It Shouldn’t Be Surprising That Two Black Pitzer Students Didn’t Want White Roommates
Going to college at a predominantly White institution (PWI) as a queer Black woman was difficult on its own. However, when considering that I was also first-generation and low income, I was at a severe disadvantage academically, professionally and socially. This is why a recent story about a Pitzer College student’s request to live with non-white people struck such a chord with me.
According to CBS News, a Black student named Kare Ureña, 20, was looking for off campus housing while attending the small liberal arts school in Claremont, California. She made a post on Facebook indicating that she “didn’t want to live with any white folks.” Now, the University’s President Melvin Oliver, who also happens to be the first African American to lead the undergraduate campus, has said it is “inconsistent with [the University’s] mission and values.” He also indicated that the University is concerned with “complex intercultural issues, not to isolate individuals on the basis of any protected status.”
Several things about this interaction are quite interesting.
First, the University claims to value “intercultural issues” and understanding but has only enrolled 5% of students who identify as Black or African American as of September 2015. Asian identifying students are roughly 7% of the student population and Hispanic students are roughly 15%. Meanwhile, nearly 50% of the school’s enrolled students identify as White. It seems that, since 1 in 2 students at the University is White, the likelihood that Ureña will have access to white people outside of her residence is quite high.
Next, as someone who experienced being stuck in a living situation with culturally and ethnically diverse students in college, I still struggle to understand how this added stress and anxiety could possibly prove healthy or productive for college students.
According to the Claremont Independent, a student named Nina Lee stated in response to the post, “We don’t want to have to tiptoe around fragile white feelings in a space where we just want to relax and be comfortable.” The Women’s Studies major continued by stating. “I could live with white people, but I would be far more comfortable living with other poc.”
According to the Washington Post, Ureña and her roommate Sajo Jefferson, 19, who identifies as multiracial Black explained that “when and if you understand this context, it becomes clear that students of color seeking a living space that is all-POC is not only reasonable, but can be necessary.” They went on, “We live in a world where the living circumstances of POC are grounded in racist social structures that we can not opt out of. These conditions threaten the minds, bodies and souls of people of color both within and without the realms of higher education. We are fighting to exist.”
Clearly, these students are asking that their living spaces be free of white supremacy and available for them to move about without the added worry of having to deal with potentially racist and/or problematic white roommates. It has already been proven that millennials are “just as racist as their parents” so it makes sense that Ureña and Jefferson would be cautious about opening their living space to white students.
Finally, we have to be honest about why this post has drawn any attention in the first place. The idea that people can be racist against White people is still quite popular no matter how foolish and impossible the notion is. In fact, a student named Dalia Zada responded to Ureña’s post by saying,” ‘POC only?’ Maybe I’m missing something or misunderstanding your post, but how is that not a racist thing to say?” Honestly, White people often miss racism when they exhibit it themselves or benefit from it in the institutions and occupations they unfairly receive greater access to than non-White people. Zada’s concerns underscore that phenomenon clearly.
The ubiquity of whiteness means that people of color, especially Black people, rarely get privacy or distance from white people. These students were exercising their right to look for roommates who were more likely to share a greater knowledge of their experiences and cultural histories in the United States than those who do not. Luckily, they got the roommates they wanted. And, they will likely all be better off because of it.
Photo: Kare Ureña/Facebook
I’m baffled by your claim that it’s impossible to be racist against a “White” person. This is manifestly false, in a variety of ways. I’ve spent time living in other countries (and in CA); racist stereotypes are equally available to people of all groups, both majority and minority.
As someone who is Jewish but looks white, there are people who hate me because of my Jewish mother. But I have also been excluded in certain groups because of my whiteness — granted, there were plenty of other places I could go, so it wasn’t a substantial burden (the way it might be if I was a minority). But your claim that it’s impossible to be racist against a white person is obviously false, and will become effectively discriminatory as the US becomes less than majority white (demographic trends being what they are).
I can understand wanting a safe space, but the same argument was made by white people — and it was racist then too. The original author could have attempted to accomplish the goals given (not having to tiptoe around fragile white feelings, and not being subject to racism at home) by pointing out that she’s a person of color, and doesn’t want to have to deal with racism, grief, false sympathy, or being made out as a stereotype — and that if you can’t understand the above, you should move on.
Yes, living with others who are diverse takes effort; living only with those who you feel look like you is a cop-out. I can understand the desire given the visible evidence of oppression around — but college should be for expanding what you are capable of doing, not for retreating from the world around you. And racism (including discrimination) is definitely not limited to white people.
Ms. Jackson, it is positively disgusting what you’re doing. The mental gymnastics you’re using to defend such utterly backward, close-minded, and pernicious thinking reminds me why progress is so slow. You—someone who is a self-proclaimed advocate for justice and equality—are actually just as selfish, tribalistic, and ignorant as the people you claim to be fighting against. I hope you gain wisdom with time and eventually look back at this vile attempt to defend the indefensible with embarrassment.
I didn’t know she wasn’t white by how she looks. but however she feels is about herself…
i think it is fine to want to live with a student who shares her experiences. and if she feels that during her first generation of blackness in America it is too hard to deal with white people…let her build her own support network.
Oddly. in California many Hispanic people are White and don’t even know it. College is a time to learn and explore. Just make sure you don’t room with a Hispanic unless it is a Black Hispanic. It seems you can’t trust those White Hispanics to identify with your experience.
Take a look at her FB posts.
I don’t know which is more pathetic:
How badly this woman envies whites, and wishes she was white too….
Or
How she pushes the “empowered-sistuh” image….when in fact, she isn’t even a real negro! Lol!
Typical Dominican-latino trash.. smh
Wait! Does this make her an African-Dominican?
I’m confused!
“The idea that people can be racist against White people is still quite popular no matter how foolish and impossible the notion is.”
What a fucking joke. Thanks for the laughs.
Full Definition of racism
1
: a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2
: racial prejudice or discrimination
I grew up around a lot of Dominicans and most do not identify themselves as black (and don’t dare call them black!).
She doesn’t like whites but I’m pretty sure it’s whites footing her tuition bill.
What do you mean that your “Jewish but look white”. Most Jews I know (quite a few) not only look white, but look Aryan.
Jews whose ancestors come from Northern Europe/Eastern Europe (e.g. Ashkenazi Jews) look European (like others from similar regions). Despite that, before WW II they were often treated as a separate racial group (including for things like college admissions, and of course the Nazis). Some of my ancestors escaped a pogrom by hiding under hay, in a wagon (or so I’m told).
Jews whose ancestors come from further south or in the Middle East (e.g. Sephardic Jews) look like darker — just like folks from those regions (intermarriage, and selection for fitness for the local environment). My ancestors came from a variety of places in Europe … but 100 years ago, despite that I wouldn’t have been considered white.
First of all, segregation always works against minorities, whoever they may be. This is why Separate but Equal was struck down. While you might “feel comfortable” in your little bubble, you emerge from college possibly unable to deal with the racial integration of reality in the work place.
Second, hate is never justified, period. You don’t want to call it racism so you ignore half the definition of the word? Fine, you are a BIGOT then, by the only definition of the word. A hateful bigot. There is no way around it. That is what you are.
Third, this little black segregation fantasy is going to do nothing but cause more racial inequality. You cannot thrive in today’s world separate from any group at all. The only people who will be able to do well in the black segregation movement will be the people living off donations for the cause. Basically all you will be doing is paying the expenses of people who tell you what you want to hear. You’ll be propping up a power structure where elites will live off of the sweat of those on the bottom, and those on the bottom will be forced to work and live with white people. The irony is absolutely stunning.
Jewish people have unique genetic markers that distinguish them from what most consider white. Lumping Jews together with white people is just more hate from the black segregationist movement. Hate is hate, no matter what color you are.
“Luckily, they got the roommates they wanted. And, they will likely all be better off because of it.”
Do you have any idea of what their life on campus will be like now?
They could have easily got the roommate they wanted without being so deliberately offensive.
As the editor of the Black Youth Project you should not condone this behavior. It is ill-advised to publicly make disparaging remarks about the race by which you are almost completely surrounded, even if you believe them to be true. And it shows a severe lack of common sense.
I have people in my family tree that would fall on the side of “Jewish people don’t look/ aren’t white.” Those people would have been ecstatic about moves by POC to self-segregate–they would have said “our work here is done!”
People like the writer are part of the reason why race relations are so bad. You came claim to want equality but then when it doesn’t benefit you at the moment rail against it since whitey is supposedly so bad
That was one of the most racist articles I have read….its not helping to our society.
Lol black people can not have anything without the unsolicited opinion of undeservedly offended white people. Not even a sliver of a blog.
As a college student noeh I completely agree that black people on PWI college campuses across America thrive when interacting more with the people they’re more comfortable with (i.e. other black people). It doesn’t hurt the white people on campus. And even if it does, our priority should be on blacks excelling and feeling more comfortable in predominately white spaces; not the comfortability of white people.
I suppose a request for a white roommate is equally acceptable then?
Undeservedly offended … huh. I suppose I don’t deserve to be offended when other white people are racist, since it doesn’t hurt me and they’re usually racist against some other group. (Well, they could be racist against my wife and kids, but where I live most of the racism is focused on other groups.)
Nonetheless … somehow I still think it’s worth calling out racism, regardless of the person being racist. It’s not that it’s possible to end racism, but at least we can be aware of when we make assumptions about a person (e.g. I won’t want to share a house with them) based on the color of their skin. You can still make those assumptions and judgments, and indeed at times you’ll have to — but I feel pretty comfortable pointing out that this is application of racial stereotypes.
It’s not an especially pernicious instance given the current balance of power, but saying that is different from defending it as justified or appropriate behavior.
You’re talking in circles and, shocker, it only seems to be about you, a white person. There is no such thing as racism towards white people, so there’s that.
Regardless of your stance, the student that preferred a black roommate had every right to, considering how black people have felt unwanted, uncomfortable, and often times completely disrespected when in “white spaces”. If you’ve never been in a situation like that, you really have no room to speak.
I have spent time in other countries, and I have experienced oppressive racism — though not as much as a person of color in the US (in most places, being white is a privileged identity — but not in all). Telling me about my life experiences is much like a white person telling a person of color how they should experience the world around them. I can see how turn-about is satisfying if you’ve experienced that — but that doesn’t make it a valid argument.
I did try to express empathy for why someone would prefer a black roommate — my point is simply that that preference is a reflection of racial bias, aka racism, and you should consider it just as I’ve tried to consider my own biases and prejudices. I don’t claim to be perfect — but in writing a blog like this, I would hope the author is willing to spend time thinking seriously about the topic and the implications of her stance.
A definition of racism which makes it impossible for people to be racist against white people is very self-serving; to be blunt, I don’t agree that it’s a valid definition.
I think my argument is simple — we should judge others by their character, not the color of their skin; I’m not sure how you find circles in that argument.
Any person who can’t find the exact roommate they want without all this drama is not very smart, at all. That’s the real story here, this girl was so dense she couldnt discreetly find the roommate she wanted.
“There is no such thing as racism towards white people, so there’s that.”
Bwahhhhahahaaaa! 🙂