Saturday, Nov. 23, 2002
Response to guestbook entry, posted at 3:16 a.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com I find that you seem to go out of your way to make yourself seem extremely tolerant of your students. Do not get me wrong, I am not by any means saying that your level of tolerance is an act, it just bugs me that you must always point out that you work in an urban school, that you teach urban kids, how they are much different than yourself such as their choice of music; clothing; and lifestyle, and such as today's entry; "Orange is a color that looks better on people of color than it does on white people.", now there is nothing wrong with that statement, but most black people really aren't going to mind if you call them black. From the "urban" people that I've known throughout my life, they happen to find the phrase "people of color" demeaning, since that is what they were referred to during times that the South was still segregated. The word colored could also be taken as a racial slur if you look at it in the sense that if white is not a color, anyone of a different race are not as good as whites are, because they're considered "colored". Perhaps this is being taken as a bit of an attack, but I assure you that it isn't meant for that purpose. I just thought that I would call your attention to it. You do not have to take my words seriously, I do not mind if you disregard and delete my message, but I just wanted you to read this.I've been getting an awful lot of unsigned guestbook entries lately. Perhaps I should just eliminate the guestbook and just use the notes system, because it is getting more and more frustrating. Because I feel the need to respond, and I have no one to respond to, so I have to complete a new entry about it. I think I know who this is (writing is a fingerprint, just like I tell my students), but still...
A few things about this entry: Gosh, I really hate the word "tolerant" when used in this sense. "Tolerant" to me means, "Oh, I'll tolerate them," so I cringe every time I hear that term in regards to people. Whenever I hear a politician talk about "tolerance," I get angry. Ugh. I do not think that's what the signer meant, but the word tolerance in terms of different races is something that I cannot stand because of the connotation of the word "tolerate."
Then, I felt like the reader made it worse by saying I go out of my way to make myself "seem" tolerant... gosh... I just think that's mean. Why? Because I mention differences in race? Is that so unusual for a white person to do? It's one of the things I find fascinating. So sue me.
As for the phrase "people of color," well, here's where that comes from. My first year as an RA, my supervisor, an Asian man, ordered orange shirts as our staff shirts. Later, one of the running jokes of the year - which he started - was that he ordered the shirts because they would look really good on him and the other people of color (meaning the four Asian-Americans, the two Native-American, and the three African-American RAs on the staff). So when I was mentioning the phrase "people of color," I was not in any way referring to just African-Americans, I was referring to all non-white people. I have never referred to a single race of people as "people of color."
That being said, the phrase "people of color" has been accepted and called the phrase of choice for referring to racial minorities in every single diversity and multicultural training session I have ever been to. That includes four years in the department of resident life and years of education training. I have never once heard anyone take offense to the term... which is not to say it doesn't happen. After all, many Black people take offense to the term "African-American" - Whoopi Goldberg probably most prominently. There is not one single phrase that will make everyone happy, but I think "people of color" is a good one for today's world when viewing a group as identified by the larger community.
In addition, this was not the term that was used to refer to African-Americans in the deep south. It was a phrase adopted in the last 15 years so that people wouldn't have to say "racial minorities," because "people of color" is considered a more celebratory term, and the word "minority" is becoming more and more a misnomer. As you mentioned, the phrase "colored people" is not considered appropriate at all, and is a racial slur, but there is a huge difference between the two. "People of Color" is endorsed by the NAACP, as well as almost all major universities and colleges. If you can find any source at all that calls it a racial slur, as your use of the word "also" above suggests, I would love to learn about it.
Also, I am not sure why it bugs you that I occasionally refer to the differences I see between myself and the students (you say "always," but I think that's a stretch). I think it's interesting; it reminds me of Vivian Paley's work, and she was a huge influence on me. Besides, I'm not doing it for anyone else, I'm doing so I can trace my own development. I wish you would be more specific as to why you have a problem with me talking about teaching in an urban school. It's part of who I am, and being a racial minority for the first time is certainly in issue that I want to write about and digest. Don't read if you have a problem with it.
I'm thoroughly confused by this. As apologetic as the entry seemed to be at the end, it still felt like an attack in every way, shape, and form.
And I'm sad about it.
Could this week get any longer? Even though I know in my heart that I'm in the right here, it's the type of comment that has awakened my white liberal guilt and will surely keep me up for even a few more hours tonight. Ugh ugh ugh.