UT frat suspended over incident Complaints about blackface episode bring action

Knox News-Sentinel ^ | October 31, 2002 | By J.J. Stambaugh

[ninonitti]

A University of Tennessee fraternity has been suspended because of an incident last week in which white members painted their faces to look like the black pop group The Jackson Five.

The national office of Kappa Sigma has suspended its UT chapter, which means the fraternity "no longer has standing as a registered student organization and is suspended from participating in university activities, such as Homecoming," according to a statement issued Wednesday by UT Vice President and Provost Loren Crabtree.

Fraternity members couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday, but Crabtree said the national office was cooperating in an ongoing investigation.

A number of black students complained to campus officials last week after a group of fraternity members allegedly walked from their fraternity house to a party on the Cumberland Avenue Strip dressed as the Jackson siblings, according to UT's account.

Even if the national Kappa Sigma organization reinstates the UT Lambda chapter, UT might not choose to recognize the group, according to Crabtree.

"We will require the leaders and members of Kappa Sigma to demonstrate a commitment to uphold our expectations for civility, ethnic diversity and racial harmony," Crabtree said.

Crabtree indicated that individual students involved in the incident might face university sanctions once the investigation is concluded.

Crabtree said the incident was "particularly distressing to the members of the (UT) administration because all fraternities and sororities participated in a workshop a year ago to address a similar situation at another institution."

Crabtree also pointed out measures that UT has taken over the past few months to widen the African and African-American Studies program and a planned semester-long program beginning in January to "celebrate Africa's cultural, entertainment and educational contributions to non-African cultures around the world."

A training program on race and diversity will begin next spring, and a special session covering the same topics will be added to the summer orientation program for new students, Crabtree said.

[BearCub]

Blackface has a long, racist history, and it's dishonest to pretend that history doesn't exist. It's also dishonest to pretend there's no difference between what Crystal and Murphy do and a bunch of drunk frat boys putting on blackface.

They were dressed up as the Jackson Five for a party at Halloween [time]. Would it have been different if they were wearing commerically made masks that happened to be of black people - a group of Colin Powels, for example?

[BruceS]

Yes, there is a double standard, yes, it is awfully PC to do this. BUT...you would think that anyone smart enough to get into a college would know they couldn't do this and not create an uproar. The "rules" may be stupid (that's a whole other debate), but these college kids were even more stupid.

[MrB]

it's funny when a black person paints his face white

That's really funny & timely -
Some little kids showed up at my house last night for Halloween in "white face". I wasn't insulted or outraged... But I didn't figure out what they were supposed to be dressed as.

[A2J]

Blackface has a long, racist history, and it's dishonest to pretend that history doesn't exist. It's also dishonest to pretend there's no difference between what Crystal and Murphy do and a bunch of drunk frat boys putting on blackface.

So what about whether blackface has a history.

Kappa Sigma is a PRIVATE organization that pays the university rental fees to be on campus. If they want to paint their faces ANY color, that's their business, regardless the fact that doing so may offend the sleeveful of emotions that certain groups carry.

[CollegeRepublican]

My Fraternity at Swarthmore College was a pretty diverse group of football and lacrosse players from all across the country and every social structure. One of the Junior brothers dressed up his pledge little brother as a black person. The pledge was a low-middle class kid from the Pocono Mountians and the big brother was a former gang banger from Houston named Prince. Prince did such a great job dressing up his pledge that nobody but people in the frat even knew that the pledge was not black. (Keep in mind that this was at a dark Holloween party where most of the people were drunk). We did not get in trouble and this is a crazy PC school.

[Godel]

If its racist to put on blackface, can I be offended when Goths and Clowns put on that white face make-up?

If they have a black guy playing Ronald McDonald is that racist?

[mhking]

Black conservative ping

If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)

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[RoseyT]

What if Michael Jackson belonged to that fraternity? Would they have been suspended long ago for Michael's attempt to turn himself white?

[Petronski]

"no longer has standing as a registered student organization and is suspended from participating in university activities, such as Homecoming..."

"Some stupid zombies get to ride a pile of Kleenex down the street. Rah rah."

[TopQuark]

Blackface has a long, racist history, and it's dishonest to pretend that history doesn't exist. Please educate me on this one: what is the racist history behind the blackface?

It's also dishonest to pretend there's no difference between what Crystal and Murphy do and a bunch of drunk frat boys putting on blackface.

Judging from the article, they did not put a blackfacer: thhey dressed as well-known entertainers that happen to black, hence the completeness of image required the change of skin color, much like in the case of Crystal, of whom you do not disapprove.

[Callahan]

Did they do the shoe polish and white lips routine or did they just apply brown make-up and put on sequined gloves. If that's the case, it sounds like harmless fun to me. The guys down in MS who were wearing nooses around their necks are a different story.

[farmfriend]

They were dressed up as the Jackson Five for a party at Halloween [time]. Would it have been different if they were wearing commerically made masks that happened to be of black people - a group of Colin Powels, for example?

You would think that dressing as a known Black person would be different than dressing in Black face. Obviously not to the PC crowd.

[KneelBeforeZod]

fraternities are all about "risk management" these days.

[TopQuark]

The guys down in MS who were wearing nooses around their necks are a different story. I am with you on this: these two sound to me like really different cases.

[TopQuark]

If they have a black guy playing Ronald McDonald is that racist? And if in the classic theatre female roles were played by men, is that a denegration of women?

[John Jorsett]

Blackface has a long, racist history, and it's dishonest to pretend that history doesn't exist. It's also dishonest to pretend there's no difference between what Crystal and Murphy do and a bunch of drunk frat boys putting on blackface.

Free speech doesn't mean just speech that doesn't offend anyone. It means just about anything short of inciting a riot or a panic. If Andres Serrano can suspend a cross in a jar of urine, then frat boys can put on blackface. I hope these people sue the university's butt off.

[1L]

This is interested. Phi Kappa Sigma, a t.u. fraternity, was not suspended but only put on probation after a DEATH resulting from a hazing incident. Hazing is illegal in Texas, but it appears that t.u. values it higher than making overly sensitive people upset.

[tracer]

Don't forget Murphy's SNL sketch wherein he disguised himself as a white businessman to discover that "white people act differently when there are no black folks around."

The name of his character was none other than "Mr. White," who mastered the "walk and speech patterns of a white man" to ensure the success of his fact-finding mission....

[tracer]

Michael Jackson??

[dfwgator]

Why would you need to dress up in blackface to portray Michael Jackson?