Essay 218

The column below responds to the recent incident involving students at the University of Chicago (see Essay 213). It appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times.

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‘Thuggin’ white kids shine light on contradictions

November 6, 2005

BY MARY MITCHELL SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

Apparently, only black people can have a “straight thuggin’” party. Both the Associated Press and the Chicago Tribune reported that when a group of about 20 white students at the University of Chicago held a straight thuggin’ or “ghetto”-themed party last month, black students were appalled. The white students wore their baseball caps sideways, hung heavy gold chains around their necks, pulled on some droopy pants so their underwear could show, and listened to music by the likes of Nelly and 50 Cent.

The university’s president, Don Randel, is now concerned that the party will “undermine” the university’s attempts to build stronger ties to the surrounding poorer communities and further isolate black students on campus.

Randel sent a letter last week advising students that the “straight thuggin’” gathering of whites was “offensive” and “parodied racial stereotypes based on assumptions about economically disadvantaged members of society.”

In other words, white students didn’t have any business trying to look like the rappers on BET.

The hapless group of white students are now perceived as having done something “racist.” African-Americans, on the other hand, are being portrayed as victims. But they aren’t victims. They’re probably embarrassed.

Because blacks have allowed a handful of talented rappers to basically define the black experience, more people are getting offended by these images. Yet they are hard to stop.

Sunglasses, afro, gold chain

Talk about a money-maker -- last year, Sprite launched “Miles Thirst,” a hip-hop doll that pronounces “motto” as “mah mah-toe,” as its pitchman.

I questioned a spokesman about this decision, and was told that the company’s own research showed that white youth were fascinated with the way black teens dress. “Thirst,” with his wrap-around sunglasses, heavy gold chain, afro, gym shoes and baggy jeans, is a stereotype of black youth.

But hip-hop represents only one segment of the black community. “Straight thuggin,’” or “Gangsta Rap,” as it’s been called, has nothing whatsoever to do with the lifestyles of most of the black students who end up at the University of Chicago.

And Randel, who criticized the white students for perpetuating racial “stereotypes based on assumptions about economically disadvantaged members of society,” means well, but doesn’t get it. There’s nothing economically disadvantaged about Nelly, Jay-Z and 50 Cent.

Still, I want to help white people avoid these unpleasant moments. Here’s a brief excerpt from my handbook: What Blacks Can Do; What Whites Can’t, which should be on shelves soon.

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Blacks can call the ghetto “fabulous”; whites can’t even call it the ghetto.

Blacks can wear their pants so low we can see their underwear; whites can’t. (Well, Eminem can.)

Blacks can wear gold chains, flash gold teeth and carry gold canes; whites can’t.

Blacks can wear dreadlocks, braids, twists and afros; whites can’t.

Blacks can shave their heads; whites can’t shave their heads, because only white supremacists shave their heads.

Blacks can call each other the N-word, and, of course, whites can’t call blacks the N-word. For example, recently state Sen. and the Rev. James Meeks said police officers often stop drivers in cars they deem to be “N-----mobiles.” A white state senator would have been tossed out of office for the same remark.

Blacks can shoot up their neighborhoods, rob the elderly, rape women, abuse children and kill each other, and whites can’t say anything about that lest they be accused of stereotyping the black community.

Black gangs can run amok; whites can’t even label black thugs a gang.

Blacks can use racial slurs to exclude other blacks from the political arena; whites can’t.

The latest example of this phenomenon is Michael Steele, a Republican and lieutenant governor of Maryland. Steele is trying to become the first black senator elected from that state.

But Steele has been subjected to the worst racial slurs imaginable. At one debate, a group of black people pelted the stage with Oreos. Last week, a black liberal businessman with a blog depicted Steele as a black-faced minstrel and “Sambo.”

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Of course, you know What Blacks Can Do; What Whites Can’t doesn’t exist. But maybe it should. Because there are glaring contradictions in the way black people have approached racial issues. We shouldn’t expect whites to treat us any better than we are willing to treat ourselves.

So if black students at the University of Chicago are really offended by the idea that their white classmates are mimicking black rappers, they should make sure they aren’t going to any straight thuggin’ parties of their own.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved.