When Cultural Diversity Tests Responsibility

By The Fordham Ram on February 5, 2014 • ( 0 )

By CATRINA LIVERMORE
STAFF WRITER

Tau Kappa Epsilon at Arizona St. University threw a questionable party to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. (Photo Courtesy of WikiMedia)

Culture is not defined by a specific race or ancestry. It cannot be described as the aggregation of certain physical characteristics, nor should it be a way of depreciating the value of a certain group of people. Recently, Arizona State University’s male fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon hosted a party in which African Americans were defined solely by baggy jeans, basketball jerseys, gold chains and watermelon cups. To make matters worse, not only did the fraternity erroneously pigeonhole African American culture, they created the party under the pretense of celebrating Martin Luther King Day.

Tau Kappa Epsilon has a history of getting into trouble with its administration and has been subsequently kicked off campus. Whether out of sheer ignorance or arrogance, the fraternity felt emboldened to post their celebration on social networking sites with hashtags like #blackoutformlk, #ihaveadream and #mlkparty. Done in very poor taste, the party, whether intentionally or not, completely defamed Dr. King, as well as the legacy of his national holiday and what black history represents. While it still would have been an issue if the event was hosted during any other month, the fact that the party occurred during a time when the achievements of African Americans are celebrated highlights that individuals still fail to grasp that the African American community is much more than the limited snapshots that are seen in the media.

The event that occurred at Arizona State University is unfortunately not an isolated one, nor is it the views of a select few that believe African American culture is simply an “urban lifestyle.” The stereotype is seemingly supported by countless television shows and films that predominately portray African Americans as gang-bangers from the rough side of the neighborhood and loud and inappropriate females, or even when clichéd African American ideals are highlighted on shows like “Saturday Night Live” or the “Dave Chappelle Show.”

It would be easy to call everyone involved a racist; however, that form of labeling serves no purpose when trying to understand race relations in America. While I am in no way justifying or rationalizing the actions of the members of Tau Kappa Epsilon, I would introduce the idea that the fraternity’s misstep was one that can only be attributed to pure ignorance.

In contrast, it can also be argued that in the case of Tau Kappa Epsilon, while we cannot be quick to call anyone racist, we cannot quite rule that out either. Parties like the one they held makes society question what these frat members believe in, and for that matter, their intelligence in wearing baggy jeans, drinking out of watermelons and calling it a celebration of Martin Luther King.

It would also be easy to say that hosting a party and mimicking characteristics you know nothing about implies a naivety, and for the most part that would be right. However, while trying to be funny and hoping to host a great party, Tau Kappa Epsilon unknowingly highlighted a problem that is not just among college students, but within our real community as well. We have recently seen how insensitive and completely invalid comments or actions can lead to backlash from our community. This past December, Justine Sacco, a former public relations executive, made an insensitive and discriminatory comment about AIDS in Africa that led to her being fired and publically shamed in the Twitter-verse. “Saturday Night Live” was under pressure recently to hire more African American females.

Until recently, Vanity Fair was criticized for the lack of diversity on its covers. While I do not think that the insensitive comments on culture and race will stop with Tau Kappa Epsilon, I hope that people will take a longer pause and consider the implications of their ideas and the effects they will have on others, African American or not. The public shaming that occurs is not always to target people as racist, but to identify inaccuracies in perceptions of race.

Catrina Livermore is a communication and media studies major and marketing minor from Queens, N.Y