TheLoop21.com

By: devona walker (follow this member)
Mon, 11/23/2009 - 14:26

Down in Oxford, Mississippi, it appears the KKK are raising a stink again. Why? They are annoyed that the University of Mississippi has dropped the song From Dixie With Love, so they marched on campus over the weekend.

The problem here is that it happened on the weekend of the Louisiana State University game, it happened as the football department was trying to lure new recruits to the school, and it has caught the attention of other schools competing for that same talent.

Apparently several potential students, the football team was recruiting to attend the college, did not show due to the rally.The University of Mississippi coach thinks other schools are using the rally as an attempt to scare potential recruits from Ole Miss. And ultimately, the coach, Houston Nutt, doesn't believe it will work. He thinks the students will come to Ole Miss despite the rally.

I don't mean to make the obvious pun, but really this Coach Nutt is either a stone cold nut or just wildly optimistic.

Black folks, who are not from the south, are already hesitant about going to the south because of racism. A KKK rally on campus, the one place where students expect to be isolated from rampant racism, is going to affect your recruitment efforts. 

I was once offered a job in Jackson at the state's largest newspaper. I had spent a few days in Mississippi prior meeting staff and whatnot. But it wasn't until I returned on my own and contemplated the reality of raising a child in the deep south that I ultimately turned down the job. I might be a wimp but I don't think I am that much different. Racism is a factor. It affects where black people choose to live. It has been one of the primary factors in ethnic migration patterns since the emancipation proclamation, and it will deter students from venturing down south.

And more importantly by choosing to ignore it, I think the University missed a very good opportunity to declare exactly what they stand for. This might have been a good move considering the great variety of "racism-free" environments from which black students can choose. Honestly, if you have the choice between two campuses one known for its diversity and the other that recently made news by having a vocal KKK chapter, which would you choose?

This coach's problem is he only thinks about the game and the win, he is not considering the environment in which he is asking his players to endure while they are not playing. He is not considering the racial profiling they might get from local law enforcement, the fear of venturing into the "wrong bar" or wrong neighborhood at the wrong time of the day. He is not thinking thoroughly enough about the reputation the deep south has with many African Americans who are not from the south. 

About the KKK protest

About a dozen Klan members "briefly" congregated on campus in front of approximately 250 hecklers. Nutt, who is in his second year with the football program, said he has never witnessed any racial problems at Ole Miss. The majority of the football team is black and the 10-person on-field coaching staff is split evenly, making it one of the most diverse in major college football."This is a wonderful community," Nutt said. "It's one of the most beautiful campuses in the country and you've got a program that's about to go to back-to-back bowls ... I just wish (recruits) would come and see it for themselves. Don't let someone give you some bad information."

As beautiful as that campus might be, the reality is it will not protect students from racism. I personally know that Oxford is perhaps one of the more progressive cities in Mississippi. It's a college town and the racial tension there is much less pronounced than it is in Jackson, despite that urban center's very large black population. But the issue is most people who live outside the state of Mississippi do not know that. What the rest of the country knows about Oxford, Mississipp: It's a small town in the deep south. What the world knows about the south is racism, segregation, abject poverty, Emmett Till and that backwoods brand of "justice." History is not something you can shrug off, you actually have to address it, and ensure folks that things have changed. Personally, I like the south. I love the green rolling hills, the southern brogue, the food, the music, etc.

But if I were 18, fresh out of high school, comparing multiple offers, choose to live in a city with an apparently active KKK chapter, probably not.