Uncovering Racism: White Greeks in Blackface - Higher Education

Uncovering Racism: White Greeks in Blackface - Higher Education: I must join the recent outrage over White Greek fraternities and sororities (and an Asian fraternity recently) donning blackface and performing blackness on our college campuses. Sights of White Greeks in blackface usually at parties have sparked Black student activism around the nation. It is mobilizing students to demand racial change, to demand a better higher education.

These days, the Black Student Union (BSU) at the University of California-Irvine is on fire over this issue and other acts of disrespect.

A week ago, the UC Irvine BSU circulated a statement condemning racism on their campus. The BSU reported that, in 2012, Pi Beta Phi “felt it appropriate to give a ‘Once you go Black, you never go back’ award. This year, Alpha Phi and Phi Psi felt it appropriate to decorate a fraternity paddle with the words ‘slave driver’ and ‘little slave’ on it. This week, Lambda Theta Delta felt it appropriate to use Blackface in multiple promotion videos.”