Recently around my University, Florida Gulf Coast, there has been controversy over a class called “White Racism” which is taught by Dr. Ted Thornhill. Dr. Thornhill has been receiving quite the backlash for creating this class; it was even in the New York Post and tweeted at Donald Trump.
There have also been posters expressing such disdain in the White Racism course, which states in capitalized letters, “It’s okay to be white.”
These posters are not wrong. It is okay to be white.
But if I were to finish this sentence and correct what was left out of the true statement, it would be this:
“It’s okay to be white, but it’s not okay to be black or brown.”
Last year, after a student wrote a racially charged message on a whiteboard at school, it sparked a protest by the Black students of the university. The reply from the students who didn’t agree with the protest were White Nationalist posters.
This is why this class is needed. White racism is very prevalent in our society as well as my university. This class is not against white people nor does it state that white people are the only ones that can be racist. It states clearly in the course description that this class is “anti-white racism”, not against white people.
Those who are white and feel victimized are the problem that this class is trying to fix. Even in the course description, it says, in bold, what the class is about and the overall message.
"In this course, we will interrogate the concept of race; examine the racist ideologies, laws, policies, and practices that have operated for hundreds of years to maintain white racial domination over those racialized as non-white; and discuss ways to challenge white racism and white supremacy toward promoting an anti-racist society where whiteness is not tied to greater life chances"- Dr. Ted Thornhill
This course not only applies to American Society but to the Florida Gulf Coast community as well.
Florida Gulf Coast is a PWI or predominantly white institution, and I stick out like a sore thumb because of my skin color. I have gone to classes and have been the only brown person. I don’t think I’ve had many racist encounters until I came to this school and began living in this area.
Here is just a small list of encounters:
I have heard countless white people use the N-word around me and play it off like it has no meaning anymore and that it wasn’t a racial slur.
A man struck up a conversation with me at work and said “A-rab” instead of “Arab” and when I corrected him, he called them terrorists. He also called me the N-word as he left, because we were apparently friendly enough to share racial slurs with one another.
Most white boss' at my job orientation proceeded to say the N-word twice because he thought it was cool and because of my need for money.
My white co-workers tend to throw the N-word around and when I say they can’t say it because they’re white, they get angry.
Someone called me “Chica” at my job, to get my attention. Last time I checked, that is not my name. I am also not of Hispanic or of Latin Descent, and if I was, I'd still be angry and it would still be racist.
And the list goes on.
There is nothing anyone could say to turn me against the idea of this class being placed in the university curriculum because it is very necessary.
