So Hampton University’s 2009-10 Homecoming Queen is a white chick named Nikole Churchill. One time for the white chick with the black-spelled first name.
You don’t have to be an expert in African-American studies to know that this probably didn’t sit too well with a lot of ninjas, both at Hampton and nationwide. Most folks probably don’t know or don’t care but it hit a nerve with some folks. For some reason, on the list of improbable things, this just doesn’t seem so…out there, to me.
The fact that a white chick, even if she is from Hawaii, ended up at Hampton (and the Virginia Beach campus to boot) of all places is what surprises me. Not that she can’t go there, she’s more than entitled, I’m just surprised a school like Hampton showed up on her list of schools to send her SAT scores to. When I was at Morehouse, many many moons ago, we had a white cat from Indianapolis there and it baffled me then because this dude was a real “white” white dude. His name was Barry and he wore tennis shoes made of tennis balls. He was kind of nerdy and totally not the kind of cat you’d expect to see at an HBCU, but he was there. Then of course, we had our most famous white alumni, the white valedictorian, Joshua Packwood (as white a name as you’re gonna get, kind of like Jimmy Chitwood from Hoosiers).
Well back to the lecture at hand – a white chick is the homecoming queen at one our prized HBCUs. My question is, who are people really mad at here? And what does it really mean, if anything? I never went to Hampton but I assume that its a vote-in process. Somehow, someway, this chick (assuming its a vote in) won more votes than the other 9 chicks. She’s not exactly the most beautiful white chick I’ve ever seen so her personality must have done wonders for folks. I know at my school, hardly anybody voted. For the most part, we didn’t care. Maybe that came into play here too, me no know. Either way, it ain’t like she gave the award to herself. This is the same argument folks are making about Obama and his Nobel Prize. He didn’t give it to himself via the Democratic party. The freakin’ committee decided it was for him to win. Whatever their reasons, they made their decision.
Sadatay.
To me this seems like one of those non-starter stories that somehow will end up with way more press than is possibly necessary. I felt the same way about the Skip Gates f*ckfest from a few months back. It seemed like people were trying to find the huge story there when it was really a pissed off old Black man arguing with a pissed off police officer white man and it devolved into handcuffs. Now, this situation isn’t exactly going to make Time.com or anything, but I’ve heard enough opinions about this today to at least make me think folks feel some kind of way about it.
I really don’t though. While I recognize the oddity of a white girl at a school of 5,000, running against 9 Black women, winning the role of homecoming queen at what amounts to one of the Black Ivy’s, I have to wonder how it even came to that point. Were the other chicks SO un-liked that they couldn’t win? All that Black beauty and they still couldn’t pull it off? AND…there’s more women there than men. Perhaps it was divide and conquer. All those chicks hated each other and each other’s friends hated each other so they all voted for the white girl out of spite and it backfired like a mug.
As Black people, we tend to be really protective of our HBCUs (for the most part). They’re “ours” so it feels odd when other folks come in and basically become larger than the very Black folks who gain the most out of being there (I actually think that white folks stand to gain more from going to an HBCU than Black folks do). But ultimately, this chick showed up and completed the process to compete like other students, and as a student, she was well within her rights to do so. It ain’t her fault she won. Hell, she was probably surprised too.
Like I said, non-starter to me, but good people of VSB, what are your thoughts, if any? Does it make HBCU’s look bad? Does anybody care? Does it have bigger implications than I’m giving it credit for?
Is this really a big deal, at all?
-VSB P aka THE ARSONIST aka TANGLE JIG P aka GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRL, HE A 3
**Now, I do think she’s full of sh*t with her letter to Obama and asking him to come and assuage racial tension. So basically, she wins and the Black folks are ready to revolt? Yeah, no. Probably weren’t happy, but not on mass march levels. She definitely over stepped there and Hampton issued a press release from her today kind of clearing that up.***
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{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
I go to Hampton and I don’t really care either way there are tons of white folks running around the main campus, I have no idea about the VA Beach campus though… I think the media is taking the opinions of a few individuals and blowing things out of proportion
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 9:59 am}
@You’re how old?, that damn media is always up to something, aint it?
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A Plus {October 14th, 2009 at 2:46 pm}
@You’re how old?, wowsers, i never even knew there was a va. beach campus! (and i’m from the area AND went to pre-college)
…learn something new everyday
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David S. Johnson {October 15th, 2009 at 7:18 pm}
@You’re how old?, Wow if some of the comments of this editorial had been uttered a mere 20 years ago by a white guy about a white college all hell would have broken out. Welcome to equality my brotha….and welcome to being predjudicial!
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The look on the face of the chick in the white dress is priceless.
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Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 12:21 am}
@V.E.G.,
LMAO that was the comment EYE was gonna make. and even the girl in the black dress is like — “hurry up and get me off the same stage as her! 2520 bish.”
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miss t-lee {October 14th, 2009 at 8:31 am}
@Gem of the Ocean,
Yeah the two chicks on the left are side-eying that chick…extra hard.
LMAO
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SexyCool {October 14th, 2009 at 6:30 am}
@V.E.G.,
It was the first thing I noticed. Yeah, she mad. But, she’s mad about the wrong thing. She should be mad at whomever did her hair and threw that $10 weave piece in her head. Seriously.
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V Renee {October 14th, 2009 at 9:07 am}
@SexyCool,
She should be mad at whomever did her hair and threw that $10 weave piece in her head. .
You mean that microwave ponytail??
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miss t-lee {October 14th, 2009 at 9:10 am}
@V Renee,
“You mean that microwave ponytail??”
Okay?!!?!?
*snickering*
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Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 11:16 am}
@V Renee,
*cracking all the way up* @ “microwave ponytail”.
I can’t take ya’ll today. Her frozen dinner arse hairdo.
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Reecie {October 14th, 2009 at 11:45 am}
@V Renee, *dead* I haven’t microwaved a ponytail since 95, but I hollered all the same. #dontjudgeme
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miss t-lee {October 14th, 2009 at 11:50 am}
@Reecie,
Shooo she brought back memories with that. All you need is some Lottabody and a microwave!!!
Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 9:28 am}
@SexyCool,
lmao fa. real.
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:01 am}
@V.E.G., thats why i used this particular picture. it says so much more than a thousand words.
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Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 11:19 am}
@V.E.G.,
Chick in White Dress: Dis sum bullsh*t.
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If people were all up in arms about a black female winning homecoming in a mostly all white school, we’d all think they were being ridiculous, why should this situation be any different? I’m just sayin.
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V.E.G. {October 14th, 2009 at 12:23 am}
@SaneN85,
Cuz it is. lol.
Black folks go to HBCUs for many reasons, one of them being they want to be immersed in black culture and be in an environment where they can ‘celebrate’ their ‘blackness’.
So, to have a white girl jack, lol, homecoming from NINE sistas is just…wow.
It’s not a reason to call a race summit or to even write a letter to the school paper.
But it is a reason to side eye for a week. o_O
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:04 am}
@SaneN85, yeah, it is kind of different. now, i dont know that folks should be up in arms, but let’s be real. if a black chick wins at a white school, you KNOW she had to be bomb as hell to withstand all challengers and ultimately rise to the top.
you ALSO know that in the Black community, sometimes a chick just got to be white to get love.
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Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 10:35 am}
@Panama Jackson,
sooooo sooooo true!!
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T. {October 17th, 2009 at 7:50 pm}
@Panama Jackson,
You know what’s crazy? Students don’t vote on HU’s queen, a panel of judges do, mostly who are trying to get Miss Hampton to win the Miss VA pageant (which never happens) and that pageant feeds into the Miss America pageant. As an alumni, I dont really care, but it sure as hell will make Homecoming exciting this year! LOL.
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As it was told to me, there is no longer a student body vote. The winner is chosen by a committee. Further, according to what I was told (maw I didn’t research it), she isn’t even active on either campus.
Maybe it was a publicity stunt.
But the real question is: Was the Black cosmotology world outraged when Weavin’ Steven came on the scene & started winning hair shows? Was the Black community up in arms? If so, I must’ve been out of the country.
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Me fail english? {October 14th, 2009 at 8:47 am}
@Ms. Smart,
I thought at my school, your GPA was taken into consideration. I’m just tryna figure out how she can pen and release a letter using the phrase “I deeply apologize” (huh?) and still take the crown. Hampton U got some ’splainin’ to do.
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:05 am}
@Ms. Smart, based on the rest of the comments, i see it isnt done by popular student vote in which case…she wowed somebody’s ass.
and who the hell is Weavin’ Steven?
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Ms. Smart {October 14th, 2009 at 11:10 am}
@Panama Jackson, He’s this white guy who does Black hair and wins all sorts of awards. I’m not sure if that was him in the Good Hair movie. But my point is, people are selective about what white folks can have. They can’t have Hampton, but they can have the hair show. They can’t have Harvard educated Dr. Brown, but they can have Cleaphius Brown from the hood.
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If a black woman can’t have the homecoming queen crown at an HBCU, what can she have? I’m just saying. Dang.
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Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 12:33 am}
@V.E.G.,
well… its black folk, ultimately, who are makin the decision. whether its the student body (vast majority black) or some homecoming committee (likely ALL black), its the coloreds who said “she should represent us”.
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HabitualLineCrossa {October 14th, 2009 at 12:34 am}
@V.E.G., hmmm…I know this one…she can become the First Lady… and I might get eshot for this one…as much as I don’t like what she stood for, Condi Rice is a role model.
Add to that, Ursula Burns became the first Black woman to head a fortune 500 company earlier this year so… I think I’d be ok with those achievements versus one homecoming queen crown…but that’s one man’s humble opinion.
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V.E.G. {October 14th, 2009 at 12:41 am}
@HabitualLineCrossa,
hmph.
Why can’t a sista have her HBCU crown and be Chelly O/Condi R. Huh? Huh?
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HabitualLineCrossa {October 14th, 2009 at 12:52 am}
@V.E.G., see Gem of the Ocean’s post up top…I have arrived at the same conclusion that those that voted for her look like u and me.
Secondly, as I understand this, it isn’t an epidemic but rather one isolated incident. This means, Sistas in other EVERY OTHER HBCU are still holding the crown. So yeah, Sistas still got 99% of the crowns and we still have the Chelly O/Condi R./Oprahs etc of the world.
I just think there are more important issues to focus on.
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V.E.G. {October 14th, 2009 at 1:03 am}
@HabitualLineCrossa,
“there are more important issues to focus on”
Yes, there are. But there is a side eye moment built into this situation. We should milk it. We don’t get too many of them these days.
Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 11:14 am}
@HabitualLineCrossa,
“I just think there are more important issues to focus on.”
There are always gonna be more important issues to focus on. We can’t multi-task in this piece?
Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 11:22 am}
@Cheekie,
lmao @ We can’t multi-task in this piece?
Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:06 am}
@V.E.G., first the fat boys break up…now this…
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Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 10:36 am}
@Panama Jackson,
theres nothin to believe in anymore…
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overit {October 14th, 2009 at 11:30 am}
@Gem of the Ocean, i felt like that when D*stroy aka Dpain stopped commenting.
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Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 12:02 pm}
@overit,
ihateu.
i didnt think anything of girlfriend (who i half expected to be blonde — that woulda added some flare to the story) until i read the letter she wrote to Obama. i was like “she.cant.be.serious… seriously.” im pretty sure the only ppl REALLY upset were the girls on stage (see: Runner Up White Dress and By The Skin of Her Teeth Black Dress) and their cliques in the audience. even then, im not entirely sure they mad they lost to a WHITE girl — prob more heated they got passed up for a flat-chested amazonian with a hideous dress.
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V.E.G. {October 14th, 2009 at 12:31 am}
@Gem of the Ocean,
“prob more heated they got passed up for a flat-chested amazonian with a hideous dress.”
Yes. This is what upsets me. lol.
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insomN.I.A. {October 14th, 2009 at 12:43 am}
@Gem of the Ocean,
that dress is hideous…o_O
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charli skipp {October 14th, 2009 at 1:28 am}
@Gem of the Ocean,
Right! and wait….that’s how tall she really is? i thought she was standing on a soapbox or something. uh uh….i’m not seeing the cuteness of her. she must have won on some “God bless us everyone,” stuff. Plus–and I hate to say this, but–she should have stuffed her bra.
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charli skipp {October 14th, 2009 at 1:29 am}
@charli skipp,
and a spray tan.
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Me fail english? {October 14th, 2009 at 8:49 am}
@Gem of the Ocean,
“who i half expected to be blonde — that woulda added some flare to the story”
Yeah, I’m also disappointed in the level of whiteness. When I first saw the pic I thought she was just light-skinned.
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miss t-lee {October 14th, 2009 at 9:00 am}
@Me fail english?,
LOL–you thought she was gonna be straight up Nordic didn’t you?
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Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 9:31 am}
@Me fail english?,
LOL yeah she has a bit of ethnic ambiguity about her. i needed her to be a BECKY. not a niKole.
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:07 am}
@Me fail english?, i can’t lie, when i first heard, i was PRAYING she had blonde hair and blue eyes. that would have made CNN. this chick barely made VSB.
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Right Her {October 14th, 2009 at 10:27 am}
@Panama Jackson,
Ummm, this story was actually on CNN yesterday. LOL!! (American Morning)
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 12:06 pm}
@Right Her, really? when i googled this stuff it didnt show up nearly anywhere worthy of note, in print, anyway…yay.
I’m tired of giving a chit about this already, and the story’s not evem that old. Dang.
Serve the girl a black taco and wash it down with some 44 Hennessey while y’all watch Obama win his Nobel Prize right before Al Sharpton kills Rush Limbaugh.
I wouldn’t have sex with that woman as readily as I would some others. That is all.
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Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 11:12 am}
@Dante_Alexander,
LMFAO @ a “black taco”. I just saw that hot mess Taco Bell commercial yesterday. Blackjack Taco. o_O. I half-expected them to say, “Blackjack Taco…it’s the new black”. Thankfully, they didn’t go that far. But, I wouldn’t have put it past ‘em.
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miss t-lee {October 14th, 2009 at 11:21 am}
@Cheekie,
I’m disturbed by the black taco. I mean, why is black? Is it moldy? Ewww.
Plus, my mind went immediately into dirty territory anyway.
*snickering*
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Reecie {October 14th, 2009 at 11:49 am}
@Cheekie, the black taco commercial really made me feel some kinda way. and glad I no longer eat at taco bell. they’ve clearly ran outta ideas. lol
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Happy Meal {October 14th, 2009 at 12:55 pm}
@Reecie,
….ever since the chihuahua died…..LOL
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I came to this post expecting it to be about something totally different. I’m actually relieved. To me this gets an ‘ehh’ shrug, not even a o_0. This doesn’t suprise me that much–especially not in Va Beach.
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:08 am}
@kidSistah, what did you expect it to be about?
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kidSistah {October 14th, 2009 at 10:54 am}
@Panama Jackson,
I thought it was going to be something along the lines of The “Trade-Up”: A Hampton Epidemic…something to that nature.
Not that I know it’s an epidemic there or anything. Just a conversation I’ve been a part of more than I ever cared to in the last month.
So needless to say, with this, I breathed a sigh of relief.
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I’m a proud Hampton University Student no matter who Miss. Hampton is. Honestly, I didn’t go to the pageant and I don’t give a
d–n who wins.
With all the press that this matter is getting, there seem to be a few things that people aren’t mentioning, that I feel are important.
– Mr. Pirate 2009 – 2010 is asian and black, his reception on campus was quite different, partly because he attends HU on the Hampton, VA campus, he’s active at school and he’s also a Sigma.
- HU Students have no vote/say in the selection of Miss Hampton, partly because whoever is selected as Miss. Hampton is automatically entered into the Miss. Virginia competition and their rules prevent us from participating, or something like that.
and finally,
-Until you can agree on the purpose of Miss. Hampton, (ie., is she there to represent the campus, is she there to be a representation of the campus, is she there to be a qualified and more likely to win participant in Miss. VA and Miss. USA who originated from HU?) there will never be an agreement on who she should be.
But as far as her letter to “Mr. Obama” the other one apologizing for the letter to “Mr. Obama” – that’s where she lost me. I think that a issue with HU and its students should be handled with HU and its students – she accused the entire student body of something that half the student body didn’t even know more less care about.
Oh major points lost with the media that love to blow things outta proportion. Can I just keep my scholarship, get my degree, and government job, please and thank you.
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:09 am}
@J. Delicious, – Mr. Pirate 2009 – 2010 is asian and black, his reception on campus was quite different, partly because he attends HU on the Hampton, VA campus, he’s active at school and he’s also a Sigma.
that’s cuz he still Black. he just mixed, but Black.
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Me fail english? {October 14th, 2009 at 10:20 am}
@Panama Jackson,
But on another note….”Mr. Pirate”??? Sounds like the stage name for a bus station stripper. Fail!
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The_Eighth_Hokage {October 14th, 2009 at 10:56 am}
@Panama Jackson, But not everybody knows he is part black and he looks white……
I’m just glad J got to this before i did cuz then i would have had to write all that… but I cosign 110%
plus u wont believe my reaction when i saw y’all hopped on this…. I’m tired of talkin bout this
oh btw the Best HU won Saturday night at the game. Go Pirates
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J. Delicious {October 14th, 2009 at 11:30 am}
@The_Eighth_Hokage,
something we really do agree on…finally.
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J. Delicious {October 14th, 2009 at 11:33 am}
@Panama Jackson,
I didn’t know what he was till I asked his LB, I asked a lot of other people but they didn’t know either.
It’s all about perspective though, a lot of the negative comments that arose at the Football game came when she tried to cross directly in front of the Band in the stands ((something only Dr. and Mrs. Harvey can do)). Maybe had she not taken it so seriously I wouldnt have people calling me asking wth is going on down here…
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Tania takes an I DON’T CARE for $100..
i think this a form of Affirmative Action
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i also meant to mention that, even tho i feel “so whatl an HBCU homecoming queen isnt negro?” about the sitch, i did Obama-side-eye the fact that this is a white girl at an HBCU who won homecoming queen and had the NERVE to be shocked and hurt that there were some ppl who werent exactly ok with the idea. like, saltine HBCU homecoming queens are something you see every year in Ebony’s fall issue. gthooh. this is ‘posed to be her time to shine and represent the multi-cultural aspect of Hampton and show folk that she is comfortable being the white face of a colored institution. had she taken the “i dont see color” position (one that i loathe, btw) or “homecoming queendom isnt about color
its about fashion and status” i would have had some respect for her. but the “there are race problems at Hampton since im not widely accepted just becuz im white” argument sounds a lot like the “why dont black ppl see me as their white savior and act a bit more grateful?” argument. again, gthooh.i dont even think she dates black guys. her boyfriend is probably european — greek, maybe.
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:13 am}
@Gem of the Ocean, yeah, her approach was all wrong on this one. she needs a PR person or something to help her think this sh*t thru.
you can’t just be mad that darkies don’t like you, i mean you did stoled their bike. she should have just shut the f*ck up, had a coke, and smiled, and just waved a ninjas during the homecoming parade. and at least showed up with a black dude.
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This chick played the race card…I’m a little P.O.ed about that. Had the nerve to write a letter to Prez. Obama. I bet Faux news and conservative radio will soon be all over this non-story. And if that pic is any indication, she doesn’t have a chance in hades to win Miss Virginia.
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:15 am}
@insomN.I.A., lol, i do think its funny she decided to skip all the Hampton town hall routes or open letter to the student body. nope, she was like, naw, this is a job for Obama. lol.
i don’t care what anybody says, that’s comedy.
he’s like the new age johnny cochran for peace. school yard fight? call obama to mediate. husband and wife not getting along? they need an obama speech to quell the tension.
i just used the word quell.
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miss t-lee {October 14th, 2009 at 10:19 am}
@Panama Jackson,
“lol, i do think its funny she decided to skip all the Hampton town hall routes or open letter to the student body. nope, she was like, naw, this is a job for Obama. lol.”
LMAO!! It is rather comedic.
Really though, is everyone going to just start spouting off letters to Obama everytime a racial issue comes up for discussion? Let that man do his job.
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 12:07 pm}
@miss t-lee, thats my plan from here on out.
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I think this is the most hilarious pointless story of the day.
I don’t get how she won. I ran at NSU (back in the gap when I was there) and b/c the winner goes on to compete for the Miss VA title, you have to have a certain amount community service, be involved on the campus, have the GPA and all that. I mean it wasn’t just the pageant, you had to pass a panel interview and an etiquette dinner thingy and all this behind the scenes stuff…not just look mediocre in a beyond ugtastic dress on stage.
But then again… standards could have slacked. It is HU. (I kid, I kid…its all jokes…………..like your new queen…ok I’m done. That was the last one!)
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:16 am}
@Ro, maybe she just gets WAAAAAAAAAAAY more lightskint points than anybody else and that put her over the top.
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I’m delurking for this one -
I’m a Hampton alum. From our point of view, the reason that we are pissed is because of the letter she sent off to the President. She was crowned on Friday – she sent the letter on Sunday! Had she done anything yet to show that she was being discriminated against? No! I could see if this was two months from now and she was having issues.
That letter was unfair because she trivialized some of the concerns that students had about her being a transfer student with tenuous ties to the culture of the campus, not the culture of the students. She make it seem like the rationale was racism, when on the whole it wasn’t (hello, Mr. HU? Student body elected, active on campus and non-Black).
I mean, let me be real: she’s darker than I am! No one cares about her color – please. The information that is being passed around is false, particularly when people argue that she was elected by the student body (false – as J.Delicious pointed out).
I also take issue with that picture b/c out of all of the shots (and I’ve seen the ones with all of the young ladies smiling), that’s the one being passed around. Sometimes people get caught in a pic in between a smile. . .the media put that out there to portray the contestants in the most negative light they could. And it’s unfair. The entire situation is an unfair characterization of the school.
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Buxxy {October 14th, 2009 at 1:35 am}
@AdrianainDC,
I agree it was too soon for the letter. She did apologize.
A lot of people did complain about her skin color.
Mr. HU is not student body elected.
You have to admit that the picture is comical… There is a picture like that every year.
On a brighter note, HI! What year did you leave the plantation?
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AdrianainDC {October 14th, 2009 at 1:41 am}
@Buxxy,
Now we all know daggone well she did not write that letter of apology!
Dr. H was giving her the straight side-eye with that. . .
I think that people were going to be shocked initially, but got over it. Same as when a black queen first won at a traditionally white institution.
The pic is kinda funny. . .but if you look at the comments about it under the news articles, the way people have degraded black women from Hampton and in general – it’s not good.
I was released in 2000. . .O Phi O X!
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Buxxy {October 14th, 2009 at 1:58 am}
@AdrianainDC,
The always degrade us when they get a chance. Its the way of the other race.
C/O 2009 O Phi O XIII oooowwwwww!!!!!
You are old lol
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AdrianainDC {October 14th, 2009 at 2:01 am}
@Buxxy,
That wasn’t very Hampton-like
But, I am if XIV is on yard now! HA!
The_Eighth_Hokage {October 14th, 2009 at 11:00 am}
@Buxxy,
We here
OphiO XIV
HabitualLineCrossa {October 14th, 2009 at 2:04 am}
@AdrianainDC,
“I think that people were going to be shocked initially, but got over it. Same as when a black queen first won at a traditionally white institution.”
Such as when Black women won the Ms Universe two years in a row.
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:22 am}
@AdrianainDC, Had she done anything yet to show that she was being discriminated against? No! I could see if this was two months from now and she was having issues
though i feel you, in todays’ day and age of twitter, facebook, and hell every other form of social networking, it takes all of 3 seconds for the wrath of an entire student body to come down. not that this is what happened, just saying, it takes no time for everybody’s opinion to be known.
as far as the pic…yeah, thats the most popular pic and the most entertaining one for me. so i ran with it…
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AdrianainDC {October 14th, 2009 at 10:36 am}
@Panama Jackson, it takes no time for everybody’s opinion to be known.
And therein lies the problem – it’s not and wasn’t everyone’s opinion, only of a few. That is the only problem I have with the media’s portrayal of the situation. The rest of my problem lies with her stupid letter.
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 12:07 pm}
@AdrianainDC, i can dig it…welcome and sh*t btw
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Daygo Chick {October 14th, 2009 at 4:07 pm}
@AdrianainDC,
i agree. honestly i feel like this was family business. not to sound exclusive/shady but this coulda been handled privately within the HU community. if that letter had never been written there is no way CNN would have been on our campus yesterday. the media coverage is ridiculous and biased. i honestly just want to move past this.
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HUPirate in NY {October 14th, 2009 at 2:51 pm}
@AdrianainDC,
wassup fellow Hamptonian(s),
1st off shouts out to all my HU alum that posted and responded to this issue and that read this blog daily like myself.
2nd ONYX in da house!
3rd i’ll have to say, when i first heard this news Sunday night, i was a little alarmed. Me being a person that doesnt really see color in people and take them for what they are i have to admit that i felt some type of way about this jawn winning and representing OUR HBCU and she’s not black. I didnt choose to goto Hampton because it was a BLACK school, i went because it was a GOOD school, race color aside. I’m an advocate for HBCU’s because they (at least at Hampton) teach you how to survive in this world that’s not ours and the overall experience is priceless.
I wasnt at the pageant and couldnt tell you if she deserved to win or not, because she prolly did deserve it and was prolly tighter than all the other contestants and had it together.
( i do know the chick in the white dress- looks like she was looking at another camera her weave is terrible tho)
anyways back to my point, i do feel some type of way that she’s representing a BLACK institution and is not of the race/ethincity.
if it was a bigger state school like UVA or UM or wherever and a black girl won it probably wouldnt be an issue because there’s thousands more students each of different races and ethnicities. so they would probably be the best representation of the respective campus full of diversity.
But here, the story is different because its Hampton and its less than 6000 students and about 90% are black
Think about it when, Obama was elected maaad white people felt some type of way that a Black man was representing the best country in all of the world, they lightened up a bit when they finally realized that he was the best candidate and he’s doing a good job. They probably still feel some type of way about it.
I think i’m in the same shoes seeing as she represents a Historically Black college and she’s not black but she was more than likely the Best candidate to win which i have no problem with. Seeing as she also attends the satellite campus which is for mainly all nursing majors she cant really rep the University’s student body and address issues on campus cause she’s not there(that’s some bull ish). Someone in that position should be able to rep the entire university and engage with students on a day-to-day basis, not in VA Beach 35/40 minutes away! thats like having a coach who never shows up to practice and come Game day he shows up and wants to change a bunch of things around from the flow of how things were already going, that wouldnt be well recieved from the team.
The pageants @ HU are usually a popularity contest anyway and people always get maad when the popular Kappa, AKA, Alpha, Delta or Que doesn’t win and someone unpopular beasts the competition cause they were tight. -thats bull!
I will say that the student body has the right and opinion to feel some type of way about a non-black person repping the school i because its an HBCU.
I think I’ve spoke my piece- sorry for all the random thoughts
GO PIRATES!
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HUPirate in NY {October 14th, 2009 at 2:58 pm}
@HUPirate in NY,
I want to also add that even though she’s not black I will stand behind her as Ms. HU because she was the best candidate and i agree with the judges for selecting the best person. This is a straddling the fence issue for me cause I dont ever really see things as Black , White, Spanish whatever.
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Damn, I love this blog and I was hoping that this would be my safe place away from this topic. However, fate has failed me again.
This issue is multifaceted…
As a Hampton Alumni, I feel that I have to clear the air about this situation. First off, for the past 7-10 years, the student body of HU did not participate in the voting of Miss HU. Rather, the judges are selected by Miss America since the Miss HU pageant is a feeder pageant for Miss VA, and ultimately Miss America. The young ladies who participate in the pageant are fully aware of this and they are also aware of what is expected of them. The break down of the scores is swimsuit, talent, onstage Q&A, evening gown and an interview with the judges which takes place the day of the pageant. The interview and talent are about 70% of the score. (don’t quote me but google Miss America guidelines). With this being said, Nikole was the best that night. As you can see, Miss HU has nothing to do with being a representation of the student body. (this is an argument for a later date).
Students and alumni alike have to understand the politics of the pageant. It is about getting this chick to Miss America. For this reason, we should not be mad that a white chick won, but the system that allowed her to win. Everyone is so up in arms, but for the past couple of years no one has took the time to say “hey, we want our opinions to count”. Why not scream until the students get to vote for their queen… and once she wins by popular vote continue to bash her because that is the HU way ::cold stare:: Why not petition to have a Miss Hampton (the city) and a Miss Hampton University? ugh. Every decade seems to have a theme for Miss Hampton. As far as this young lady going to the VA beach campus, who cares! Just like your taxes go to uncle sam… her tuition goes to Hampton. Personal attacks to her character is just unnecessary. She won fair and square according to Miss America guidelines. Lets be adults about this. I truly feel that if students are upset that a black girl did not win then follow these steps:
a) tap your sister and say “you are shitty, get tight”
b) tap your brother and say “help me get better”
c) look in the mirror and look for areas of improvement
d) STOP HATING
To be honest, we all can use another lesson of what it means to be a Hampton Woman. So until we fully define that… chillax.
My biggest issue is that we claim this is different than white people spewing racist remakes at Obama whenever he does something. Aren’t we perpetuating that same ideology. Its actually pretty sad. Yes, she did jump the gum by writing to the president, but it is not a crime. Maybe if people wouldn’t have gone off on her on every blog and social networking site she wouldn’t have felt the need to ask for help. For one thing, I am truly embarrassed that it has even gotten this far. What happened to keeping family business in house? Now we have outsiders looking at us like we are stupid. Great job. I wish I had a university size belt to beat everyone with. (I am only speaking on it because it is already public) I am so disgusted… sorry for the long response.
In conclusion, I support my school and the current Miss Hampton University. Historically Black Colleges and Universities are not exclusive to black students. Especially not Hampton, since it was founded by a white man (like most) who sought to educated Native Americans and freed negros. HBCUs are constantly evolving. We can not sit back and allow them to stay the same. We must find a balance between preserving tradition and embracing the future. If not, we will watch our beloved schools close one by one.
Still rocking the Blue and White
Buxxy
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:23 am}
@Buxxy, well thank you for clearing ALL that up.
and i do agree…this situation REALLY didnt need to even get to this point.
however, game me something to write about.
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all i have to say is…”lil obama”? bish please…
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Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 10:49 am}
@lovin’ me,
I want someone to point out the fools that were calling her that.
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Reecie {October 14th, 2009 at 12:00 pm}
@Cheekie, she goes to the VA beach campus will like less than 100 students I’m told. Nobody calls her that. lol
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Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 12:05 pm}
@Reecie,
Okay, because it’s one thing to be delusional and say everyone was calling you that, but if it actually happened??? o_________________O
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lovin' me {October 14th, 2009 at 1:03 pm}
@Cheekie,
even if one person did joke around w/ her w/ the nickname she shoulda known, i.e. had enough common sense not to mention it. made her sound like a douche.
Me fail english? {October 14th, 2009 at 1:21 pm}
@Cheekie,
Lol. I actually feel bad for the girl. She is definitely thin-skinned and not that bright.
Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 12:08 pm}
@lovin’ me, welcome and sh*t
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lovin' me {October 14th, 2009 at 12:51 pm}
@Panama Jackson,
Thanks and sh*t, I’m delighted.
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Ok sooo I’ve been a follower of VSB for some time now and this is my FIRST comment. Yup yall finally made me do it.
I currently attend Hampton and I co-sign with what J.Delicious said…
The biggest thing that people need to get is that for the majority of the campus it is not a race issue. Sure there are going to be those people mad because she’s not black. They’re called haters. My biggest issue is the fact that she does not attend the main campus and doesn’t know HU culture. While the main school has over 5,000 students the VA Beach campus has 90. BIG DIFFERENCE. Plus she’s a transfer from VCU. She’s never had to deal with the perils of being a freshman and running to curfew. She’s never had to guess the mystery dish in the caf. She’s never been harassed by HUPD with too much time on her hands, done the whipple barn runaround, got fly to go to a student center 12-2 etc… I could go on and on. So for her to be a representative of HU and supposedly embody what the school stands for I don’t buy it. Sorry. Call me exclusive if you like but there are some things that you can’t just can’t fake.
*Also in case you couldn’t tell though I don’t like the fact she was chosen I’m really not mad at her. She has her crown she should be able to rock it for the rest of the year. It would be foolish and just flat out wrong to take it from her at this point. But the rules should be adapted to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
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Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 9:36 am}
@Daygo Chick,
does your name imply that you are FROM daygo. as in san diego??
if so, SOUTHEAST daygo in the house!!! whoop whoop!!
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Daygo Chick {October 14th, 2009 at 10:17 am}
@Gem of the Ocean,
Yes maam! Southeast born & bred!!!!
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Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 10:45 am}
@Daygo Chick,
whaaaaaat?!?!?! small world!!!
what part?? im from skyline
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 12:09 pm}
@Daygo Chick, welcome and sh*t…
who knew we had so many hampton alumn and current student readers…do ALL y’all know eachother???
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Dorian G. {October 14th, 2009 at 2:17 pm}
@Panama Jackson,
Thats what I’m trying to figure out, and can we get some pics (thats a given of course)
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Daygo Chick {October 14th, 2009 at 3:57 pm}
@Panama Jackson,
thanks..umm i don’t think i know any of the folks who post here. its not exactly like people are using their government names lol
@Gem of the Ocean
omg. i stay in skyline [when i'm not @ school of course] but i mess with emerald hills and encanto too lol
@HUPirate in NY
lucky!
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HUPirate in NY {October 14th, 2009 at 3:04 pm}
@Daygo Chick,
shouts out to you for having to guess what your eating in the cafe.
lmfao. never had to do that, played football!
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I’m not a Hampton grad but I did stay in a black girl last night and correct me if I’m wrong but weren’t most HBCU’s started by 2520 missionaries and bankrolled by 2520’s??? And the runners up that I see in the pic look just as average as Miss Hampton. Remind me again who gives a ish and why??? Tell me again what belongs to whom??? The picture looks like some tired hateful witches and the rumbling I hear sounds like it’s from some hating as bishes. Its not enough weave in all of horsedom and humandom to satisfy the demand but it’s for dam sure enough hate to go around over some irrelevant ish.
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AdrianainDC {October 14th, 2009 at 9:07 am}
@Triple Crown,
See – as I said earlier, the picture is unfair because the media took the worst one to publicize. I’ve seen all of the pictures and the majority are really nice with everyone smiling and such. So for you to say “hating” and do the b-word is completely false. No one really cares or would have cared until she labeled the entire campus racist in her letter!
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3 Crowns {October 14th, 2009 at 11:55 am}
@AdrianainDC, & Gem & Panama,
I too have seen other pictures from the event. Let’s not get it fcuked up, I’m refering to errbody that’s hating when I say “hating as bishes” including the winner. Just cause someone smiles in one instance doesn’t mean they are not hating in the next or same instance. But I’m probably the only one who can read any negative non verbal communication in any of the pics. Its clear to me that if no one is hating from within the pageant there’s plenty of hate outside of and regarding it. Would anybody be willing to bet their life that none of the sisters who competed hate the fact that a white girl won? The overwhelming feeling I get from those who oppose is that there is an implied & exclusive black ownership and birthright to HBCU pageant crowns and maybe we should institute the brown paperbag test as a requirement. That way we know who’s black enough to be considered or win. I still hold the crowns that own and subdue the earth, everything in it and beyond.
III
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Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 9:38 am}
@Triple Crown,
correct me if I’m wrong but weren’t most HBCU’s started by 2520 missionaries and bankrolled by 2520’s???
correct me if im wrong (im not so dont waste your time) but this has NOTHING to do with anything.
thnx. mgmt.
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:25 am}
@Gem of the Ocean, shots.fired.?
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I don’t care that she won. But really she’s not that hot. Girl in white is bangin’. Shoulda won. Wonder what she said? ***shrug***
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:26 am}
@Da Iceman, yeah thats my beef. its like the “Bring’Em Home Corollary”
if you’re going to bring a white girl home, make sure nobody can really blame you. she doesn’t fit that corollary.
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Wasn’t this girl was picked by her peers?
I feel like people are looking for a reason to bytch about something.
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Smiley Face {October 14th, 2009 at 8:05 am}
@Nicki Sunshine,
No..you’re selected by a committee.
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Nicki Sunshine {October 14th, 2009 at 8:51 am}
@Smiley Face, Got ya. Thanks.
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:26 am}
@Smiley Face, that’s what i used to tell all my chicks.
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LOL..please…Ms Hampton was a joke..well I wouldn’t say it was a joke but more cutesy, cutesy rah rah, pageantry type stuff when I entered as a freshman in 97 and left in ‘01, meaning nobody cared who she was, we were interested in homecoming, lol…QT IV baby! Most folk I know are upset more so at the letter than the fact that she won..oh well..give her , her 15 minutes..all I know is that her statement sounds just like the brochure I received with my application, lol
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I’m just here for the jokes
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PJ asks…
“Does anybody care? ”
I don’t.
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LOL, I figured you guys would be on this too. I blogged it as well at shakashawshow.wordpress.com. I’m more upset at the fact that she was upset abotu the “negative comments” being thrown away. If u go to an HBCU I need you to know more about the Black experience to know that sistas do not like being upstaged by white women, especially when it’s at their own sh*t. I’m more upset personally that the b*tch took it upon herself to write a letter not to the President of Hampton or even the chairman of the NAACP, but to the LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD. Are you serious? Im sure Obamas not touching this with a 10-foot pole…it’s like the chick thought Obama was about to come down to Hampton and take his belt off and straighten some Negroes out.
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Smiley Face {October 14th, 2009 at 8:54 am}
@Shaka Shaw, “it’s like the chick thought Obama was about to come down to Hampton and take his belt off and straighten some Negroes out.”
LMAO!!! FOR REAL!!
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Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 10:51 am}
@Smiley Face,
lmao that statement got me too
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miss t-lee {October 14th, 2009 at 8:58 am}
@Shaka Shaw,
“Im sure Obamas not touching this with a 10-foot pole”
He bet not!!! You see what happened last time with Gates and ‘nem.
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Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 11:59 am}
@miss t-lee,
If Obama were to intervene (He bet not!)…I propose a hair shop summit.
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miss t-lee {October 14th, 2009 at 1:33 pm}
@Cheekie,
Hahahaha.
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TPeezy {October 14th, 2009 at 10:00 am}
@Shaka Shaw,
“I’m more upset personally that the b*tch took it upon herself to write a letter not to the President of Hampton or even the chairman of the NAACP, but to the LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD.”
I co-sign this to the fullest. After reading a letter, I sensed a tone of condescension and 2520 entitlement.
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Me fail english? {October 14th, 2009 at 10:52 am}
@TPeezy,
“I sensed a tone of condescension and 2520 entitlement”
You too? Cue Pac’s “Wonda Why They Call you Bish”
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:28 am}
@Shaka Shaw, yeah, that point jumped out to me as well. i guess she has big dreams. first an HBCU, next the world. in that vein, who else was she going to ask to get involved.
benjamin jealous? he looks like her so he probably would have understood though.
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Su. L.A. {October 14th, 2009 at 2:03 pm}
@Panama Jackson,
first an HBCU, next the world. in that vein, who else was she going to ask to get involved.
*snickers*
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Nikole won’t win ms va or ms usa by throwing race flags and playing race cards in such a public manner. This negative publicity and her silly @$$ letters have guaranteed that Hampton U’s pageant committee can forget any such prospects until next year.
How’d her letter to Obama become so highly publicized? She wrote an OPEN letter to the him about this foolishness? Chick has a Ms Community College mentality. She needs to get her MIND right.
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miss kate {October 14th, 2009 at 2:12 pm}
@inHIcotton, I am screaming inside at “Ms. Community College mentality.” That’s exactly what I thought when I read that Rhetoric 101-challenged letter.
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While I’m sure this is important somewhere, it doesn’t rise to the level of importance that the media reaction is generating. A white chick won at a HBCU pageant…ok.
Look, there are more important things goin on such as we are a step closer to healthcare reform. Senator Snowe (R-WA) was the first Rep to break ranks and vote for the health care bill. That’s important.
I almost want to say the Right planted her letter to derail Obama from focusing on health care. ALMOST.
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:30 am}
@Stank-0, there’s ALWAYS more important things going on. that’s why we talk about this sh*t. who wants to spend all day dealing with the health care quagmire when you can escape to the world of white beauty queen pageantry at an HBCU.
if we focused on all that was really going on, we’d be CNN.
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Me fail english? {October 14th, 2009 at 10:39 am}
@Stank-0,
Pretty sure Olympia Snowe is from Maine. But eff her and the Bacchus bill!
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on to more pressing matters…
what (or should i say who) has foxy brown been eating?? does weight gain come with deafness and prison time?
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:31 am}
@Gem of the Ocean, you’re a quiet riot.
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Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 10:42 am}
@Gem of the Ocean,
Wait, Foxy Brown has a picture in the media? WTF, I thought she took a trip to the celeb Bermuda Triangle…
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miss t-lee {October 14th, 2009 at 10:45 am}
@Cheekie,
How did you miss it? Between the dress and her hideous false eyelashes, it was pretty hard to miss. lol
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Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 10:54 am}
@miss t-lee,
LOL i missed it too (i wasnt home) but i got texts from my brother like “are foxy brown and angie stone one in the same now? foxy has been keeping her dinner dates. mo money, mo problems, mo groceries”. i almost crashed Goldie laughing so hard. had to watch the HHH on replay at midnight.
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miss t-lee {October 14th, 2009 at 11:01 am}
@Gem of the Ocean,
Oh I didn’t see the show, but I did see the pics on various blogs when they first taped the show.
It’s not that she gotten that big, it’s just she don’t know how to dress the new body. She better recruit a team chunk stylist stat.
Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 11:39 am}
@miss t-lee,
well i for one am curious what brought on the serious weight gain. not that her size is the problem. but like, does dating a large man mean you too gotta bulk it up??
miss t-lee {October 14th, 2009 at 11:46 am}
@Gem of the Ocean,
Did I miss something? Who is she dating?
Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 12:06 pm}
@miss t-lee,
ricky ross. or so i heard…
miss t-lee {October 14th, 2009 at 1:45 pm}
@Gem of the Ocean,
Word?! Wow.
Um…yeah…lol
Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 11:53 am}
@miss t-lee,
“How did you miss it? Between the dress and her hideous false eyelashes, it was pretty hard to miss. lol”
That’s what I wanna know. I’m usually up on that “WTF happened to you?!” celeb ish (D’Angelo still is the reigning champ in that game. I’on care what no one say…lol)…
But, I need to look this mess up…
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miss t-lee {October 14th, 2009 at 1:46 pm}
@Cheekie,
Here ya go Cheekster.
http://www.missxpose.com/2009/09/2009-vh1-hip-hop-honors-red-carpet-more/
Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 1:54 pm}
@miss t-lee,
Girl, thanks! Yeah, erm…wow.
LMFAO @ that smedium red glove!! It’s like the glove was for the “Before Foxy Brown” and the “After Foxy Brown” decided to wear it anyway.
miss t-lee {October 14th, 2009 at 2:03 pm}
@Cheekie,
“LMFAO @ that smedium red glove!! It’s like the glove was for the “Before Foxy Brown” and the “After Foxy Brown” decided to wear it anyway.”
*flatline*
____^____^_______________
I noticed that ish too, I was like…’da hell is up with that glove? Okay…Foxy.
I’mma let you make it.
Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 2:44 pm}
@Cheekie,
l.m.a.o. @ It’s like the glove was for the “Before Foxy Brown” and the “After Foxy Brown” decided to wear it anyway.
SouthernGirl {October 14th, 2009 at 11:05 am}
@Gem of the Ocean,
please. you know long as inga got that wet n’ wild with the glossy pink shine she gon’ be alright.
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overit {October 14th, 2009 at 11:34 am}
@SouthernGirl, not inga.
LOL.
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If a dude can be homecoming queen, or prom queen or whateva anything can happen LLS…
P.S. I did not watch the Hip Hop honors
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 12:11 pm}
@OrangeStar616, don’t feel bad. i didn’t watch it either. hell, i forgot it was even coming on.
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OrangeStar616 {October 14th, 2009 at 3:07 pm}
@Panama Jackson, chile that was by choice LOL…..
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Personally I remember reading Zora Neale Hurston and she said in Their Eyes Were Watching God” that the white man and the black woman were the freest beings on earth”. Thus leaving black men and white women as the most oppressed beings on earth.
Its king of the guilty pleasure *underside snicker* with this ivory chick winning. White girls have been down with the brothas since ManDingo, Women Suffrage, and Domesticity.
But being black is a culture not just a skin color, becuase I’ve met some of the blackest crackers and some of the brightest and jiving of negroids.
Kudos for the White( Hawaiian) girl. This is just another reason why Howard University is the Mecca. Since Hampton just cnt get it right.
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OrangeStar616 {October 14th, 2009 at 10:05 am}
@The Hallway, whoa…. being black IS to be black, sorry, albeit being soulful can be universal and not necessarily just a balck thing at all
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The Hallway {October 14th, 2009 at 10:16 am}
@OrangeStar616,
I adore black people like no other, but when I start to get white girls that can give me an example of being black better than my black female cohorts than theres a problem.
I am problack more than anyone you would probably ever meet, but what my peers now consider to be black is quite repulsive, deplorable, and disfiguring to all of those that know what being black is.
But if you understand that we all are from afrika and the white social partner has come from within and out of black culture(Egypt, Afrika) then you can inturn understand that being black is transcendental and not solely based upon skin color alone. Its a self-conscienceness with blackness also. Knowing your history transcends race(skin color) rather black or white.
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The Hallway {October 14th, 2009 at 10:17 am}
@The Hallway,
race=being skin color in this discussion
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OrangeStar616 {October 14th, 2009 at 10:32 am}
@The Hallway, um yeah I know mankinds history that still doesn;t make a caucasion black or an asian etc , soulful perhaps and that transcends race more than anything, living from the spirit..they still not black tho unless you black LLS
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The Hallway {October 14th, 2009 at 10:37 am}
@OrangeStar616,
What’s “black”?
Because everyone has a soul rather evil, good, or whatever. Every humanbeing has a soul, soul is not interchangeable with black.
Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 10:33 am}
@The Hallway, I am problack more than anyone you would probably ever meet, but what my peers now consider to be black is quite repulsive, deplorable, and disfiguring to all of those that know what being black is.
word? do tell. please do tell.
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AdrianainDC {October 14th, 2009 at 10:44 am}
@The Hallway,
Um, this Hamptonian, who wrote her graduate thesis on Zora Neale Hurston recalls that book stating that black women were “de mules of da world”. (No Howard hate since my parents met there and my sister went).
Last I checked, America as a racialized society, places more emphasis on the phenotype when determining race. This is not to say that there are not some cultural elements of “blackness”, but to accept that someone can become black solely by culture directly contradicts the construction of race.
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Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 11:08 am}
@The Hallway,
I adore black people like no other, but when I start to get white girls that can give me an example of being black better than my black female cohorts than theres a problem.
im sorry sweetheart but this line of thinking is NOT logical. if errybody can be black based on their ancestral ties to afriKa (even as far back as lucy or ardi) than there really is no such thing as being “black”. if youre gonna define black as cultural and having an awareness and historical knowledge of the motherland, then anybody can be black or any other culture that took world history in grade school. and thus renders all real concepts of cultural ties obselete. and well, that doesnt make sense.
so NO. sorry. i dont buy it.
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The Hallway {October 14th, 2009 at 11:27 am}
@Gem of the Ocean,
I would truly like to know you alls concept of being “black”?
There are other cultures, black included. But they all have only one origin which is black.
I have a problem understanding that you all can accept black culture:
from black(Afrikan) humanity origin, to a multiplicity of cultutes, then to black asone culture but not in the order of black as one culture, multiplicity of other culture, and thus black as origin for humanity, again.
Is ther a “black club” that you guys r apart of?
Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 11:34 am}
@The Hallway,
my definition of black is not up for debate. you saying you know white girls that can “show” you black better than black women. so YOU are the one defining black. yet at the same time pawning blackness off on not race but culture and ties to afriKa.
and if all ppl originate from afriKa, why cant/dont ALL ppl show you black??
The Hallway {October 14th, 2009 at 12:16 pm}
@Gem of the Ocean,
and if all ppl originate from afriKa, why cant/dont ALL ppl show you black??
Thats why I said when you know and embrace your hisory, you can inturn express blackness. You have to embrace fact. But if you hate or are disgusted of being black or partly black, or anything else(hoe, lame, geek, not manly) why would you express it, you would rather surpress it. All of these are pychological expressions not physical if you notice.
True, skin color can visibly say your black, but what about the black people whom appear to be other than. Physical characteristics do not suffice alone in this arugment.
If you know your a h0e, but you hate being one would you express that outwardly?
Other cultures don’t embrace their blackness(origin/cradle of civilization), because due to this history of struggle which black(color) people assoicate to themselves and themselves only, why would they relate? Black people make their struggle so inclusive, though we have all been wronged by one general Roman, grecian, european foe. But due to them understanding their history and wrongs they(foe) do still have Black Athena held in the CAtholic Church why beacuse they know their origin, but their compulsive; they dislike where they originated from.
saying another is black does not in anyway hinder our history of being black and going through sh*t. It only encompasses others, whom are our biological descandents in identifying that they came out of us( the closer to origin). Their not some new species that are completely detached based on their skin color. But their histoy is partly mf’in black
And yet again Gem of The Vast Ocean we cannot have an intelligent argument if you do not state what black is? Can you not define What black is for some reason?
I may not be able to give you a precise definition, because this is my internal(humanistic, spiritual, ever-changing that what life is) search, but by being black I can tell you it is not based on skin color alone, its simply more complex. And this statement is true becuaase along with skin color their is a black experience that you go through being black.
Black is internal, but you cnt get in the black club based of skin color alone. Example Claranece Thomas blue black A$$
For some reason I think you all think the Afrikan-American experience is the only black experience.
Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 12:35 pm}
@The Hallway,
my ocean is quite vast, thank you for noticing *wink*
but seriously, im not really interested in having the “what is black?” conversation which is why MY definition of black is not valid here. you made a statement and then made another statement that (to me) did not support your argument of black not being a color/race thing.
i think most can agree that ALL humans originate from “afriKa.” but afriKa in lucy/ardi’s time is NOT the same afriKa even a couple thousand years ago during the time of flourishing ancient civilizations. hell, continents have shifted and separated from the time of the first “humans” walking this earth.
so to say we are ALL black simply becuz we share common genetic links of the first humans in afriKa is oversimplifying things. i, for one, do NOT buy that argument.
and i would also argue that the “black” experience is an african-american experience. in the sense that the black experience is rooted in american history (thanks to the atlantic slave trade). though it mirrors other afriKan-descendants (im talkin last 1000 or so years) experiences, it is not one in the same.
Me fail english? {October 14th, 2009 at 1:08 pm}
@Gem of the Ocean,
“but afriKa in lucy/ardi’s time is NOT the same afriKa even a couple thousand years ago during the time of flourishing ancient civilizations. hell, continents have shifted and separated from the time of the first “humans” walking this earth.”
and THIS is why you’re my ebff! Forgot this very salient point. By his logic, we are all Zambian as well, I guess.
Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 1:36 pm}
@Me fail english?,
word.
we could all be nigerian too. that would suck. i have beef with nigeria-born and raised nigerians.
Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 11:29 am}
@The Hallway,
“I adore black people like no other, but when I start to get white girls that can give me an example of being black better than my black female cohorts than theres a problem.”
I’d sincerely like to know: What example did they give you exactly that led you to believe they can perceive Blackness better than someone who actually is?
I mean, I can give you an example of what it means to be the president, but until I’m sitting my feet up on that oval desk, it don’t mean jacksh*t. You can tell someone anything, but did they show you?
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The Hallway {October 14th, 2009 at 11:35 am}
@Cheekie,
Whats ur definition of black Cheekie?
Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 11:36 am}
@Cheekie,
I’d sincerely like to know: What example did they give you exactly that led you to believe they can perceive Blackness better than someone who actually is?
great question, o cheekie one.
Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 11:56 am}
@Cheekie,
“Whats ur definition of black Cheekie?”
There is no concrete definition. But, you sure as hell gotta BE it to truly KNOW it. Period.
Still, can you answer my question, though?
Me fail english? {October 14th, 2009 at 10:32 am}
@OrangeStar616,
Yeah, I’m wondering what knowing your history/anthropology has to do with being black. As if whites, Asians, etc can’t understand human evolution without switching races.
I guess regardless of what race you were pre-matriculation, once you get an anthropology degree you’re all black? GTFOHWTBS.
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OrangeStar616 {October 14th, 2009 at 10:56 am}
@Me fail english?, makes no sense at all but verbose as he11 tho LLS….
and living from the spirit Hallway dear transcends race more than anything ever, not what you speak on……black is a race, not a state of enlightenment or coolness…
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Me fail english? {October 14th, 2009 at 12:44 pm}
@OrangeStar616,
Pseudo-intellects make me a sad panda.
Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 12:56 pm}
@Me fail english?,
youre a panda. overit’s a koala. what animal shall i be?? hmmmm….
OrangeStar616 {October 14th, 2009 at 2:37 pm}
@Me Fail English, 3x LLS….I think some folk just to debate for the sake of debating…I don’t have that kind of energy to waste on nonsensical sh*t..
why not get into are asians really asian? is a monkey really a baby gorilla? is the sky blue? did the cow really jump over the moon etc etc etc
LOL
miss t-lee {October 14th, 2009 at 3:00 pm}
@OrangeStar616,
“why not get into are asians really asian? is a monkey really a baby gorilla? is the sky blue? did the cow really jump over the moon etc etc etc”
I really heart you for this right chere.
*giggling*
The Hallway {October 14th, 2009 at 10:58 am}
@Me fail english?,
Once you accept the fact that being white or asian is not even a race, there is only one human race then maybe you can state a valid argument. Neither of you have told me what black is yet though, *BLACK WOMEN*. Whole lotta talk with no explanation.
WE are only haveing this conversation on what being black is becuase somewhere along the line there was a culutural compulsive, with an ulterior motive.
I agree that there is a certain struggle along with being black or non-white, but there is a commonalty of oppression by whites through all culutres, which were all at one point or another black in the essense you speak, only by boundaries and climatic changes have their appearance changed unless you believe in polygenesis(a White Concept) which disclaims their(white) affilationor conception from the black race, you guys represent. Which Hawaiian(1800’s sugar rush), asain, jewish(Holocaust semites), Indians(Happy Columbus Day), etc all have experienced. Thats why I have no problem with Hawaii chick winning, rather she realizes, her mama, or you two and yall mamas realize it her culture has endured the “black” struggle.
But if this color or melanin complex that you hold on to you is so dear, then by all means grip tightly.
What is “Black”, once again?
because if i can argue by skin color, physical features alone then light skinned people are not black enough, right? NO *smh*. Color only gives us a precusor or prejudice to one’s history, but in its entirety it may not be true.
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Me fail english? {October 14th, 2009 at 12:40 pm}
@The Hallway,
Okay I lied. I’m not reading the vast majority of this novel as it stopped making sense somewhere around line 1.
How are you gonna deny the existence of any races (other than the human) at all and then say this:
agree that there is a certain struggle along with being black or non-white, but there is a commonalty of oppression by whites through all culutre
So you acknowledge that there is a difference between blacks, nonwhites and whites…you just dont like to call them “races”? Fine. We shall refer to them “cheeseburgers”.
On top of that your whole post was predicated upon who qualified as a member of the black …er….”cheeseburgers” and who did not.
Lastly, I (unfortunately) glimpsed your final idiotic paragraph and could not be more disappointed. If you think that all oppression is “black struggle”, that we have a monopoly on this, that white people have never been enslaved, discriminated against (or whatever asinine definition you fashioned for “black struggle”) your knowledge of history is sorely lacking. You should be embarassed and please do not post again until you complete the 7th grade. Night night.
Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 12:55 pm}
@Me fail english?,
you just dont like to call them “races”? Fine. We shall refer to them “cheeseburgers”
NOT cheeseburgers. dead. dead. and dead.
note from the grave: i love you, e-bff. if only id had a chance to meet you in person. sincerely, gem of the dead sea.
Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 1:00 pm}
@me fail english,
Ok, “cheeseburgers”?! LMFAO. That is THEE best comeback I’ve ever heard to a semantics argument in the history of history.
The Hallway {October 14th, 2009 at 11:41 am}
@Me fail english?,
Thus if they knew their history than they would inturn know that they have blackness, because that is man’s origin or humanity’s orgin?
So why again are they not indeed partly black?
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Me fail english? {October 14th, 2009 at 12:27 pm}
@The Hallway,
LMAO! Because “African” and “Black” are NOT one in the same!
Are NOT synonmous!
Are NOT interchangeable!
I’ll read your novel later but for now I’ll simply say this: For a man who seems so assured of his cultural/racial awareness I find it absurdly comical that simple concepts like non-black Africans or 6 other continents from which people claim origin elude you.
*Scooby Doo confused face*
TPeezy {October 14th, 2009 at 10:33 am}
@The Hallway,
“This is just another reason why Howard University is the Mecca. Since Hampton just cnt get it right.”
I was gonna make a similiar statement, but didn’t wanna start a Real HU vs. The Institute situation.
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The Hallway {October 14th, 2009 at 11:07 am}
@TPeezy,
Race is a white develope. I am black so I dont conform myself to ideologies made by my white social counterpart, my white cultural compulsive.
Race is not skin color. AMERICA= I am Race is only a concept of the races to resources, just as “class” your abilty to protect your resources by means of affilation, wealth, or any other postive in a socioeconomic sense.
When you say black is a skin thing you disconnect from all of those other people (not races), because an AfriKan I conest with a more rooted blackness from a different land would contest that your not black at all, your American. Black is a conscienceness along with a melanin thing, but its not just skin color only, that does not suffice.
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Daydreamer {October 14th, 2009 at 11:59 am}
@The Hallway, Hmmmmmmm. The Black race as it is defined in America does not exclude color; it in fact makes color among all other membership rights the MAIN prerequisite! With that also comes the understanding that the secret code to be a part of the black race AND culture are facial features, hair texture, type of food consumed, voice tonation and inflection, music choices, the lists goes on and on and on. This is in no way to imply that we are a monolithic people because we aren’t. However, it is the poly-mixture that indeed makes us so unique and flyyyy AND BLACK-unapologetically.
So no matter what you say about there being a ‘human race’ in this “post racial America” (you and other folks want to pretend is in existence) FAILS. How so Day?, you ask…. Well the mere fact we are engaging in a conversation about how you seem to confuse one’s ‘I know black people knowledge’ as kudos and acceptance into the black race/culture is proof in itself. *blank stare*
We-the blackies- will be happy to embrace you when you exit from your rock.
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 12:12 pm}
@Daydreamer, hmm…now THIS is shots fired.
i’m mad you threw the smiley face in the end to make it seem nicer. lol.
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Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 12:16 pm}
@Daydreamer,
“Well the mere fact we are engaging in a conversation about how you seem to confuse one’s ‘I know black people knowledge’ as kudos and acceptance into the black race/culture is proof in itself. ”
Woo, lordy! Tell. It.
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The Hallway {October 14th, 2009 at 12:37 pm}
@Daydreamer,
So to say if one embraces all that is black along with culture and all other Sh*t. And they infact know that this is where they originated from, they arent black? The human race is not mechanical structures or transformers, everthing has a beginning Im stating that all other cultures have a black beginning and therefore can consider or identify themselves as being partly black.
Im still waiting on what is black But no one seems to want to answer this question?
And if we are to be poly-mixtured meaning more than one, can we attest to the fact that more than one culture(asian, jew, mexican, hawaiian, arab) or race came from within this one origin. These being subcultures meaning parts of a whole culture, which is indeed black. Their not black, only until they refute this origin making them countercultured meaning against or not apart of.
Unique or fly
WE’re this because we are the matirculation of all their is, but its quite ridiculous to state other dont possess blackness.
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Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 12:45 pm}
@The Hallway,
“Im still waiting on what is black But no one seems to want to answer this question?”
I answered you up above, but you never answered mine. Don’t go running about people not answering your question, when you still negated mine. In fact, you answered my question with another question.
o_O
Maybe it got lost in the shuffle? Here it is again:
I’d sincerely like to know: What example did they give you exactly that led you to believe they can perceive Blackness better than someone who actually is?
This was in response to what you stated:
“I adore black people like no other, but when I start to get white girls that can give me an example of being black better than my black female cohorts than theres a problem.”
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The Hallway {October 14th, 2009 at 12:58 pm}
@Cheekie,
I got you when I get back from class.
Me fail english? {October 14th, 2009 at 12:47 pm}
@The Hallway,
“Im still waiting on what is black But no one seems to want to answer this question?”
Oh so you’re just gonna act like you don’t see this entire first paragraph Daydreamer posted:
The Black race as it is defined in America does not exclude color; it in fact makes color among all other membership rights the MAIN prerequisite! With that also comes the understanding that the secret code to be a part of the black race AND culture are facial features, hair texture, type of food consumed, voice tonation and inflection, music choices, the lists goes on and on and on. This is in no way to imply that we are a monolithic people because we aren’t. However, it is the poly-mixture that indeed makes us so unique and flyyyy AND BLACK-unapologetically.
This shet is tired. NEXT!
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The Hallway {October 14th, 2009 at 12:57 pm}
@Me fail english?,
Im tired too. LOL
Daydreamer {October 14th, 2009 at 1:28 pm}
@Me fail english?, WOW!!!! LOL! thanks! I’m glad I’m not the only one *blank staring*. But just in case let me be clear……
@The Hallway….. You see what Me Fail English did to back me up?! That’s blackness. My reference to mono/poly referred to stereotypical characteristics not just apperances. So just in case you need more black definitions read VSB more or look within yourself. Blackness just is boo……
*drops a quarter in the bucket of the yelling 5%ers on 34th st and walks away*
The Hallway {October 14th, 2009 at 12:55 pm}
@The Hallway,
But I do Like this being black discussion, which is one of the reasons Im glad Im black in the first place.
Its quite exhausting trying to aruge this, because we all have different perceptions on what black is. or maybe just me.
Im tired, like I said my journey of my perception ofblackness is everchanging, I had my problack you aint got sh*t on us thing goin on, but apart of being black is being open for other interpretations my views my change. But I alwas have to keep my mind open. Thinking critically is my drug. Everything cnt be so simple.
Our violence towards one another and hinderance of one another displayed throughout America and other continents; makes me reach and grab from all sources on what being black is and how to solve the problems we all deal with. Personally I disagree with intergration or any of that table scrap sh*t.
But I am glad I have a vsb or vss community where i can discuss and argue such releveant topics with. I love you all for that, black folk.
I do also have a 1:10 class so for now you can KISS MY BLACK A$$
*jadakiss laugh*
until I return shoutout to GEms Vast Ocean. I need to learn how to swim. LMBAO
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Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 12:58 pm}
Ok, this is officially The Twilight Zone.
Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 1:08 pm}
@The Hallway,
too bad im not a life guard. nor do i give swimming lessons. my waters are off limits to novices.
oh. and this comment…
Thinking critically is my drug. Everything cnt be so simple.
makes my eye twitch. becuz youre lying to us. your whole claim that the only qualification to be “black” or obtain “blackness” is to be classified as a human. and that IS simple in thought.
Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 1:11 pm}
@The Hallway,
oh and last question:
is your a$$ actually black?? like in color or phenotype…
The Hallway {October 14th, 2009 at 1:19 pm}
@ GEm of The Ocean,
Southside of Chicago, Englewood
E-block type black.
I like your ocean rebuttal, but the major reason why races are inclusive becaseu others like to believe that this sh*T didnt begin and end with black thats why I have a problem just limiting it to just black people African_American.
Because Im not gone say u biting my blackness, no your whole being came out of my existence. We’re more than just black the now is based upon the foundation of our past of if we can say that, we shud be able to say they have blackness.
Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 1:33 pm}
@The Hallway,
Southside of Chicago, Englewood
E-block type black.
is this supposed to mean something? i mean, does your geographic location (i know about englewood) make you more black then a black (as in color, descendent of african slaves) from madison, wisconsin?
that then begs the question, how black can black get? are there levels of blackness? does being from an “at risk inner city” rank higher on the blackness scale?
The Hallway {October 14th, 2009 at 1:47 pm}
@Gem of The Ocean,
Thats why I said I didnt think defining black was simple because I believe its degrees.
But my geographical location has nothing to do with. It just a psychological rendering that since I rely on, to pushes me through these combative times when one may attack your character of being black. Like when ur in an unfamiliar place, but you still do wuts familiar to u. Its a comfort zone within a discomfort zone
Thats why I said black is a state of being and its transdental along with skin color, but Im crazy. Becuase our(U N MINE) experiences may never be the same but we can find identify with one another because were black, just like other cultures or people should be able to.
Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 1:50 pm}
@The Hallway,
“African_American”
Question: Is there a reason for the underscore instead of a hyphen?
The Hallway {October 14th, 2009 at 1:55 pm}
@ Cheekie,
Just a mistake about the underscore,. I aint getting no psuedo-intellect sh*t with it, as Me Fail @ Englis put it. lol
Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 1:58 pm}
@The Hallway,
Oh, lol, ok, I was just going along with how you write your other posts. Thought you were tryin’ to be deep or some ish.
I’ll just say this….when I see a face that looks like mine (a black face) on the homecoming court at Yale, Stanford, and Harvard, all this wouldn’t be an issue. But people are mad because of this double standard!
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Anon. {October 14th, 2009 at 10:33 am}
@As Is,
I graduated from Stanford U., and it would be a surprise to me if we had a homecoming court.
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Gem of the Ocean {October 14th, 2009 at 11:13 am}
@Anon.,
lol
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As Is {October 14th, 2009 at 11:21 am}
@Anon.,
You know where I was going with it at least, right?
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 12:13 pm}
@As Is, i do. quick stanford story. back in like 99, me and a gang of my folks went to the bayou classic and one of my boys was on exchange to the ‘house from stanford.
we saw some chick he knew from stanford out there who was pretty unattractive. he was like, “oh yeah? well at stanford, she’s a dime”
we all fell out laughing at the table and then thanked our lucky stars for going to school in the AUC.
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Dorian G. {October 14th, 2009 at 2:30 pm}
@Panama Jackson,
I don’t know kid, I seen some Reds at Republic Gardens like 2 years ago, gang of em probably like 9 or so. I’m thinking ok where are Y’ALL from? Ol girl was like Stanford. I’m just saying
So this blog is one of my favorite spaces to actively procrastinate during my work day; never commented, but read it regularly. As a 2003 graduate of Hampton University, I just want to provide a bit of context. Although her race does play a role in much of the student reaction, it is exacerbated by the fact that she is not an active member of the campus community. Not just that, but most students have no idea who she is; she transferred from VCU to Hampton last year and attends the VA Beach campus, which only has about 90 students. Two facts fly directly in the face of the racism accusations of Lil’ Obama: (1) Mr. HU, chosen by a panel of his peers, in non-Black (I’ve heard he’s 100% Asian and I’ve heard he’s Black and Asian—saw a picture of him, he has a Northern VA octoroon quality to his appearance) and has been completely accepted by Hampton students as they are familiar with him and know of his involvement in the campus community–I believe he is also a Sigma. (2)In my senior year, a white member of the marching band was selected as the drum major for that year and he was actually celebrated! Students knew him and were very fond of him; they also knew he was deserving, regardless of his race. When HBCU tradtion is considered, the drum major for the marching band is a much bigger deal amongst the students than the winner of a pageant…
All Hampton students know that Miss Hampton is not chosen by students, nor are the criteria in any way related to someone being representative of the Hampton student body. Miss Hampton is chosen based on the criteria of the Miss America pageant and the winner is typically someone who has the best chance of winning Miss VA. This is why if you’ve ever seen the Ebony Black College Queens spread, a lot of the young ladies look like regular broads and Miss Hampton USUALLY looks like a Black barbie doll (though some swamp-donkeys have slipped through the cracks from time to time). Ok, back to Miss Hampton…
I’m not one to question someone’s motives (though that is exactly what I’m about to do right now), but it really makes me wonder why she would want so much to represent a student body that she in no way understands. If she had an understanding of the student body and the overall culture of the school, she should have anticipated a less than warm reception. Many Black students go to HBCUs, in general, and Hampton, in particular, for very specific reasons…
Most of the people I know went to Hampton to be immersed in their culture; many Hampton students are coming from predominantly white settings where they were the only Black student in the class, or even in the school, for that matter. One of my girlfriends was the only Black student in her high school until her senior year, when her brother enrolled as a freshman. For many of us it was the first time we saw that all of the best students were Black, the most popular and attractive students were Black, the most involved students were Black; we found this very uplifting and affirming. So, I think most current students are in a space where they may be less than welcoming to someone who’s existence is consistently affirmed in greater society coming in and taking the opportunity away from one of “their own”.
Along the same lines, I must really be missing all of the anger and hatred being directed at her that made her treatise to the President requesting a redress of grievances. As a member of the Hampton community, I’ve honestly seen more outrage over the crowning of Miss Hampton contestants that people thought weren’t cute. I’m sure there were quite a few grumbles, side eyes, and out of pocket comments. However, I’m sure there were no actions that warrant a letter to the President basically calling the entire student body of your beloved Home by the Sea racist.
Damn, I just scrolled up and realized this is a long post so its gonna end right now…
Ok one last thing, please keep in mind that this young lady took all of her General Studies courses at Virginia Commonwealth, so Hampton University is not responsible for that atrocious grammar.
I hope ya’ll don’t ban me from the site for reprinting my dissertation in the comment section.
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Liz {October 14th, 2009 at 10:45 am}
@AmbitiousBrown, LOL! no we aren’t gonns ban you. Thanks for commenting!
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Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 11:24 am}
@AmbitiousBrown,
“Although her race does play a role in much of the student reaction, it is exacerbated by the fact that she is not an active member of the campus community.”
I heard this as well. Now, I know little to nothing about pageant culture, but I know dayum well “beauty” ain’t the only factor.
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miss t-lee {October 14th, 2009 at 11:26 am}
@AmbitiousBrown,
Your comment broke it down. At first, it seemed like people were just upset cause she was 2520, but apparently it goes much deeper.
‘Preciate it. Hell, I hadn’t even read about this story until today, but with this and help of google, I’m officially up on game.
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AmbitiousBrown {October 14th, 2009 at 11:49 am}
@miss t-lee,
oh yeah, the google is the truth–that is why I figured in the age of being able to find out every damn thing about everybody, Lil’ Obama would have thought twice before bringing her plight to the attention of the public. I’m just waiting on some ridiculous Spring Break pictures or a recording of her using racial slurs that would make Mark Furman call Rev Al.
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 12:14 pm}
@AmbitiousBrown, you can’t ban the snowman.
welcome and sh*t.
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“Is this really a big deal, at all?”
I think she made it a far bigger deal by writing a letter to Obama, pleading him to visit the campus. To even consider comparing her situation to his, is ludicrous at the very least. I’m glad she released the apology statement, because that was ridiculous.
“One time for the white chick with the black-spelled first name.”
*snicker* I thought about that, too. Then again, I figured it might be a Hawaiian thang. A coworker of mine has a Hawaiian name and I thought she was Black before I met her too.
I didn’t go to an HBCU, but of course I can understand the sting felt by my sistas. The very idea of HBCUs were founded so that we could have something of our very own due to being ostracized from other institutions. Now, that doesn’t mean 2520s weren’t allowed, but I think that it stings for sistas when they rarely have a true moment to shine in beauty pageants anyway.
Now, in regards to who’s to be mad at, I think you’re right in that it ain’t her fault. Ya know, when I read about this, I thought about the overhyping of 2520s doing what we been doing from the jump. Like how folks geeked over Eminem more than they would a Black rapper of his caliber (or hell, better). Or Jessica Biel’s rump. It’s not just because it’s a nice rump, it’s because it’s a nice 2520 rump. So, it’s kinda the same thing with Nikole in that, not only is she pretty (eh), but she is pretty, White, and attends an HBCU. Folks are like, “Whoa! A 2520 in a primarily Black beauty pageant! How DOES she do it?! Extra credit!”
So, I think the issue is, WHY do we (the proverbial), as Black folks so dayum eager to uplift a 2520…even before our own people?
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 12:16 pm}
@Cheekie, The very idea of HBCUs were founded so that we could have something of our very own due to being ostracized from other institutions.
that reads like the fluffy definition of why HBCU’s were founded. leaves out the whole, they aint want us at their schools so some white folks with money and a heart decided to pony up and start some schools for the negroes. i’m pretty sure it had nothing to do with us having something of our own, or at least not in the prideful sense of it anyway.
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Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 12:24 pm}
@Panama Jackson,
Still, though, regardless of how it was techincally founded, don’t ya’ll still consider it something for Black folks to cherish as yours?
I mean, if you didn’t…there would be blog posts listing why HBCUs are the dopeness.
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Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 12:26 pm}
That meant to say *wouldn’t.
*grumble* Dayum Speedy Gonzales arse edit button…
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Whew! Wow! I mean white folks have been given crazier appointments in black America, eg Hairshow Champion at Bronner Bros. But this along with white(and non-black) NPHC members BURNS ME UP!!! Damn! Can’t we have anything for ourselves?! I mean sure come and enjoy the education of our esteemed universities but know when to hold ‘em and fold ‘em. Being a Caucasian Queen at a HBCU is the biggest oxymoron EVER. Black school queens represent not only the obvious B in HBCU, but they are to also embody ALL of what the college/university is all about. White folks and America just have not gotten there. They can empathize all day but they’ll never represent black people or the strength and valor our schools do.
As a proud alum of NC A&T, and Miss A&T candidate, I can’t even begin to tell you how this would go down at T!!!! I guess every HBCU is different but we Aggies, take Miss A&T to heart- like for real. We own that *ish! So besides a complete uproar and protest at the fact Becky Sue even think enough of herself to put in an application, ummmmm yeah. Have a seat Boo!
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As Is {October 14th, 2009 at 11:23 am}
@Daydreamer,
“Damn! Can’t we have anything for ourselves?! I mean sure come and enjoy the education of our esteemed universities but know when to hold ‘em and fold ‘em. Being a Caucasian Queen at a HBCU is the biggest oxymoron EVER. ”
TRUE THAT!
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Ahhhh…I love this. If it wasn’t okay for the girl to win Miss Hampton, then maybe she shouldn’t have been accepted into the school, right?! Heck no! That’s not fair.
Since people probably really don’t vote anyway, I’m failing to see the problem. From my understanding, the students didn’t vote this chick in anyway…the decision was left up to the powers that be. Maybe in the past, the students were voting heffas in who really didn’t deserve it or their character left much to be desired. Who knows…
At any rate, I support Nikole! Folk are just gonna have to step their game up for next year!
The letter to Obama was ridiculous though…welcome to our world chick!!! LOL!!!
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Panama Jackson {October 14th, 2009 at 12:18 pm}
@This Just In…, Ahhhh…I love this. If it wasn’t okay for the girl to win Miss Hampton, then maybe she shouldn’t have been accepted into the school, right?!
damn skippy!!!! jk.
though i have to wonder. so she transferred from VCU to Hampton but decided to go to the campus with 100 folks. me thinks she decided to go where the least amount of dark buts were.
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Maybe, because I went to a PWI, I care about DEEZ more than care about a non-black winning homecoming queen at HBCU.
When in h.s., a lesbian couple won for cutest couple. Revolutionary? Maybe. But I’m not gonna lie…I voted for them because they were, obviously, different than other couples. Plus the other couples in the running were either cheating or beating on each other. I no keed!
So maybe folk voted for ole girl because she was different…who knows. But it doesn’t seem like a big deal to me.
That is all…
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@PanamaJackson
“me thinks she decided to go where the least amount of dark buts were.”
*dead* Quoting one fool for another. I say fool for Nikole becuz she beelined the Prez, head on the mountain for an ant-hill problem. Womp.
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I think it’s crazy that anyone outside of that campus cares. Some HBCUs are just that “Historically Black”. Some of the smaller campuses have just as many non-black as black students now. If not more non-black. So what if she got homecoming queen. Hampton won’t lose their HBCU status. I have a white friend who got a minority scholarship to NC A&T. So maybe this girl received something like this that enticed her to go to Hampton from Hawaii. Or maybe she threw a dart at a board. Who knows. I just don’t care enough about “Homecoming Queens” to be offended. So what if one of our own didn’t come away with that crown. At least they will graduate and with an education. Isn’t that what we went to college for anyway?
And as for that weave….. LAWD, help that child! Don’t be mad at the white chick. be mad at your friends for not telling you your hair looked hot mess! That’s why she didn’t get any votes. She don’t have a friend int he world……
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So long as she was born a woman. I don’t know if anybody said it yet but we all came from Africa… N E Ways I’m sleep deprived and got that itis…
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Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 3:46 pm}
@WuDaMan,
In other news, someone confused me more than you today, Wu. *coughTheHallwaycough*. Accomplishment? I think so.
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WuDaMan {October 14th, 2009 at 4:08 pm}
Say it ain’t so Cheekie? I… I’m bein replaced? Oh The Horror!!! *thrashes about on desk* Which thread? WHICH THREAD!! EVERY BLOG I GOT TO PROVE MY LOVE!!!
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Me fail english? {October 14th, 2009 at 4:10 pm}
@WuDaMan,
“EVERY BLOG I GOT TO PROVE MY LOVE!!!”
Lmao! Shy brother strikes again!
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WuDaMan {October 14th, 2009 at 4:20 pm}
@Me fail english?,
C that’s why I fuggs W/cho stankin ssa!!! Lean in & get this sugar. LOL
Cheekie {October 14th, 2009 at 5:01 pm}
@WuDaMan,
Ain’t no other you, Wu.
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I went to Howard University, I never once voted for homecoming court. So I guess I’m part of the blame. That white girl probably got two of her friends to actually vote and won!
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She did what? She wrote the President for help? You have gotta be kidding. Damn. Until I read that, I coulda cared less too.
Hell, my HS homecoming queen was wider than she was short, and knock-kneed and ugly to boot. Her competition was a line of pretty girls. It had to be jealousy that enough votes weren’t cast for them.
So there our high school was, the laughing stock as one of our finest brothas walked arm in arm across the football field with a 350 lb. troll.
*dying laughing at the memory*
But back to Ms. Hampton.
I can’t shake the images –
of the jungle
and the drums
and a big ole boiling pot,
of no British militia around to save her
from the ‘cannibalistic savages’
and her acting like Tarzan’s Jane,
calling on the Great Tribal Chief with the funny name,
for rescue.
Tragic how quickly some of the the liberals regress…
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Me fail english? {October 14th, 2009 at 4:08 pm}
@Kit (Keep It Trill),
haha. I got more of an image of Massa’s daughter amidst a slave mutiny but pretty much the same thing.
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I’m surprised no one has brought up the white chick that won at Kentucky State..sounds like people just wanna see a train wreck…
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Had the students of Hampton voted a white woman into the Homecoming Queen spot, I wouldn’t raise an eyebrow. After all, it’s a popularity contest, and if you are the most popular you deserve to win. But I believe that a panel of Judges (all adults from varying backgrounds – 2 of which were from the Miss Virginia pageant that the winner will move onto) picked her as the winner based on two things–accomplishments and the image she will provide of the school. As an outsider looking in, I believe it would be difficult for Hampton to make the case that the winner of the pageant was especially accomplished considering the curious letter she wrote to President Obama. A letter in which she alluded to the notion that she should be acknowledged for her accomplishment due to the ensuing backlash of her win and the fact that they are both firsts in their “position” and hail from Hawaii. (She later apologized for writing the letter).
So I must speculate that what motivated Hampton to make this choice was the image factor. Perhaps Hampton was trying to send the message that they are diverse. Perhaps they were trying to be post-racial. Whatever the reason, the campus didnt pick her. The administration did. So, I feel sorry for the winner of the contest. Hampton made an ill-fated example out of her. And in the end, they embarrassed both Ms. Churchill and an institution whose reputation has already been battered due to other insensitive positions it has taken. Anyone remember Hampton’s striking stance on dreadlocks?
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I hate to be all racists and stuff, but there is no way in the world, that any white girl on this planet can go into any HBCU and should win anything that has to do with looks. Even if she’s not really a “white” girl as far as her character.
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Those chicks got the Kevin Hart… I ate a$$ face….LMAO!!!
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This news story (and the surrounding hoopla) is insignificant IMO. So, a white girl wins a contest…who cares?! No need to be mad. It’s a damn pageant (read: popularity contest). The only interesting element was that this girl saw the need to write a letter to Obama. And that was just plain stupid.
I’m a senior at Spelman so I’ve familiar with similar petty shit, e.g., a Clark Atlanta student winning the Miss Sophomore Pageant (instead of a Spelman student) in my second year. Womp. Womp. Pass the butter.
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Oh, and homeslice looks mixed or non-white to me. She looks like a Latina or Middle-Eastern.
I think some people are forgetting that certain HBCUs are more racially diverse (see: HU and the number of Asians in certain graduate programs).
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T. {October 17th, 2009 at 7:56 pm}
@Michelle D.A.,
Her dad is from Guam and her mom Italian…truth be told she’s prolly darker than many past BLACK ms. hamptons….
HAMPTON UNIVERSITY
C/O 2007
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Seeker {October 22nd, 2009 at 6:48 pm}
Thank you!
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I just wonder how the situation would be interpreted if reversed: a Black girl winning a title at a predominantly white school. Is it fair to be in an uproar about this girl even attending an HBCU when minorities work hard to earn spots at predominantly white schools? I don’t think it is within the missions of HBCUs to exclude anyone.
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this story needs to die and kick rox…
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Ollie Bergantim {October 24th, 2009 at 5:22 pm}
@T., It needs to die because it shows that We all are prejudiced in one way or another. Any person of color who is upset with the decision should take a look within and ask “Do I want a colorblind society or not”
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First, of all someone voted for her.
Second, she is not just a “white” girl, she is mixed, Italian and Guamanian (From the Island of Guam), so call it has it is! People need to stop saying people are just white! There are tons of people from Guam in Hawaii, they are a indigenous group/ minority group!
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Wow, as a black women I am shocked by the comments and posts on this blog. Thank God I was never attracted to black men, I always felt a little guilty about not watching to destroy my future and allow a black man in my life but when I see the state of black men today I am very pleased with my chocie to be a smart sista and not deal with ill mannered monkeys who cannot stay out of jail and keep a job. I am grateful to white women for taking our trash to bed with them. I am by far not mad at the white girls like some sistas are. They are doing us a huge favor.
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HUPirate in NY {January 11th, 2010 at 10:59 am}
@stacy dee,
I respect you for having an open mind to be able to date out of your race and accepting people for who they are beyond color. Everyone is entitled to their opinions about things and reasons backing up their actions, but you really just took a HUGE step back for our race by calling YOUR brothers and sisters, of YOUR culture and YOURSELF “monkeys”. You seem not to embrace your race, heritage and culture. As black people, we’ve overcome alot within the last 100 years and for you to do this just doesnt make any sense at all. Are your mother, father, sisters, and brothers, Barack Obama, MLK Jr., Malcolm X, Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson “monkeys” as well? Didn’t think so. Your entitled to how you feel about people, but comments like that you need to keep to yourself makes you look and seem ignorant and i’m sure your not. Lastly there are numerous amounts of black men that don’t help the image of our culture. But on the flipside there are numerous amounts of black men that make us look excellent and are doing things with their lives. Don’t let one bad apple spoil the bunch.
Please read what you write, and think about things before they come out of your mouth.
Have an Excellent day!
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Jennifer {January 22nd, 2010 at 3:07 am}
@stacy dee,
Cool story, sis.
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