On April 28,2016, CNN Money Digital Correspondent Tanzina Vega, wrote an article about white Morehouse alumni by the name of Joshua Packwood. The title of her article reads “Unstereotyped: Meet the white valedictorian of a historically black college". I can think of many of our brothers who are white, Hispanic, and biracial that attended and graduated from Morehouse with honors so, there is nothing unusual about this narrative of achievement and excellence amongst men who bear the insignia. I just find it very difficult to process exactly why this story is being republished around the same time that the Class of 2016 is scheduled to graduate later in May and yet, this white graduate from eight years ago seemed to be more important in 2016.

I find it very strange, in fact insulting that a story about one of the only white valedictorians in the history of the college would of course out-shine the entire graduating Class of 2016. Vega writes “At first glance, Joshua Packwood is the embodiment of white privilege: He's college-educated, married, a father of two and he runs a successful hedge fund in Manhattan."

Vega attempts to “Unstereotype" Packwood by letting us know of his humble upbringing and his childhood challanges with his broken family unit (as if this is not a story for many brothers). Identifying a white man's struggle as a result of classism seems to be the typical approach when to denounce “white privilege". Vega says this as if black people have stereotyped Packwood in saying that he did not actually work for his academic rank and his privilege made him valedictorian. The fact that Packwood was poor and experienced oppression related to economic disparities seems to be Vega's reason for “Unstereotyping" Packwood for what I am assuming to be a majority black audience and advocate for his hard work that no one ever really questioned.

Here are the issues with the entire thing...

The very nature of this article is divisive. Based solely on this undying sympathy toward a “white struggle" and relating that struggle, that always seems to be reduced to financial, back to black oppression (in efforts to reduce it) that is still tragically misunderstood. Without sexism, racism, and homophobia; the largest hurdle that a heterosexual white man of Morehouse has to cross in order to be successful in our society is surpassing the issue of classism. Now, I mean no disrespect at all to my brother in me saying any of this (as his achievement should certainly be recognized and celebrated) but, of all the unrecognized stories about the achievements of Morehouse graduates, is the most important story that of a "poor white boy" at Morehouse, Josh, graduated at the top of his class at a black college?

I began to think of all of the teen fathers that came to Morehouse and graduated, some of my brothers who were homeless and graduated Morehouse, some of my brothers who survived cancer and graduated Morehouse, and every other story of struggle that demonstrated resiliency in the face of adversity. Considering their stories did not end up on CNN, this provide space for inquiry.

The fact that Vega is trying to lead the conversation on “diversifying HBCUs" having attended a SUNY College in New York and obviously not knowing much about HBCUs, Vegas uses this white success story in a black space to make it seem almost as if diversity is an issue at HBCUs when in fact, 24% of all HBCU student are non-black. It's a condescending position to take and comes from the reductionist attitude that is coupled with this CNN article that oozes white privilege, not to mention the fact that HBCUs are not currently segregated and white students have ALWAYS had the option to attend a black college.

She proposes this question in her interview and asks “Does the term Historically Black in HBCU, Equal Exclusively Black ?". It was this extremely loaded question that revealed the true intention and nature of this conversation and I am holding her accountable for that.

Surprise, white people can go to HBCUs too and they do !

Regardless of what Vegas thinks she is doing for the black community, it's poorly framed. As if it wasn't enough to praise the only white boy at a black college for winning over the black boys, Vegas seems to have posted this only to contribute to the historically racist politics surrounding “Affirmative Action" and black college education. This entire campaign 2016 season, our cultural capital of HBCU has been used as a prop for these democratic exclusionary, political agendas. In the climax of race relations as a result of the black lives matter movement and police brutality, racialized conversations like the removal of “affirmative action" are being fueled by stories like this, making it seem as though simply being white and attending an HBCU is an achievement just like being black at a PWI.

When is the last time you heard of a CNN report in any section of the CNN online articles of a black student graduating valedictorian at a predominantly white institution that wasn't an Ivy? I'll wait, but until then, the stories of affirmative action education tickets and championed black athletes from the ghettos will be the only stories we continue to see published as a prejudice reflection of the way that black kids can get into college. As a reporter on race and ethnicity, there is no reason to try and experiment with our culture for shares and a position of the diversity of experience and, not racial disposition should be used to highlight our colleges. You cannot tell my black academic experience through a white lens, or use the assumption that white people can't attend HBCUs to “Unsterotype" anyone.

I would like your thoughts on why the stories of the white students at predominantly black colleges are being reported and praised while the stories of black students achieving great things at predominantly white colleges are being disregarded and cast to the side?

More importantly, is white excellence about to be a used to outshine black excellence?