The Vision | (Racist) Words with friends

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will systematically oppress me

By Nikki Hardison and Victoria Ford 03/17/15 5:18pm

Unless you have been living under a rock or a cabana during spring break, you have probably heard about the Sigma Alpha Epsilon scandal that unfolded last week. At the University of Oklahoma, members of the SAE fraternity were captured singing a racist chant as follows:

“There will never be a n*gg*r in SAE *clap clap*, there will never be a n*gg*r in SAE *clap clap*, you can hang him from a tree but he’ll never sign with me, there will never be a n*gg*r in SAE *clap clap*”

This clip of racism and hatred went viral as social media exploded with the hashtag #SAEHatesMe. The national organization suspended the OU chapter while the university had members removed from their campus fraternity house. Two of the members were expelled from the university for their “role in leading a racist and exclusionary chant which has created a hostile educational environment for others.”

Defenders of the OU SAE fraternity brothers proclaim that they are “kids” who made — as expelled student Parker Rice described — a “horrible mistake”. That perhaps it was the influence of alcohol or the overwhelming corruption of hip hop that led a group of white college students to chant about “hanging n*gg*rs from trees” on a bus after a formal. What should be understood first and foremost is that this song is not new, nor was it composed serendipitously. This should be seen without a doubt as a remnant of a culture that has and continues to celebrate and perpetuate violence against people of color.

More importantly, this incident should be discussed beyond the topic of “hate speech” into a conversation on the inherent racism that underlies America’s systems of power.

Whether the embroiled members of SAE realize it or not, they are fortuned with layers of privilege. Aside from the controversy, many of them are representative of the next generation of business leaders, lawyers and public office holders. It is easy to look at this situation as silly drunk chanting, but words have power. Words manifest the beliefs that we hold.

The ecstatic chant that, “there will never be a n*gg*r in SAE” on a bus later transforms into the silent, biased hiring decision that there will never be a black person in this or that company. The casualness of singing “you can hang him from a tree” transforms into the apathetic acceptance of the murder of unarmed black people each day in this country.

Maya Angelou stated that, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.” While we are all entitled to our mistakes, it does not mean that our words and actions do not have deeper implications. When a group of white fraternity members show their racism through a chant with slurs and lynching, do not attempt to excuse or justify their behavior. Believe them. As much as they can profess their deepest apologies to erase this PR nightmare, their conscience made them feel comfortable enough to join a hateful song. At their core, they agreed with the words they chanted.

The scandal that unfurled at the University of Oklahoma is not novel and happens quietly on college campuses nationally. Whether it is a black sex doll in a holiday photo or a “Cripmas” themed gang party, these controversies arise and are swept under the rug after administrative posturing and carefully crafted apology letters. What is terrifying to realize is that no level of university sanctions or “diversity trainings” can truly unravel the deeply rooted biases that allow these incidents to occur. The insidiousness of discrimination is so ingrained and normalized that offenders cannot even accept that it is there.

We cannot continue to base the conversation around these issues as just a debate on hate speech and political incorrectness. Until then, the response will always be, “what can we do to not appear racist,” instead of a genuine desire to unpack racist beliefs. “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown,” especially when that crown gives you privilege and power over others. The words that are said are never simply a joke, or a chant or a “horrible mistake”. Those words become reality.

NIKKI HARDISON is a Wharton senior from Buford, Ga. Her email address is chardi@wharton.upenn.edu. “The Vision” is a column for unfiltered black voices at Penn that appears every Tuesday.

Correction: The column originally stated that members of the University of Oklahoma's Delta Delta Delta chapter participated in the singing the racist chant. The chapter was never under investigation for participating in the chant and no chapter members were identified in the released videos. 

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