The ignorance of some college students & the need for Cultural Diversity as a mandatory subject

I had no idea that people existed today that were in such denial & plain ignorance about discrimination, prejudices, and racism. Actually, I did but I didn't think that I would encounter these individuals in college class, of all places. It sickens me to no end to hear some of the comments made by students in my Cultural Diversity class during participation week!

As these students insinuate that it is no fair that white people cannot be proud of "white pride" or complain about not having "White History" month because black people have "Black History Month" in February. Boo-freakin-hoo!! Oh, white people have it so rough.... because they have to pay for and be ashamed of mistakes that their great great grandparents made. And black people automatically assume the world is indebted because of events that transpired in the past.

But people in the class do not understand that "Black pride", as a concept, was formed in response to centuries of enslavement and oppression. This concept worked to counter racist stereotypes against Black people and was an attempt to re-value African Americans, when mainstream white culture was trying to do exactly the opposite.

White people, however, were not enslaved as a race. There never have been laws, equivalent to Jim Crow, that discriminate legally and/or socially against Caucasians. Also, the most prevalent images of power, success and beauty are white.

White pride is a concept and a phrase use as doctrine of Neo-Nazi and other white supremacist groups. Not just pride in oneself -- but pride in the white race. There are many things that the white race should NOT be proud of. I am not advocating for shame or guilt, but rather for humble recognition of wrongs and daily footsteps to be fair minded, and just.

White pride is not a response to centuries of oppression. Rather, it is a term being used by White Power groups to make their hateful agenda seem easier to swallow (so to speak) or palatable for use of a better word, to the average white American. These groups are heavily recruiting right now -- and one of their tactics is to garner support for the idea of White Pride. Are you in or are you out?

I am of mixed ancestry, and proud of all of my roots - including my white relatives. (I am proud of what they did right, and hope that they have learned and progressed, where they were wrong.) I am also proud of all the white people who have fought for social justice throughout the centuries. I cannot say, however, that I am proud of the white race in general. During the time of slavery, there was mass denial by white people of the evils committed. White folks -- who considered themselves Christian -- were able to rationalize and ignore the most barbaric and inhumane behavior. What does it mean that today when such a small percentage of white people even recognize racism as a serious problem? I am not proud of denial, fear or ignorance!!!

I do not mean that white Americans are bound to shame and guilt for something our ancestors did. It does mean taking a good look at how a society founded on slavery, continues to be haunted by the remnants of this inhumane economic system even today.

We are an under-educated country in regards to the history of racism, and that makes us susceptible to racist ideas that are being pushed right now. If we do not know the history of systematic disenfranchisement of certain racial groups, we are more apt to believe the myth that people of color have asked for any social inequality that they receive.

"A battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation, to appreciate it." - Frederick Douglass, American abolitionist