A wind of change: No place for racism

A wind of change is now blowing through the United Stated of America with people immediately reacting against any sort of racist act or even a remark.

The US administration is also trying to prove themselves as ‘free from any sort of racism’, but how far has the effort been effective is a matter of debate.

A recent incident at the University of Mississippi is an example of a fast reaction from the citizens against a remark which, maybe, had only a trace of racism.

Ed Meek, a generous donor for the School of Journalism at the University of Mississippi, in September in a Facebook post questioned the roaming about of Afro-American female students at early hours in scanty dresses.

Meek in his Facebook posted a couple of photographs of the females with comments allegedly having racist undertones. It sparked off prompt reaction from the students, faculty and the staff of the University of Mississippi.

University of Mississippi was established in 1848, but James Meredith was the first Afro-American to apply for admission in the all-white university. When Meredith arrived at the University to register for classes on September 20, 1962 he found the entrance blocked and rioting soon erupted. The then Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent 500 US Marshals and President John F. Kennedy sent Military Police, troops from the National Guard and officials from the US Border Patrols to the scene to keep peace.

However, on October 1, 1962 James Meredith became the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Ole Miss, as it is popularly known, at present has about 25,000 students, 23 percent of whom are minorities.

In the recent incident, a letter to the administration with over a hundred signatures from the faculty staff and graduate students criticized Ed Meek’s remarks and demanded removal of his name from the University’s Meek School of Journalism and New Media.

An emergency meeting of the Institute of Higher Learning Board without opposition and within a short span of time approved the change in the name. The outrage was so intense that even Ed Meek sought apology for posting but could not stop the controversy.

The local daily Mississippian published a letter from one of the faculties seeking steps for reparative justice and removal of the Meek’s name from the School and rename it after local investigative journalist born into slavery in Holy Springs Ida B. Wells-Barnett.

The change in the name of the School may not be that significant, but the reaction to racist act or remarks has been intense. It is just one of the many examples that American society continues to stand against any degree of racism, be it at home or abroad.