R.Ballard says:I had two issues with the presence of non-Black students. In my study of Kwanzaa, I have come to understand that it is a holiday created for the express purpose of giving Black Americans & those of the Pan-African community an alternative (& self-affirming) option outside the celebrations of hegemonic culture.
Furthermore, because the students themselves claim to have merely been curious about Kwanzaa & wanting to understand it, I found it off-putting that they (in my witnessing) did not engage with Black students nor did they stay for the substantive portion of the celebration. Even if I’m entirely off-base about Karenga’s intention for Kwanzaa & that these students are warranted to celebrate it–I do not think that’s what they were doing. They were observing and studying….and I’m not an exhibit. If, in fact, their behavior was appropriate, then I will most certainly be avoiding any institution-sponsored events where I may be put on display for the education of others.
You may not want to be an "exhibit," but those people, those "cockroaches," as you put it, had an invitation.
Here's what Hughes Suffren, dean of OBSA, has said [Emphasis and bolding mine]:
One would only hope that the purpose for any student attending an OBSA program is either to learn and/or affirm their own culture, as well as to be educated about a group that may be different from themselves, which is exactly the scenario which played out with the eight students from Harvey Mudd College who attended the Kwanzaa event. Several HMC student leaders consulted with staff from OBSA and the HMC Office of Institutional Diversity about participating in a Kwanzaa event and received invitations to attend the OBSA Kwanzaa event held at Scripps College.
What part of "exactly the scenario which played out" does Ms. Ballard not understand?
