I tried submitting this as a column, but was rejected.
1. Racism is not about intent.
You can’t steal part of a person’s dignity and then say you didn’t mean to do so maliciously, just like you can’t steal a person’s money and say you meant to buy them a gift with it. It doesn’t make a difference that the women of Tri Delta didn’t “mean” to hurt Ashley. They did anyway, and by not taking the time to ensure the comfort and inclusion of all their sisters, they failed.
Besides that, certainly the standard of care in communication with our sisters is not to be only “not malicious.” It should be to have good intent in all we say to each other, and it’s hard to believe the slurs and stereotypical language the women used would have a positive effect on anyone.
2. It is not the burden of people of color to educate.
The question of whether Ashley spoke to her sisters about this issue before she tweeted about it is irrelevant. It’s neither her job, nor the job of any other person of color, to seek out and educate white people on what is and isn’t racist. The women of Tri Delta, upon accepting Ashley into their bond, should have taken it upon themselves to become educated enough not to alienate one of their own sisters. They chose not to, so they failed.
3. What Ashley did was brave, end of story.
The Greek system is a notoriously oppressive white space- community or institution traditionally dominated by white people, in which people of color are viewed as “other” and are either implicitly or explicitly discouraged from entering. Just making the decision to go through Panhellenic recruitment as a person of color can be a harrowing one. It’s not the fault of one particular chapter, and there’s no explaining it away: traditional Greek life is white space, and it always has been. Higher education has always been dominated by elite whites in the United States, and Greek life serves as an even more elite, usually wealthier and more conservative, community within an already exclusive space.
Despite this, Ashley believed she had found a group of women to love and support her. When they didn’t, and instead were blatantly derogatory toward her, she did the best she could to stand up to them. These women did not “[take] her in as one of their own,” they ostracized and demoralized her through repeated microagressions and lack of sensibility. As sorority women we have to recognize that being the one to speak out in contradiction to the rest of the chapter is a nearly impossible undertaking, even when you know you’re right. Ashley did what most of us would be afraid to do, and did it from an already less privileged position.
At the end of the day, the women of Tri Delta were wrong, and Ashley does not owe them any favors.
Veronica, I hope you will take the time to educate yourself on the pitfalls of this piece and to reach out in apology and support of Ashley after the social media blitz you have undoubtedly caused her.
I tried submitting this as a column, but was rejected.
1. Racism is not about intent.
You can’t steal part of a person’s dignity and then say you didn’t mean to do so maliciously, just like you can’t steal a person’s money and say you meant to buy them a gift with it. It doesn’t make a difference that the women of Tri Delta didn’t “mean” to hurt Ashley. They did anyway, and by not taking the time to ensure the comfort and inclusion of all their sisters, they failed.
Besides that, certainly the standard of care in communication with our sisters is not to be only “not malicious.” It should be to have good intent in all we say to each other, and it’s hard to believe the slurs and stereotypical language the women used would have a positive effect on anyone.
2. It is not the burden of people of color to educate.
The question of whether Ashley spoke to her sisters about this issue before she tweeted about it is irrelevant. It’s neither her job, nor the job of any other person of color, to seek out and educate white people on what is and isn’t racist. The women of Tri Delta, upon accepting Ashley into their bond, should have taken it upon themselves to become educated enough not to alienate one of their own sisters. They chose not to, so they failed.
3. What Ashley did was brave, end of story.
The Greek system is a notoriously oppressive white space- community or institution traditionally dominated by white people, in which people of color are viewed as “other” and are either implicitly or explicitly discouraged from entering. Just making the decision to go through Panhellenic recruitment as a person of color can be a harrowing one. It’s not the fault of one particular chapter, and there’s no explaining it away: traditional Greek life is white space, and it always has been. Higher education has always been dominated by elite whites in the United States, and Greek life serves as an even more elite, usually wealthier and more conservative, community within an already exclusive space.
Despite this, Ashley believed she had found a group of women to love and support her. When they didn’t, and instead were blatantly derogatory toward her, she did the best she could to stand up to them. These women did not “[take] her in as one of their own,” they ostracized and demoralized her through repeated microagressions and lack of sensibility. As sorority women we have to recognize that being the one to speak out in contradiction to the rest of the chapter is a nearly impossible undertaking, even when you know you’re right. Ashley did what most of us would be afraid to do, and did it from an already less privileged position.
At the end of the day, the women of Tri Delta were wrong, and Ashley does not owe them any favors.
Veronica, I hope you will take the time to educate yourself on the pitfalls of this piece and to reach out in apology and support of Ashley after the social media blitz you have undoubtedly caused her.