The Lasting Legacy of Discrimination

This letter arises from a twenty-four year reflection following the founding of Alpha Phi Alpha, an all African American fraternity, at the University of Georgia. Furthermore, the letter reflects upon lasting racism following the integration of African Americans at the University of Georgia. The first examples in this letter occurred in the early 1960’s. Members of the fraternity as well as other African American students had rocks repetitively thrown at them. In addition, white students would spit at African Americans as well as wear blackface to mock them. One prevalent example of this blackface and racism is present in the 1962 UGA yearbook. This was the first year Hunter and Holmes, UGA’s first two admitted black students, were in the yearbook; however, they only appear in standard class photos with no mention of their hardships. Instead of affirmatively recognizing UGA’s first two African American students, the yearbook staff mocked them by including two pictures other students wearing blackface. After a decade, these practices began to phase out until its reemergence in the 1980’s. While not as evident, these examples emerged in the form of offensive costumes both for Halloween and Greek life events. For example, in preparation for a weekend date night, Phi Gamma Delta would paint themselves completely with black paint and then run around campus displaying animal like characteristics. While this practice eventually ceased, the presence of blackface on campus was prevalent as recent as 2004. Obviously, the racial divide has not completely ceased. Two major stories highlight the continued presence of racism on campus. First, Justin Fields, 2018 UGA quarterback, was called the “n” word by a baseball player during a football game. While the offending student was kicked off the team, the roots of prejudice still render to this day. Furthermore, Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity was suspended earlier this year for a racist video depicting vulgar language against African Americans. All in all, despite integration and diversity awareness efforts, discrimination has not been abolished on campus.

Primary:

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Zeta Pi Chapter, UA0087, University Archives, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries.

Secondary: