As 
Americans, 
we 
pride 

ourselves on how far we’ve come 
from the disturbing times of 
slavery and segregation. We view 
stories like the following, which 
occurred in a small Southern 
town during the early 1940s, as 
bestial and archaic, instead of 
recognizing how they directly 
affected the events of today.

As a young man walked past a 

young woman, he was accused of 
piping out a “wolf call” whistle 
in her direction. Though this 
was undoubtedly irksome for 
the woman in question, the 
townsfolk 
responded 
in 
an 

excessively severe manner — for 
the man had the misfortune of 
being born Black in a country 
where white was, and continues 
to be, the more privileged shade.

Word quickly spread through 

the town, and, as a result of the 
growing outrage, the man fled 
north to Philadelphia. However, 
the man’s best friend was later 
found dead behind a 50 gallon 
gas can deep in the woods. The 
killers couldn’t tell, or more 
likely simply didn’t care about, 
the differences between the two.

After arriving in Philadelphia, 

the 
fleeing 
man 
joined 
the 

army to fight for his country 
in the Second World War. He 
died during combat in Italy — 
giving his life for a nation that 
wouldn’t give anything for him.

This man’s story will not be 

found in the pages of a history 
book or in any documentary; 
however, it is present in my 
family’s 
conversations. 
This 

man’s name was Osborne Ellis, 
and he was my grandmother’s 
uncle.

It’s easy to say what happened 

in the past is done and over 
with, but doing so only creates 
room 
for 
gross 
ignorance 

surrounding modern-America’s 
issues with race. All four of 
my grandparents were well 

into adolescence or adulthood 
during, or before, the outbreak 
of the Civil Rights Movement — 
meaning a significant portion 
of their childhood was spent 
in a time and place where 
events like these occurred with 
relative 
frequency. 
Because 

many 
opinions, 
viewpoints 

and habits are formed during 
childhood, my grandparents’ 
generation 
carried 
their 

worldview, which was crafted 
by 
living 
in 
a 
violently 

discriminatory 
society, 
into 

adulthood, shaping how they 
raised the next generation of 
Americans — a generation that 
includes my, and many of my 
peers’, parents.

Like 
clockwork, 
social 

reproduction ensured that my 
parents’ generation imprinted 
upon us the perspectives that 
their parents, who grew up 
in Jim Crow America, taught 
them. Though the past may 
seem distant, we are closer to 
segregation than we’d like to 
imagine.

When people ask why African 

Americans can’t simply forgive 
and forget, they assume we 
have a choice to move on 
from 
the 
decisions 
of 
the 

past — decisions, by the way, 
that were made without the 
consent of African Americans, 
despite the fact that these 
decisions radically influenced 
our 
livelihoods. 
We 
never 

chose 
to 
be 
systematically 

profiled and imprisoned. We 
never chose to be red-lined 
into destitute neighborhoods. 
We never chose to be denied 
opportunities 
based 
on 
the 

pigmentation of our skin. How 
can we “forget” these obstacles 
when they are still restraining 
us in 2016? Asking us to forgive 
and forget implies that we’re 
the ones keeping the legacy of 
segregation alive.

Whenever 
an 
African 

American is senselessly gunned 
down by the police, like we’ve 
seen over the past few days 
with 
Philando 
Castile 
and 

Alton Sterling, I’m angered 
that people still ask, “How 
could this happen in America 
in 2016?” Though most people 
who ask that type of question 
are simply too optimistic about 
the state of race relations in this 
country, failing to acknowledge 
these realities turns a blind eye 
to the deep-rooted racism in 
American culture. 

Until people begin to recognize 

the reality of race relations in 
this country — that segregation 
and oppression have never truly 
disappeared, 
they’ve 
simply 

taken up new names and forms 
— nothing will ever change. The 
deaths of Sterling and Castile are 
not isolated incidents. Their lives 
have just become a number on the 
long list of victims of systematic 
racism in this country.

Until people begin to recognize 

the reality of race relations in 
this country, police brutality will 
continue to plague the African-
American community, employers 
will continue to give white 
applicants preference over their 
Black counterparts and the cycle 
of oppression will remain healthy 
and strong. This is no different 
than what has been happening 
in America since the beginning, 
only now it’s done in more subtle 
ways. Obviously, some progress 
has been made. But in the 
grand scheme of American race 
relations, we’re still living in the 
shadow of the Jim Crow era.

When 
people 
start 
having 

these realizations, maybe we 
will be greeted with compassion 
rather than condemnation. But 
I’m not holding my breath.

—Jason Rowland is an 

LSA sohpomore.

5
OPINION

Thursday, July 14, 2016

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Nothing has changed
On race relations

Dear Constituents,
Once again, race and racial 

interactions are front and center 
in our national conversation. Our 
collective thoughts and prayers 
are with the families, loved 
ones, friends and community 
of those lost during the acts of 
violence perpetrated in the week 
that our nation celebrated its 
independence. Alton Sterling, 
Philando Castile, Sgt. Michael 
Smith, Senior Corporal Lorne 
Ahrens, Officer Michael Krol, 
Officer 
Patrick 
Zamarripa 

and Officer Brent Thompson 
represent a growing number of 
Americans who have fallen as a 
result of indiscriminate violence 
and brutality.

Death is neither Black nor 

white. Every life is valuable, and 
each loss of life is a tragedy. It 
is evident, now more than ever, 
that our country must continue 
meaningful 
and 
relevant 

dialogues on race relations, hate, 
fear and healing.

As student leaders we hear you, 

we are grieving with you, and we 
too are struggling to make sense 
of it all. There is nothing that 
could ever be said to rationalize 
the lack of compassion and 
aggression that has plagued our 
country so much this summer 
and for decades. Unfortunately, 
these tensions are not new, 
and they can even pervade our 
campuses. 
They 
stem 
from 

deep-seated 
frustrations 
and 

learned resentments, creating 
a false sense of “us and them.” 
Let us not allow these ideas 
to consume and divide us. Let 
us continue to challenge our 
perceptions, our peers, our 
professors, our administrators 
and our public servants at all 
levels.

How do we overcome? Is it 

possible for us to ever reach 
race equilibrium? 

As students, the exchange 

of 
perspectives, 
ideas 
and 

understanding is critical in 
moving us forward. We need 
to cultivate a campus culture 
that is safe and inclusive of all 
students; one that encourages 
honest, uninhibited dialogue 
on racial issues. We must 
bring these conversations into 
spaces that students occupy, 
whether they be our labs, 
departments, classrooms and 
beyond. It is necessary to 
develop avenues to engage the 
ally and majority community to 
support marginalized groups. 
Don’t be afraid to participate 
in these discussions. Talk to 
one another. Inaction is not an 
option.

Across our campuses, we 

must be more resolved in our 
demand for unity, justice and 
structural equality in all phases 
of 
our 
education. 
Request 

racial literacy training. Enroll 
in culture and race theory 
courses. Explore racial and 
ethnic intolerance subjects. 

We 
are 
grateful 
for 
the 

opportunity 
to 
serve 
our 

graduate 
and 
professional 

student colleagues at each of 
our 
institutions, 
no 
matter 

how difficult the challenge. 
As presidents of the graduate 
governments 
at 
Michigan 

State 
University 
and 
the 

University of Michigan, though 
competitors in the Big Ten, we 
stand united in our resolve to 
empower you to challenge the 
status quo, confront all forms 
of inequity and create the 
best campus environments for 
graduate education in the state 
of Michigan.

—Dee Jordan is the 

President of the Michigan 

State University Council of 

Graduate Students. Chukwuka 

Mbagwu is the President of 

Rackham Student Government.

 DEE JORDAN AND CHUKWUKA MBAGWU | OP-ED
JASON ROWLAND | MICHIGAN IN COLOR

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