Steve Frey
Virginia Tech has a problem. No, it is not who will be the starting quarterback next fall or point guard next winter.
It is not about the quality of the engineering program. No, Tech’s problem right now focuses on racism.
By now you have heard the story about the VT women’s lacrosse team singing a song after a win that included the n-word. The president of the university and others have said that they are using the incident as a “learning opportunity.”
So far, there have been no known suspensions and no planned forfeitures of games. The team, which is 11-5 and ranked 12th in the nation as of the writing of this column, would like to move on with its season.
Was this just a case of a group of young women thoughtlessly singing a song with racist lyrics in the general exuberance of a win, or does this represent a more profound concern about race relations?
Could it be that whether they were foolishly using the n-word or purposely using it, it was wrong, and at their age and stage in life, they should have known better?
This year, only 4.3 percent of the student body at Tech is black, while in the state as a whole the percentage of black people is 19.8 percent. Will this incident encourage more black students to want to become a Hokie? Probably not, and that is a shame.
As a resident of the NRV, how do you feel about this? Are you angry, ashamed, sad? Do you care?
Are you a big Hokie fan looking forward to spring sports and then the fall football season?
Let’s focus on the football team for a moment.
A large number of the players on the football team are black. Do you support all of the players on the team as individuals, or do you just love football generally and like the chance to be a part of the competition at the national level?
If you care about the black players as individuals, you have to care that their fellow students are singing songs using the n-word. Surely the football players would not want people, even their classmates, singing songs that would degrade them.
More food for thought: how do black players or students feel when they head over to the mall in Christiansburg and see pick-up trucks driving around with Confederate flags flying off the back bumper?
They may wonder if the owners of those trucks and flags are racists. It would be natural to feel that way, wouldn’t it?
Let’s face it, some of them probably are, although they would loudly contend if questioned that they are just expressing pride in their “heritage.”
Even more food for thought: what about when those black football players or students drive down Interstates 81 or 64 and see Confederate flags along the highway?
Of course, people have the right to fly the flag on private property, but what do you think those black students think? (As an aside, Amazon said one of the criteria for moving to an area was a diverse population. How do businesses with diverse employees view the area proudly flying the battle flag?)
The people who display the flags know that they are offensive to black people. That flag is used by the KKK and white supremacists as a symbol of opposition to the civil rights black and white people have fought for over many years.
The “heritage” the flag represents to black people relates to prejudice, Jim Crow laws and even the sale/bondage of their relatives.
How about the black basketball players, men and women? How do they feel about seeing white supremacists marching in Charlottesville?
Were some of the marchers in Charlottesville Tech fans? Do they go to the games and cheer on the teams? It would be kind of ironic, wouldn’t it?
How do the black players and students feel about seeing the national news, with unarmed men being shot to death, black men being arrested at Starbucks for sitting at a table waiting for someone or similar disturbing events?
Racial prejudice seems to be everywhere, but is it as bad as it appears? Are incidents caused by “a few bad apples?” It is hard to look into people’s hearts and know for sure.
However, too many good people who know better turn their heads and ignore problems. Too often, when an incident happens, people are afraid to say something that will alienate their friends who are racist. They don’t want to rock the boat, so they don’t say or do anything.
Some rationalize racial incidences and say, “boys will be boys” or perhaps with the lacrosse team “girls will be girls.” They think they can ignore it, and it will blow over and go away.
The problem is, there is always a “next time,” and then another. The effect is cumulative.
We have come a long way in Virginia and the NRV from separate seating in movie theaters, separate drinking fountains and segregated schools. Black people are now allowed to attend Virginia Tech and play on a sports team. They don’t have to sit in the back of the bus anymore.
But we have to do better. We want all people to feel welcome at Tech, and we want all people to feel welcome in the NRV.
We are Americans. We respect everyone regardless of race, religion or national origin. We have to take a stand and reject racism whenever it rears its ugly head.
No, “fine people” don’t advocate segregation of the races and chants putting down Jews, Muslims or any other religion. “Fine people” do not use racist terms for blacks, Hispanics, or any other race, either.
We all need to join together to oppose racism, because when we say nothing, when we do nothing, we condone it and embolden those who want to spread their hate.
When you are driving around and see people flying the Confederate flag, put yourself in the shoes of those black students who are thinking about attending Virginia Tech or black students/players already there.
When you hear about some women singing songs using the n-word, think about how the black players and students might feel.
When an unarmed black guy gets shot at a police stop, think about how the parents of a black teenager feel about the safety of their son leaving their home for a community event.
When a couple of black guys get arrested for sitting at a table at a Starbucks, think about how a middle school black child feels when they here about it on the news.
We all need to use teachable moments very early in the lives of our children to help them learn to respect others, regardless of race. We have to help them understand that everyone is the neighbor we should love as ourselves.
We have to teach them through our words, actions and example so that when they get to college, they don’t thoughtlessly sing songs that are hurtful to others.
Hundreds of thousands of our relatives fought and died to create a country where liberty and justice for all were not just words, but the reality of our everyday lives. We should honor them and do our part to oppose racism.
Many people in our communities understand this, and united by collective compassion and “dedicated to the proposition that all men (and women) are created equal,” want to work to bring about the change that will allow our country to finally be the “land of the free” for everyone.
Tomorrow is Earth Day, where we remember to work together to protect our planet.
Perhaps we should also take time to reflect on ways to protect the rights of ALL of the people who live on it, too.
Steve Frey is a writer and CEO of Ascendant Educational Services based in Radford.
