By now, all of you are familiar with the incident in which two brothers of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity attended a party in black face. Since then, according to an e-mail from Georgia State University President Carl Patton, the fraternity was charged with “several violations of the student code of conduct, including, but not limited to, engaging in racially harassing conduct.”
According to the same e- mail “the fraternity has been suspended until the University Senate Committee on Student Discipline can hear charges and appropriate action can be taken.”
For those of you that do not know what “black face” means, I am going to give you a very brief history lesson.
According to historian Michael Ray Charles, “minstrel shows began around 1828 and were started by Thomas Rice.” White actors used burnt cork as makeup when portraying blacks. Minstrel shows were doused with banjo music and lots of dancing and portrayed black slaves as lazy, childish, watermelon-eating comic relief. Thus, began many of the stereotypes that would plague blacks over the next century.
Spike Lee even made a movie, “Bamboozled,” to suggest how these shows became a part of the legacy of black history and helped to taint the image of blacks.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity hosted an off-campus party with the theme “Straight Outta Compton,” with the guests encouraged to wear hip-hop clothing. I’m not from Compton, but I thought hip-hop clothing meant brands like FUBU, Sean John, Roca Wear, Enyce or other brands like that. So where exactly does black face fit?
Obviously, the two brothers who showed up in black face thought it would be in their best interests to try and become the life of the party. Guys, honestly, if you wanted to wear makeup, you could have gone as Bozo the Clown and RuPaul. This whole situation could have been avoided.
I am disgusted by the fact that members of our generation could make such an ignorant mistake. These young men have embarrassed their fraternity as well as themselves. I thought members of fraternities were supposed to set an example for others by dealing with “brotherly love.” Condoning such behavior is not in the best interest of this type of organization.
President Patton’s e-mail also stated “that members of the fraternity and members of several black organizations have not indicated a willingness on the part of the fraternity to accept responsibility for its actions.” One message posted on the Signal website said, “we can’t punish the entire organization based on the actions of two individuals,” but if the organization is based on brotherhood, then they should all stick together, right?
It would be in the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity’s best interest to apologize for the incident, even though it was the ignorant mistake of two of its members. Members of the fraternity should also take a course in black history to enhance their understanding of the incident and to understand why it caused such a uproar. More importantly, the two members should apologize to their organization and relinquish their membership in fraternity. Lastly, all members of the fraternity should be forced to watch “Bamboozled.”
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