College group cancels diversity 'happy hour' after excluding white staffers

[SpartanDem]

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- An attempt to fight racism at a community college may have backfired.A group of employees at South Puget Sound Community College sent out an invitation to all 300 staffers.

The "Staff, Faculty and Administrators of Color" encouraged employees to reply to the invitation to find out the confidential date and time of what was being called a "happy hour" to "build support and community" for people of color.

The email read: "If you want to create space for white folks to meet and work on racism, white supremacy, and white privilege to better our campus community and yourselves, please feel free to do just that."

....
Karama Blackhorn, program coordinator for the school's Diversity and Equity Center, helped write the invitation.

She said it could have been worded differently, but she maintains the staff members of color would have a more honest discussion about race without white employees

http://www.king5.com/news/cities/olympia/College-group-cancels-diversity-meeting-after-trying-to-exclude-white-staffers-249652471.html



If you're going to have a "diversity" happy hour seems rather silly to exclude a group of people from it.

[lillypaddle]

1. I agree nt

[upaloopa]

2. Those folks would feel right at home here at DU

[Enrique]

6. i've never heard anything like that here

have you?

[Lost_Count]

7. I have... usually in jury comments...

[upaloopa]

8. Last week it was posted that only African Americans

should be allowed to discuss privilege.

[FrodosPet]

9. Whites ARE privileged, and would ruin what they are trying to do

People are getting so worked up when a group of educated people realize having white people around, trying to monopolize and redirect the conversation, would suck when trying to talk about the societal and personal damage afflicted by whites.

Hey whiners! Sorry if your privilege is starting to slip, but blame your ancestors for being such assholes that the rest of the world is rising up and rejecting you.

NOT Sarcasm!

[Fumesucker]

10. Bless your heart

After relieving yourself of a post that filled with vituperation and anger you clearly need a

[cali]

11. so much for not judging peope by the color of their skin but the content of their

souls.

So much for not lumping all members of an ethnic group together.

This woman who wrote that thing is a an idiot.

[upaloopa]

12. Save it for someone who cares

[Lost_Count]

17. Well... That was bigoted ....

MLK would be proud I'm sure...



It was convenient for you to swing right by and prove the point though.

[badtoworse]

19. How crass. In contention for the Most Asinine Post of 2014 Award...

...and on so many levels!

[Donald Ian Rankin]

13. Take a look at post 9 in this thread... N.T.

[progressivebydesign]

3. Diversity means everyone...

Someone who is getting a paycheck for the college actually collaborated on that? Wow. I even found the tone of her comment to be pretty rude... "white supremacy and white privilege" is included in a way that sounded more like an indictment. You know like 'you white folks can sit around and figure out why you're all such racists, while we people of color sit around and figure out how to be more diverse.'

That said, the PNW is one of the most racist places I've ever lived. It's not out there in your face the way it is in some Southern states... but it's very very apparent. The Puget Sound area is extremely segregated. In the work I do, Seattle has been the one area where we've gotten requests not to use black contractor for some events.. oh, they stammer and talk around it, then use the word "urban," instead.

[msongs]

4. so she doesn't want people of no color to attend? not using taxpayer $$ thanks nt

[MO_Moderate]

5. Racism

[LittleBlue]

14. Karama Blackthorne

I watched the video after reading the article. She's exactly the type of person I expected.

[Codeine]

15. 1987 called -- they want their hair back. nt

[LittleBlue]

16. lol

Exactly

[dilby]

18. Guess I don't get it.

She looks like she is probably Native American.