The Growing Phenomenon Of Racially-Exclusive Grad Ceremonies

Fri, 05/17/2019 - 19:05

Authored by Daniel Payne via The College Fix

It's not progress; it's regression

Several dozen universities now offer graduation ceremonies exclusively
for black students. These ceremonies, which are independent of the
larger commencement exercises offered at most institutions, are meant to
"give extra honors and recognition to black students earning their
degrees." The National Association of Scholars surveyed over 170 schools
and found that nearly half of them offer ceremonies such as this.

It is worth asking what, precisely, the point of such events really is.

Why do black students need their own special graduation ceremonies?

Put another way: What is it about being a black American college student
that calls for a racially exclusive commencement exercise?

There probably isn't a good answer for that.

One spokeswoman told The Fix that these exercises "oftentimes
incorporate cultural traditions."

That is a bit of a non sequitur - there is, after all, no single
"cultural tradition" that unites all black Americans, any more than
there is for white ones. African-Americans throughout the centuries have
contributed immense riches to the American cultural tapestry, but those
contributions are not monolithic; they are varied and regional and not
at all the sort of thing you can cram haphazardly into a seventy-minute
ceremony.

In all likelihood these events are little more than sops to campus
identity politics. A kind of racial radicalism has gripped many campuses
in recent years: demands for racially segregated housing are common in
higher education these days, and racial segregation is increasingly
common at student centers, workshops and other campus events.

This is not progress; it is regression. The great American political
movements of the 19th and 20th century were about bridging the profound
and often brutal chasm that has divided the races in this country since
its earliest beginnings. Many campuses are now helping to widen that
chasm rather than close it further. It's a terrible thing to witness.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...rad-ceremonies