TO THE EDITOR:
In February of 2017, University of Michigan students demanded a non-whites only, segregated space to organize social justice efforts.
Although this safe space was sought by the student activist group Students4Justice in order to allow people of color to execute community organizing, their plea is the epitome of reverse racism and resurrects the idea of segregation, given that these non-white students wish to exclude other individuals based on skin color.
In 1954, America’s Civil Rights Movement was sparked by the unanimous decision to overthrow Plessy v. Ferguson in the infamous case known as Brown v. Board of Education. The “Brown” Decision concluded that “separate but equal” was intolerable and outlawed segregated educational facilities for whites and blacks.
Virtually all non-whites pushed for the termination of segregation, given that they were the ones affected. Yet, non-whites at the University of Michigan are now reversing this historical precedent, as their proposal is precisely what their ancestors fought to end. How could whites at the University of Michigan be treated equally if they were excluded from specific areas on campus?
It is a commonplace notion that Martin Luther King Jr. is one of America’s heroes. However, this proposed non-whites only space contradicts King’s goals. He strived to end segregation and transform America into a country that would allow all races to be permitted in the same areas, but these students are defying this desire, as they wish to segregate themselves from people of white skin. This call for segregation will only fragment different racial groups and does nothing to further race relations.
The article “Two Sides of a Coin: Safe Space & Segregation in Race/Ethnic-Specific Law Student Organizations” analyzes data from a study that investigated student perceptions of racial and ethnic campus organizations.
This study concludes: “White students and students of color alike struggle with the problem of characterizing race/ethnic-specific student groups as pockets of safe space versus areas of self-segregation.” Thus, many students at the University of Michigan would be uncomfortable with a non-whites only space.
Similarly, Tanas Gangadhar, an Indian freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill, notes: “Personally, I would feel uncomfortable if UNC had a non-whites only space ... white representation in media, government, and economy is still disproportionately high but this should not be an excuse to exclude whites from discussions on race. By excluding whites from certain spaces, I feel that minorities are being hypocritical in their criticisms of white superiority.”
