Hostile waters

It didn't take the unexpected arrival of a hurricane for me to realize racism exists in the United States. And it sure as heck didn't take the planned departure of President Herbert for me to recognize racism in the "Uni-diversity."\nTalk about a tough town. I didn't think Bloomington laid out the mat for James Baldwin-reading sistas from Gary like me. But apparently, this campus doesn't embrace Jeb Bush-supporting black men from Muskogee, Okla., either.\nIn November, two-thirds of Bloomington faculty who voted for a resolution requested that Herbert be submitted to a midterm review by trustees -- this is in addition to the usual yearly presidential performance evaluation. \nBefore the vote, tension stewed and criticism ensued when Herbert reopened the chancellor search, denying the position to former Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Kumble Subbaswamy.\nPapers across the state have reported on the Herbie-bashing. Criticisms include the president's perceived inaccessibility, inability to connect with financial donors and failure to make appearances on behalf of the University. I think somebody even said his shoes were ugly, but don't quote me. \nLet's put the situation into perspective though. \nPeople in power positions usually aren't very popular with the masses. That's not uncommon. But, like my daddy told me, you should "keep family business in the family." The fact that members of the faculty would air their grievances publicly -- that's ill-advised. The fact that Herbert's been referred to as "lazy" by some members of faculty -- that's just damn disrespectful.\nThere are just some adjectives that shouldn't be used when describing black folks. "Lazy" is one of them. Let's just leave that descriptor in the history book word banks. For example, minstrels show: small town sideshow depicting blacks as lazy, stupid and less than human. \nI mean, it's hard enough reprimanding folks for using the term when characterizing struggling black mothers who are aided by welfare. (Statistics show they're not actually the program's greatest beneficiaries, by the way -- white women are.) But I've got to chin-check people for slinging mud at a man who signed off on the largest single donation from a private source in IU history. You can't be serious.\nBut like I said -- the Herbert controversies and the storm of racial dialogue that continues to brew in the adjacent discussion hasn't exposed me to racism I didn't already think existed. Rather, it fortifies my belief that while crosses don't burn outside the Bryan House, some people on this campus carry a torch for racial bias. \nQuite honestly, I knew racism was alive and well in the United States well before every newscast in the nation reported on poor black families awaiting half-assed aid on the rooftops of their New Orleans homes.\nAnd I knew that, at IU, even some of the so-called progressive faculty members would either attempt to consciously turn a blind eye to race in the discussion of Herbert or unconsciously include race as a variable in their arguments against him.\nMy only question is: If a Jeb Bush-supporting black man from Oklahoma finds himself in hostile waters here at IU, then why should a black student like me ever believe this university wants to see me stay afloat?