looked at his choice as ‘making a statement’. The questions is, does it really matter? This just goes to show us that it does not matter as much as some people would like. It is up to the individual to do their best and seek out the best opportunities because nothing is guaranteed and everything cannot be handed to you [unless you're the progeny of that ever-elusive 1% really running the wold]. My youngest brother graduated at the top of class, made the who’s who list etc and had the choice to attend any college he wanted. He chose a state university because he didn’t want to take out loans and he wanted to be a big fish in a smaller pond. He’s already starting his first internship before going into his sophomore year.
I also want to add there are culture bandits who’ve used the best of our features to enhance their own while society demonizing the sources of that beauty and don’t even label us beautiful. Examples: Kim Kardashian’s butt implants, collagen lip enhancers etc etc. James Brown would’ve never needed to write a song about Black pride if Black people weren’t treated with open hostility. It goes back to the slavery indoctrination that pitted house slave vs field slave, skin tone and hair texture. Black women are said to not sell magazine covers by..white publishers. There’s a lot of work that still must be done.
And don’t forget the biggest two cultural bandits in years Madonna and Justin ‘can’t sing a lick’ Timberlake. But, in the halls of academia, this is a nothing, the guy obviously has it going on and was fully accepted by the other students, something few blacks can say at all white universities, when they can get in. And, not just black women on magazines, black men and black gay men in particular with any gay publication.
Some of the comments here are downright bigoted in my opinion. A white guy becomes valedictorian of Morehouse College’s Class of 2008 and some people lose it. As a graduate of an HBCU, I personally salute Packwood.
Although Morehouse was founded to educate black men, Packwood’s academic success does not diminish the hundreds of Morehouse men – of all races, ethnicities and sexual backgrounds – who genuinely worked as hard as they could to finish in the Class of 2008. Packwood simply came out on top. He only happens to be white. There’s a first time for everything.
For the brothas and Morehouse men that are disillusioned by this history-making achievement, perhaps this would make all of the them step up their academic game.
Terrance,
You’re right. I don’t have a problem with it neither. Because if we are not allowed to cook in that kitchen. Then we build our own kitchen. However, you don’t let someone else come into your kitchen and cook a better meal than you. and if so THAT’S YOUR FAULT!
Kudos to him because if you read the story on how his family was DEAD SET against it he looked beyond all of the family’s madness and attended. GOOD FOR HIM.
Now the real problem is Corporate America and it’s SUBLIMINALITY of racism. Now he had a 4.0 grade avg and graduated from Moorehouse. Come August dude is going to be working at GOLDMAN SACHS
The most prestigious investment firm in America if not WORLDWIDE.
Now do you think a brotha would have gotten that offer coming from there (Morehouse)?
Maybe Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and I have a buddy who got in there who graduated from NYU.
But from Morehouse I don’t think so…
Things that make you go HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Chris, that is a good point, I wonder if it had been a goodlooking black guy in the #1 spot from Morehouse if Wall Street would have been running to get him? I doubt it since Wall Street is still pretty much closed to blacks of any gender and educational background.
This guy simply earned the right to be valedictorian in his graduating class. He applied himself to his studies. From all I a reading about him, he seems to be aware that he will have more advantages in the corporate world than his Afro American peers will not or will have to really fight to crash the glass ceiling. There is a great deal of racial prejudices in the corporate world.
That said, I am wondering how he was voted most handsome male by a mainly Afro American campus. Were all the black men dogs in the face?? It may seem insignificant on the surface to be “most handsome” but I think it is quite telling about the, PERHAPS, low self-esteem of Morehouse men. Morehouse has some VERY handsome men so how did this “Tom Criuse” guy would trumpt the other brothers in physical handsomeness.
The little things like this are more telling than the big things!
HBCUs are in need of bodies. Therefore, I’d reccomment the such schools to any person regardless of race. An HBCU doesn’t need to give up is historical significance and purpose to accommodate whites ( and other non people of African descent). But, it should welcome these “others” regardless. And, Afro American students should be more ambitions in wanting to be valedictorians in schools designed around them than those outsiders coming in and doing “better cooking” in their kitchens.
I say congratulations to a bright young man who earned what I certainly could not in school. I give him kudos for going because, after going to two predominantly white schools, I noticed that I rarely saw white people at majority black/minority events. If Florida State U (and no doubt other historically white schools) can erect monuments as to the first black graduates, why can’t Morehouse celebrate its first white valedictorian? How can one white student among so many black men rape the culture from Morehouse? I daresay that tradition and history mean more than one single valedictorian. I do feel that sometimes black folk want it both ways. We want our stuff, but we want white America’s stuff , too; but we don’t want them touching our stuff. HBCU’s were created not just to preserve culture but because they wouldn’t let us touch their literally white halls of academia. We still have and revere our own black halls, but we now have wider choices. Everybody touts Sen. Obama for being the first BLACK man to head the Harvard Law Review. It’s notable b/c he was the first, and it doesn’t speak to the intelligence of all the other 18 presumably white candidates that he beat out. It only means that he was stellar enough. Just like Joshua Packwood. Does anybody know who the second black person to head the Harvard Law Review is? Scarcely. And no, there probably wouldn’t be any media coverage of a 2008 black Morehouse valedictorian, b/c it’s expected. The next time there is a publicized “first black” anything at a historically white institution, I wonder will we all clap and cheer and feel proud of the progression we as a people are making? While some are out there griping that the top Morehouse man doesn’t look like them, I actually am proud that Morehouse has set itself up to look like an equal opportunity institution for Americans, far less racist and discriminatory than its white counterparts.
I can hardly sit and read to posts above!
ARE YOU PEOPLE CRAZY???? Or just too young to remember a D**M THING????!!!
The United States’ system of racism has held us back from EVERYTHING! And though it may “appear” racist to people under 40 let me remind you that HBCU were started because we as Black could not attend white intitutions!
And for those of us who think “Oh that was so long ago”, let put it to up terms you can understand. HipHop started 30 years ago. JayZ had his first hit over 12 years ago. Tupac and biggie were killed over 10 years ago. Which means time is quick and fast!
Now, if you do not see a white gaining the highest honor one could get at a HBCU as a sign of the end to one of the few things we have as black people then GROW UP, READ and this time UNDERSTAND your history!
De-segration was the end of Black commerance and “our” close knit soiciety. Now I’m not saying that segration was good, I’m just pointing to writing on the wall.
By the way, does anyone wonder why this white boy decided of Morehouse in the first place?
Possibily for the same reason white women run behind Black men…..because they want to be a stand out with the new “puppy” on the block!
Wow, they have a ‘most handsome’ contest at a homophobic, all male black college and the white guy wins, amazing and rather interesting to say the least. he sounds and acts like a black guy, but, that will all change once he hits NYC and see’s having black bud’s isn’t the right thing to do since they can’t get a cab to meet him for dinner, even with a Yale degree. But, good luck to him and congratulations on this, which is imprssive no matter what school you are in. And, maybe the black guys will stop stepping and hit the books harder next year.
And, I do agree with the post above me, desegregation was the worse thing to ever happen to black America, although in some ways it was a good thing, but, not many.
i’m usually with you jas, but i see things a bit differently. i know this might feel like the start of a decline in the few things WE as black people still HAVE to ourselves but when we look at things like this and hold those sentiments, it just shows how we isolate ourselves sometimes. real talk, ain’t nobody sharing shit with us. ain’t nobody gave us nothing and its pretty much obvious that they don’t plan on giving us anything (fuck you stimulus check bush you bastard). but we can’t fall into the gap and return the favor of prejudice that’s been held against us all these years. yes! morehouse is an hbcu. and i know the history is rich and deep. we can be proud that we MADE a way to get our education when they wanted to keep us down. but we shouldn’t make it a point to remain in this “circle” and not celebrate our young scholars. he is our future. damn the fact that he’s white; that young man worked HARD. harder than some of us will ever work and he DESERVES to be given the honors. i’m not saying we shouldn’t fight to keep our roots alive, but we have to know how to settle in…
This article demonstrates the overt racism still prevalent in the black community. This is exactly the same mindset that perpetuated the separate but equal bigotry in the south. It’s naive to think that the different groups in the world should never have an impact on each other. That’s why we are here sharing this world, that’s the point of world travel and the point of everyone being on the same page, so that we can learn from each other. Haven’t we benefited from what we learned from white culture? Why not let them benefit from learning from us. If during segregation white people had said, they just want to read like us so they can end up doing it better we would have been outraged, so why do we feel it’s ok to do the other way around? Because we want to get back at them, because we feel justified because it did happen to us? Guess what doing the same thing that they did will get the same results…. A house divided
Jasmyne, I love you girl, and you’re one of my heroes, but this article was a bit too much and unfair. It was a bit venomous too. The boy did what he had to do, and he rose to the occassion, it just so happens it was at an HBCU. I think we forget that HBCUs historically were for Black people, now is inclusive of all races…
I did a little research and Mr. Packwood is the Co-Valedictorian with another Black student, Mr. Josh L. Harris. This just shows how we are so quick to react to what the corporate media spins by their focus on Packwood. Though we all know there are plenty of white culture bandits of Black culture. But I like Madonna! She still puts out good music. Besides lets keep it real, the all want that certain undefinable thing it is to be Black. We’re special.
I am pleased that you have shed light on this sfsinger. However, if Mr. Packwood was, in fact, the sole valedictorian he has earned it. I consider myself to be conscious and aware of my culture and African American history. I acknowledge and respect the legacy that our ancestors have forged in the midsts of oppression. We are a strong and resilient people who have survived over four hundred years of unjust treatment in America. We cannot break down barriers by putting our own up. Mr. Packwood admits that his time at Morehouse has given him the opportunity to learn a different perspective. hopefully he will take what he has learned out in the white world with him and use it to break down social barriers. It is important that we remember that during slavery white abolitionists fought for the freedom of enslaved African Americans. I am not negating the fact that white Americans benefited from slavery. However, there are good white people just as there are bad black people. The best way to keep tradition and culture alive and well in our community is to teach our children about their history. And most importantly, teach them how to respect themselves and all people regardless of their differences.
You know Jasmyne, I rarely post at your site anymore. I rarely come here. And articles like this are the reason why. I saw Joshua Packwood on CNN this weekend. I was thoroughly impressed with this young man. First of all, this young man could have gone to ANY college in the country. He got into Harvard and is currently a Rhodes Scholar finalist. With all of this opportunity presented before him, he chose to go to a HBCU because he had a greater sense of social consciousness. He understood at a very young age that there still exists a chasim between black and white in this country. Instead of taking the brass ring, WHICH HE RIGHTFULLY EARNED, he decided to try to learn something socially. As blacks we always complain that whites don’t want to understand us. This wise young man wanted to understand us and how we fit in society and what our perspective is. HE MADE THIS DECISION AT 18 years old, when we have whites three and four times his age that are cemented in hatred. He should be applauded for his desire to do this.
Reading your article, I have to wonder, since you and I are the same age, if you were one of those blacks that teased me for having white friends and getting good grades. You probably were. I digress.
Personally Jasmyne, I will say that I was impressed and PROUD to see Mr. Packwood on CNN. I was impressed with the maturity, which based upon your rant you could gain something from. I was PROUD because of the respect and appreciation he had for his fellow classmates. Oh, tell me am I only to have pride when a black person excels at a top white university? If this were a black person graduating from Harvard in such an outstanding manner, you would be bragging with pride. Well, after listening to Joshua Packwood, I will say, I am proud of him AND his classmates who accepted him and embraced him. They showed more maturity as early 20 somethings that you have shown in your 30’s.
As for you talking about whites liking soul food and locs and whatever else you deem black, if you are truly the powerful black sista that you claim to be, you would take pride that there are people that are drawn to our culture. I am like Eastern spiritual teachings, Thai culture, Haitian food, East Indian Sari’s and salsa music in addition to the things of African and African-American culture. What would you say if I told you that my Indian friend from college refused to take me to Dwali or that the people of Thailand refused to show me their beautiful country and culture? You would call them racists. And that is what I am calling you.
You are so busy keeping things that are black, black that you don’t realize that we are in a global world. If you refuse to bring the gifts of your culture, no one will bring you the gifts of theirs. The isolation is a detriment to yourself. For example, one of my favorite heroes is Albert Einstein. As a graduate student of science, I love to read his theory of relativity. As a person interested in spirituality, I love to read his philosophical statements. I went to the a museum exhibit in Chicago about Einstein. At the end of the exhibit there was an entire section on his role in the Black Civil Rights Movement. Did you know, there was a letter Einstein had written to Roosevelt about the plight of African Americans. They talked about his friendship with Paul Robeson. While I enjoyed learning these things about Einstein, I was saddened becasue I was the only black person their that day to see the exhibit. I kept wondering where are the black children from the Chicago Public School. They should be here.
My point with that people like you are the reason that black children don’t learn these things. You want to have this insuler world that doesn’t exist. Too many whites are this way too.
Mr. Packwood was trying to be less insular and you berate him for it?!!! WTF?!!!
Grow up and get out into the world instead of trying to be a beacon for the rest of us.
Peace.
You crack me up again, Jas …
and you have a tendency to bring out the worst in people sometimes (judging by a few of the comments). An addressing just one who would be ashamed to be bested by a ‘white’ man in her black college — does that mean if you are at the top of a white college then the white students should hate you?
C’mon. I know its not a new world and its still as racist as it ever was, but lets not stir the pot with this dumb shit. The man was the best. His color should be of NO relevance. Period. Isn’t that what we all want from everybody, everywhere??
I only hope my Black son will do as well wherever he decides to go to university. Not an issue to trip over…
Sophia33:
I was going to leave a comment on this board, but after reading yours, there is nothing I can add.
You said it all. Perfectly.
Sophia your post makes me want ////////. Congrats on your high levels of stupidity.
“First of all, this young man could have gone to ANY college in the country. He got into Harvard and is currently a Rhodes Scholar finalist. With all of this opportunity presented before him, he chose to go to a HBCU because he had a greater sense of social consciousness.”
“OH THANK YOU SYMPATHETIC WHITE MAN FOR GRACING US WITH YOUR ROYAL PRESENCE AT OUR POOR BLACK SCHOOL” Newsflash: White people have always been going to HBCUs and it does not make them more or less conscious going there.
“He understood at a very young age that there still exists a chasim between black and white in this country. Instead of taking the brass ring, WHICH HE RIGHTFULLY EARNED, he decided to try to learn something socially. As blacks we always complain that whites don’t want to understand us.”
You seem to think racism is equal on both sides, I suggest you look up white privilege. And of course more condescension towards HBCus or maybe blacks schools all together. What would these schools be if there wasn’t a white man like this to grace their halls with his glorious whiteness?
“This wise young man wanted to understand us and how we fit in society and what our perspective is. HE MADE THIS DECISION AT 18 years old, when we have whites three and four times his age that are cemented in hatred. He should be applauded for his desire to do this.”
A white person not being afraid to be around black people? COOKIE 4 U. God maybe he might deserve two according to you, at such at young age, meddling with those negroid people!X
“Reading your article, I have to wonder, since you and I are the same age, if you were one of those blacks that teased me for having white friends and getting good grades. You probably were. I digress.”
You’re one of those oreo people aren’t you?
“I was PROUD because of the respect and appreciation he had for his fellow classmates.”
Lawdy be! These white folks today doing crazy things like treating nigras and negros like their human. You’re right he deserves not two cookies but THREE.
“Oh, tell me am I only to have pride when a black person excels at a top white university? If this were a black person graduating from Harvard in such an outstanding manner, you would be bragging with pride.”
HI. Do you know why people brag about it? Were white people ever banned from going to HBCUs?Do you know how they were created? Aren’t these the same schools you have such a condescending attitude towards? Put a few of these blocks together and hopefully you’ll figure out what was wrong with your comparison. And the rest of the nonsense you said.
“What would you say if I told you that my Indian friend from college refused to take me to Dwali or that the people of Thailand refused to show me their beautiful country and culture?”
I would call them smart for not taking anyone who refers to them as their “Indian Friend” anywhere since being a person of color myself I know how annoying it can be to play Magical Negro [OR INSERT YOUR SPECIAL MINORITY FRIEND HERE!].
“My point with that people like you are the reason that black children don’t learn these things.”
Oh shit, I always thought it was that whole racism thing, with things like government redlining and generally less support for areas with a high amount of coloreds. My bad.
plsdie,
thank you for dissecting and replying to sophia who thought she was laying down the law.
Family,
I hurts to see how this issue has imploded into black on black intellectual crime and posturing. I do not purport to have the solution to this quandary nor am I suggesting that we all hold hands and forget the divisiveness of the scenario. I am most intrigued by the manner in which our conversation has turned towards personal attacks and a disregard for the emotional health of each other.
How do we become stewards of space in a way that satisfies our personal need to self actualize our independence, or ability to self determine. Moreover, how do we as stewards of space affirm within ourselves our capacity for charity, especially for the stranger amongst us. This ability to care for those outside our kin must co-mingle and dictate the sharing of said space in a manner which upholds our autonomy and right to exist as a separate but equal entity with the foreigner among us.
I respect Jas’s desire to have and protect sacred spaces which exist to nurture and heal the oft buffeted psychic health of people of colour. This goal is vital and is paramount. I agree with her that we are often asked to share such spaces through depoliticized lenses, and suffer the more because such depoliticized spaces mean the erasure of her(his)stories in ways that challenges the selfhood of the community.
I so far that we are mindful of such wanton acts of historical amnesia, we should steadfastly seek to be stewards of such spaces in ways which honours the history and relevance of our institutions- whether they be food, school, or art. To reduce such institutions to mere commodity in a bid to appease the guilt or apathy of others; to sanitize and safely package for the consumption of a paying public is to be complicit in self-annihilation. Thus, it is imperative that spaces which were fostered in the spirit of resistance against terror, must be infused with the legacy of those who preclude the democratic access to such spaces.
As we seek to be stewards of the legacy imparted by our progenitors, it is with an awareness for the past and a hope for the future that we seek to share such spaces through an honest awareness of our biased avarice to provincial authenticity. If we can be honest concerning our mitigated efforts at protectionism even in our fight against it, we will enter any dialogue without shame and with the ability to express our concern and hope for the treasure(s) we love so dearly and seek to preserve.
If a Christian, or any non-jew for that matter, were the valedictorian at Brandeis (a historically jewish college), would you find it to be as “offensive” as this? i really doubt it.
personally, this kid should be getting our praises, regardless of his race. he worked hard for 4 years and only received exceptional marks in every course. while it is a bit different for a white to graduate as valedictorian of a HBCU, isnt some integration better than none at all? for example, in my year at a “white” college, one of the students who is in many of my classes is a black male. he is continually performing better than me in these classes and he inspires me to work harder, not to get angry at him for changing the “normal” dynamic of the classroom.
and id like to comment about one of your last points jasmyne. you said “… we’ve got Black students that want to go to college and can’t afford too or can afford to but are denied entrance because universities are no longer obligated to uphold affirmative actions laws…” While the dissolution of affirmative action laws may change the demographic at some universities, in the bigger picture, it changes the system to merit based. assuming that a black and white person work the hardest that they can during their high school years with the aim of one day attending college, the university is equally open to both persons. as for affording college, regardless of race, the university system is absurdly expensive for all people. Boston College, for example, costs over $50,000 a year to attend. i dont care who you are, black, white, american, foreign, very few can afford those prices and the system as a whole needs to be reconstructed, if you as me.
1st i would like to apologize for the long post, 2nd this post is addressing the assertions of poster David.
The notion that” the university is equally open to both persons” as quoted by David, I would argue is flawed due to the fact of divestment of inner city schools. Even if I am the valedictorian of my inner city high school mean nothing when compared to a better invested, often times white, suburban school. When curriculum for better invested schools includes classic literature, Latin classes, SAT and ACT prep as an everyday reality, my chances as an urban HS graduate lessen. All one has to do is look and see if the over achieving urban school kids are entering and graduating Universities at the same rate as their better invested suburban counterparts.
As far as the dissolution of affirmative action “changes the system to merit based.” Who is creating the criterion of merit? And as mentioned before all education is not equal in terms of materials and funding, so discrepancies are inherent in the “merit based” illusion.
Side point…If children of Alumni, Athletes, and children of large donors of a particular University have preference in admission, why is it a crime to consider race in the equation? When all stats tell us the achievement gap for white and black students are present and formidable.
Also if not requiring by law the inclusion of black college students and predominantly white institutions rely on their old admission standards how does that create an environment for white students who come from all white communities to grow beyond what they see on TV and hear in Rap lyrics about black people?
As a recent graduate from a PWI the racial climate was always filled with insinuations that Black students could not be as smart as the average white student, and many of my white undergraduate whom admitted to NEVER being around Black people for any amount of time, and all of their information they had received from Television.
And finally cost, I can agree that the cost of higher education is pricing all students out of academia, but According to the Pew research institute “In 2006, black median household income was 61% of white median household income, So overall availability of funds to pay for college is even less in a black household than a white household…
These are the numbers
This is extremely sad.
Black people praising this as positive remind me of battered wives who will take flowers and smile after a beating and be ready to accept the next one or the wives that pity the animals that beat them.
Morehouse has A LOT of cleaning up to do.
Now that we have a black candidate for president from a major party, the argument can be made that we have taken a great step forward in racial issues. Some people like Al Sharpton have dedicated their lives in this persuit while others like Jasmyne Cannick are just getting started in this endagered field. She must be nervous that black activisim will go the way of vinyl records and 8 track tapes. I myself have always supported affirmative action and fought against racial bias but I can see that my actions have harmed people like Sharpton and Cannick as they may have to find another line of work.
In light of this, as a concerned white male, I have decided to join the KKK to help keep Sharpton and Cannick relevent.
Ken
>They have apple pie, we have sweet potato pie. They tell little Timmy “no!” and we have the belt.
See but those “black” things are also Southern things. We’ve had sweet potato pie every thanksgiving when i go visit my family in Georgia. We also have butterbeans, black-eyed peas, grits and cornbread. My parents never hit me with any thing other than their hands, but the lady (who was white) who watch people’s kids when they couldn’t (it was like a day care but it was just her house) hit us with “the whipping stick”. I know both my parents got the belt many times. Ultimately, race is not what’s important, but culture. This Morehouse grad grew up in a poor neighborhood in Kansas City, had a black stepdad, and, because of problems in his home, often lived with the family of his best friend, who was black.
This white boy should not be made valedictorian but instead expelled from the school for stealing the place which rightfully belongs to a brother. Whites should be barred from our institutions, not allowed to participate in our culture or african traditions. BLACK POWER
This crazy black nationalist bulls**t is nonsense. Any white person who wants to know more about us is should always be welcome. In case all of you haven’t noticed, we don’t have the luxury to be racist as if we were in the majority. All racism does in the heart of a black man is shorten his life by 15 years, keep him in the same awful, crime-ridden neighborhood, or make him vote for clowns like Kwame Kilpatrick and Marion Barry. Wake up and open your eyes, people! If we are always demanding that white people see us as equal, we should do the same and hold ourselves to higher behavioral standards.
(youtube comment I left on Jasmyne’s channel… and yes i know its old news) Hold up, Jasmyne the hipocrit… just saw your blog on Joshua Packwood, and you my dear are a racist, most white ppl these days couldn’t top you. You want a school for only blacks… was that really the lesson you think our country should have learned from Brown vs Board of Education? Your mad because a white girl was elected president of her NAACP chapter when that’s something you should be celebrating. Its okay for black ppl to copy white hair because they think its pretty, but its not okay for white ppl to get a dark tan because they think dark skin is pretty. You realize America is a melting pot and as much as you fight it ppl are still going to learn tollerance and they wont discriminate just cuz you and a boat load of other racist idiots want to keep your colors pure and members only.
If its racist for white ppl to hate black ppl, than its racist for black ppl to hate white ppl… I think all racism shud be condemned because its all stupid. Martin Luther King Jr. did not have a dream about the world you want to live in, he hated that world. Maybe you were raised to think the way you do, but its no excuse… unless your saying most memebers of the KKK can be exused because their think was born and bred into them too. Prove your intelligence by being better than the biggots who raised you.