Here's the Herald's article. It's by a guy who does a lot of sports coverage for them too.
https://www.westernherald.com/community_...ed23f.html
A mostly white choir and audience sang along to black spirituals. A black woman said she didn't think that was respectful, and then the Black Student Union agreed with her. It looks like conservative media has ginned up some outrage about this story, and so here we are.
The idea that white audiences shouldn't sing black spirituals is probably really new to a lot of mostly older white people. It might sound outrageous to you. I'd encourage you all to try to listen. Reaching for (frankly preposterous) connections to Gramsci is such a deflection. Denying that white privilege exists in the US I think shows you just haven't taken the matter seriously or approached it with an open mind.
I'm 28, so I went to college when these kinds of issues and discussions were the norm. At first, some of the ideas seemed pretty out there to me, too. For example, the idea that racism is still plays a big role in US society (undeniably true) sounded crazy to me in like 2010. I think a big part of the reason for that is because I grew up with pretty limited exposure to the thinking and ideas of people who weren't white (i.e. people who experience racism). When I did hear those other perspectives, I was often pretty closed off to them. I was not as likely to take them seriously. I went to Michigan (please forgive me) and I remember when the hashtag #beingblackatuofm started going around on social media. Black students were talking about their experiences with racism on campus. I remember being highly skeptical I think because those experiences were so different from mine. How could there be a racism problem on campus if I wasn't seeing it?
In hindsight, I see that as a very arrogant, closed-minded, and ultimately racist attitude that blocked the possibility of me seeing the world as it actually is. Over time, I learned to listen more and learn more. I regret all the times I didn't listen. There is no objective, scientific correct answer on whether or not it is disrespectful for a mostly white choir and audience to sing black spirituals. But if you're white, and you find yourself blocking out and ridiculing black voices you disagree with, then you're not actually trying to answer the question at all. You're just trying to protect the little intellectual safe space you've made for yourself, where racism is a thing of the past, cultural appropriation is an absurd concept, and those college campuses are out of control.
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Good Grief - This Idiocy at WMU Too?
