Teenager Gets Suspended, After Reacting Violently to Ongoing Racist Attacks

Another guest post from my fave north of the border Timmy's Icecap chugging blogger

I have written many times about the struggles my oldest has had negotiating the racism in our small town.  I know that despite the mantra about childhood being a protected class, this definition only applies to White, able bodied, class privileged, cis gendered children.  If you are a child from a historically marginalized group, by the time you get out of diapers, you will have negotiate a discourse which 'others' and erases your humanity.

A Buffalo girls basketball team was suspended after the players allegedly used a racial slur as part of their pregame cheer.

Tyra Batts, the sole African-American on the Kenmore East High School’s squad, told the Buffalo News that her teammates would hold hands before the game, say a prayer and then shout "One, two, three (n------)."

The practice came to light when Tyra was suspended for getting into a fight about the use of racial slurs during practice, according to the newspaper.

She said that she was alarmed by the cheer, but had been outnumbered and told that the use of the slur was just a team tradition.

"I said, 'You're not allowed to say that word because I don't like that word,'" she told the newspaper. "They said, 'You know we're not racist, Tyra. It's just a word, not a label.' I was outnumbered."

The 15-year-old eventually exploded after a practice when a teammate called her a 'black piece of (expletive).’ She says she got into a fight with the girl later in school.

"It was a buildup of anger and frustration at being singled out of the whole team," she told the newspaper.

Tyra’s suspension was shortened after the principal learned of the racial allegations. At least a dozen girls were suspended. (source)

Gee, wasn't it nice of school officials to shorten her suspension.  Certainly, such magnanimous behaviour must be noted and celebrated.  They even went as far as to suspend the girls who were taunting Tyra Batts, and so I suppose all's well that ends well right?  What I want to know is where were the adults while the girls where screaming, "one, two, three nigger"?  I find it hard to believe that each and every single one of these chants happened in isolation. If these girls felt comfortable saying what they did, it can only be because there is a culture of racism alive and well in that school.  The girls who were suspended will serve their time, and life will go on for them, but it is Batts who will have to have to live with lasting effects of their racist assault. Unfortunately, Batts will join the ranks of Black children who have learned at the hands of Whitness that the colour of their skin determines their worth in a White supremacist world.


It enrages me that these girls could use a word like nigger and then claim not to be racist.  Nigger is not now, or ever will be just a word.  There is a long history of dehumanization and oppression that is attached to the word nigger.  The very fact that they felt that they could hold a vote to over rule the feelings of the only African American player speaks volumes.  Today, Whiteness acts as though being called a racist, is worse than living with the hatred of racism.  The word racist has become ugly, even as Whiteness acts in racist ways everyday, without ever acknowledging their behaviour for what it is. The following are but a few of the excuses that I hear on a regular basis:

• I didn't mean to be racist
• you're reading too much into things
• you're being too sensitive
• my best friend was Black in high school
• I don't see race/colour
• You're the one that's racist for interjecting race in the conversation
• I didn't know that was racist
• Why does it always have to be about race?

The bottom line always comes down to the fact that the average White person does not what to confront the ways in which they both live in privilege and support White supremacy. This school did nothing to protect this young girl, and then to have the nerve to punish her for acting in self defense is inexcusable. I have yet to read a call for accountability for the school.   It is inconceivable to me that hearing the chant of nigger and being called a Black piece of shit, could be construed as anything less than verbal violence.  How many times was the young girl assaulted before she finally lost her temper?

Over the years, Whiteness has co-opted much of the  Dr. King's pre 1963 message (note: post 1963 Dr. King was far more radical) because it makes them comfortable, and they love the idea that people of colour will peacefully turn the other cheek.  Not everyone can, or will turn the other cheek.  If we examine the history of violence between Whites and Blacks, Whiteness has by far exceeded us with it barbarity and desire to express power corrosively.  It is this knowledge that causes so many to fear a reckoning and it is this fear that is the basis for Batts continued suspension.  In short, Whiteness fears accountability, and that is why Batts is being punished for her act self defense.

Hueism Blocks The Path To Unity

Guest Post from Renee of Womanist Musings, who is all that and four bags of ketchup flavored potato chips.

To advocate passionately as a womanist means confronting issues in the black community that we have long been resistant to speak publicly about.  Hueism continues to be an ongoing issue and it affects both light skinned and dark skinned women differently.

Often our light skinned sisters will receive undeserved privilege by whiteness, simply because of the color of their skin.  One need look no further than at the models that are promoted by the fashion industry to discern that to even have the smallest chance of being considered beautiful, if one is of color, it is necessary to be born with light skin.  There are rare exceptions like the stunning Alek Wek however, beauty is still measured by how closely one manages to match the ideal femininity that has been constructed for white women.

To be a dark skinned black woman in a world that values whiteness, is to be daily “othered” and otherwise ignored. From a very early age the dark skin girl learns  that she is not beautiful regardless of how supportive her family may be and in a world where beauty is one of the few ways in which women express and or wield power, this can lead to feelings of anger and resentment.  To actually rise above the anger that is created by discovering that through an accident of birth one is deemed socially irrelevant, is work that for some women takes a lifetime.

This anger often manifests itself by challenging the worth and or the blackness of lighter skinned women.   Light skinned women may find more acceptability around whiteness but when they must relate to members of the African American community, issues of undeserved privilege will arise.  They will be asked to prove their allegiance to POC and black men will actively seek them out as trophy wives.

I cannot imagine how difficult it is to identify as a WOC, only to have that identity challenged repeatedly.  Some will become extremely militant as a way to counter act the exclusion that they face.

As we do battle amongst ourselves to maintain a sense of self worth, the issues that plague us most deeply are not of our creation.   It is whiteness that began this divide and whiteness that continues it with the aid of our collusion in the form of internalized racism.   We know that light skinned blacks were often treated better during slavery.   The very first blacks that were able to achieve higher education were also light skinned.  To look at images from the first black sororities, is to see a historical record of those that would become the first blacks to achieve social mobility and a degree of prestige.  Some families so valued the lightness of their skin, they purposefully denied their children the right to marry a darker skinned person.

In places like New Orleans blood quotient was studiously counted.  Blacks would announce whether they were octoroons or quadroons, loudly proclaiming their proximity to whiteness.  Some families worked diligently to ensure that each generation they became lighter, until they were barely recognizable as black.  The ability to pass as white meant that one would not have to deal with the ugliness of racism. The darker skinned amongst us watched as light skinned blacks either were granted privileges or disappeared into white society never to be heard from again.

Today though we have had a civil rights movement and have elected the first black president hue continues to divide us.   One of the reasons openly stated for loving Michelle Obama is the darkness of her skin.  Not only is she embraced for being black but for being visibly black.

As I read the commentary of praise, I cannot help but wonder how it makes our lighter skinned sisters feel. Yes, some have become accustomed to privilege due to the lightness of their skin however, bringing balance to the community cannot be achieved by falsely praising darker skin.  

We need to move beyond gradations in color and finally acknowledge that whether dark or light skinned, black is black. We only see difference because we have been taught to do so by whiteness.  When we continue to argue amongst ourselves over who is legitimately black or who is worthy to advance based in hue,  we are distracted from battling the racism that we all face.

Whiteness does not want us to actively assert our humanity and therefore; any method that they can employ to ensure that our focus is not on the systemic ways in which racism hurts us will be encouraged.   This is not a new tactic, simply looking at the Tutsi’s and Hutu’s is a perfect example of what happens when we allow whiteness to decide what constitutes value amongst black people. 

Divide and conquer is a game that whiteness plays well and when we foolishly consent to engage as though we are powerless to resist the grading of color, we cede what little power we have.  There are many situations in life in which we are presented with options that lead to negative consequences however, deciding to  love all of the manifestations of blackness is asserting a power that whiteness would love us to abdicate.   In the 60’s we rallied around the phrase that black is beautiful and the time has finally come for us to live it.

All Is White In So-Called Multicultural Canada

Guest post from Renee, the editrix of Womanist Musings and my fave north of the border mommy blogger.

So, Saturday was the annual Santa Claus parade in Niagara Falls.  I am not a big believer in Santa, because I don't like the idea that this benign White guy travels around and grants wishes.  I think I would be more amenable to the idea, if Santa was occasionally a person of colour.  I always think of Santa as just another manifestation of Whiteness, and we all know that White men are not exactly lining up to do people of colour any favours.  At any rate, after writing their letters to Santa, we headed off to the parade.

We have been going as a family for the last seven years, and so my kids were super excited.  We always have a big breakfast, watch the parade and then go out to lunch.  It's really a family day of fun for us. Each year, the people participating in the parade hand out treats to the kids lining the parade route.  This year, my kids sat down on the sidewalk next to two White kids, with their hot chocolate and blankets to watch the parade.  They were just brimming with excitement.  As the parade got going, we noticed that the participants would hand candy to the two little White boys sitting next to the left my kids and the White girls on the right, but not to my sons.

When they were skipped time and time again, my kids would look back at us to ask what was going on.  Neither of them could understand why they didn't receive candy, while the White boys on their left did, and the White girls on their right did.  The unhusband finally asked me if I thought race was a factor, and I told him of course it is.  Despite the bullshit lie that we tell ourselves about all children being special, marginalized children are just seen as surplus population.


Finally, noticing that nothing was going to change, the unhusband encouraged Mayhem to step further into the street and hold his hand out.  It was not until the Mayhem pushed ahead, and held is hand out that parade participants deigned to give him candy.  At six years old, he is too young to figure out that what he was experiencing was discrimination first hand, but as his mother, I was absolutely enraged.  Standing right next to them, I could not protect them from the bigotry and privilege of others. 

I am quite sure that the people participating were not actively thinking about what they were doing, but their actions still amounted to discrimination and ruined any form of fun I could have potentially had at this event.  Whiteness has been so ingrained socially, that racism often happens without any premeditated thought. The sad truth of the matter is that while White kids are being sheltered and taught to believe that they are special, kids of colour are actively being torn down and encouraged by the world to see themselves as "other".  White people may look at them as babies, and think that they are cute, but shortly after getting out of diapers, they begin to see Black boys as future rapists, thieves and gang bangers. They are systematically written off as a matter of course.  The childhood that White children have, is denied to children of colour, in order to teach them their role in the pecking order. Discrimination does not wait until adulthood.

If you read mommy blogs written by White women, they are full of things like recipes, rainy day activities, coupon deals and pictures of their smiling kids.  White women may write about the stress of working and raising their kids, but they will never have an experience like I did this past Saturday.  They will not have to cheer up their kids after being passed over repeatedly.  They will not have to teach their children that they will have to be better than everyone else to succeed in life, or that the world is happy to see them fail. They can afford to have fluffy little blogs talking about nothing, but as a mother of colour, I have to deal with the realities of White supremacy, as I attempt to salvage some kind of childhood for my precious boys. I wonder if on their business cards, these women have the words only my kids matter.

I know that in years to come, my kids will look back and know exactly what happened to them and why. I know this because there are plenty of events from my childhood that I now understand to be racist.  I know that my parents attempted to shield me as much as possible from the harshness of this, but one can only do so much, when society is determined to undermine your every effort to invest your child with self worth.  Each act of racism will build upon the other, creating rage, and in some cases outright depression.  They will be told that they are reading too much into things, and that they are just looking for a reason to be upset, because it is easier to accept that the marginalized person is wrong, rather than deal with the fact that the world has not moved into this post racial utopia that we continue to hear so much about.

I know that what happened to my kids is not an anomaly, and I also know that they are going to have experiences that are far worse due directly to the colour of their skin. This is the unavoidable future of children of colour.  Even as I am writing this, I am fully aware that this not considered appropriate mommy blog conversation, because isms are something that don't get discussed in parenting spaces.  The generic standard is Whiteness, just like everything else, and this simply reinforces the idea that there is a monolithic experience that constitutes childhood.   I don't have the luxury of such vanilla conversation, and this is why this why social justice is a priority here at Womanist Musings.  You can only afford to ignore race, if you are never going to be a target of racism.