There is no doubt that the black body and black male body in North America and around the world has been vilified both in history and pop culture without attributing culpability (and carefully side stepping) the institution of colonialism and it’s psychological and psycho-social impact to the legacy of the black/African diaspora conscience. This structure which extended to the encyclopedia Britannica defined blacks/Africans as a significantly inferior group in the 1700?s & 1800?s (Europeans were arrogantly obsessed with their own superiority). Yet, the saddest reality of this stereotypical epidemic is the fact that many people of color also believe and perpetuate these notions of self. Watch any ten rap videos and there is a reoccurring narrative and theme within them that typically magnifies salacious and violent behaviour as typical of the black man, this representation is also true of hispanic males.
Since the death of Florida’s A&M University marching band drum major, 26 year old Robert Champion, and incidence of assault and death involving several other black fraternities, the media as an institution has begun to highlight these Greek letter institutions. Though unfortunate an incident, one must look at the bigger picture before automatically coming to a conclusion about fraternities and the black bodies that are represented in these institutions that have been highlighted. Traditionally fraternities were and mostly still are represented as exclusive clubs where prior to acceptance one must go through an initiation ritual, typically administered by senior members of the fraternity. The organization serves as an institution that garners political and social influence within and outside the university, noting their famous and successful alumni and working together to build an exclusive community where there members are given special preference but also working to provide academic support, networking, confidence, fellowship and work towards philanthropic ends. In 2010 Derby Days at Rutgers University donated $95 000 to the Children’s Miracle Network.
Fraternity Stepping/Stomping is Popular among Black Colleges
Yet, though fraternities have many positive aspects, their elitist status and the initiation practices have come under fire in mainstream media especially of late African American fraternities. Through investigation it was found that many fraternities both African American and those found with predominantly white members engage in many questionable and especially humiliating practices such as nake-stomp dances, excessive alcohol consumption, physical assaults in the form of punches and with other paraphernalia. Hazing could be as mild as singing a song or as invasive and illegal as molestation as reported recently by Ryan Clifford, a graduate of the University of California—Davis who is suing the school administrators for ignoring a complaint again a Jewish fraternity, the Chi Delta chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi. Clifford alleges that he was stripped naked, molested, and forced to consume alcohol by fellow members. (San Francisco Chronicle)
When we decide to focus in on a particular incident such as the death of band major Champion and the black fraternity of which he was a pledge, from time to time we must zoom out and look at the bigger picture. Hazing is not a phenomenon unique to African American Colleges and or fraternities, and one would be perpetuating an error in believing that all initiations are violent. Hazing functions as a right of passage and they are many instances of this in government funded institutions such as those that are encapsulated within the military and paramilitary bracket (army, police, firefighters etc.) Hazing is especially important psychologically to the unification and solidarity of an army unit and training team and is used to form bonding ties that extend and solidify in high stress situations and deployment.
In Nov 1990 West Point officially put an end to hazing within their institution after a 108 year history of the culture permeating the united states preeminent leader development college/university level army base.
It is not the African American college institution that must be scrutinized, but any institution that allows and neglects to investigate cases of hazing within their community. It is the isolation and singling out of black colleges and their fraternities as being more historically violent when engaging in hazing rituals that adds to the narrative of summarizing the black body as that of a violent and ultimately primal group of beings. It should also be noted that joining fraternities is a matter of choice, it is not an obligation upon acceptance into college or university.
Hazing has declined in many institutions as a result of lawsuits (criminal and civil) and negative public relations resulting from incidence where persons were either killed or maimed. It is banned in many institutions, with violent hazing being categorized as a felony within many American jurisdictions, even though it is evident they still occur.
About Author: Khamal Murray is a major in Bioethics & Heath Studies at the University of Toronto and a blogger/writer with http://thejuxtapositionape.blog.com and a special contributor with Alternavox Magazine
[wpsr_facebook][wpsr_retweet][wpsr_plusone]