Minority-On-Minority Racist Memeing, At Cornell Law

Racist meme was a problem, but the apology was accepted.

Diverse bitchingOne thing I heard this weekend — from Republicans trying to make sense of Donald Trump destroying their party — was that Trump might do better than expected with African-American voters. The stated argument is that African-Americans “also fear immigrants competing for jobs.” But the dog-whistle is that “black people are racist too.”

I thought about that when looking at this racist meme that was attached to a message sent out to the student listserv at Cornell Law. Cornell’s Black Law Students Association (BLSA) was promoting some event and attached this meme to their promo:

Cornell racist meme

When people bitch about “political correctness,” remember that what they are essentially defending is the right to send images like this one, without consequences. They’re saying that the people offended by this image being sent to the entire school community are in the wrong. We all agree that you shouldn’t go to jail for sending something like this, but the people who think political correctness is a problem are the ones who want to live in a world where this kind of crap still exists.

BLSA quickly issued an apology:

Dear Cornell Law Community,

On behalf of BLSA, we would like to formally apologize for an offensive image included in an earlier advertisement of a BLSA-sponsored event. That type of depiction plays on hateful and racist stereotypes that are simply unacceptable. BLSA was created—and strives to be—a diverse network of students committed to fostering an inclusive environment within the law school community. As an organization, we are deeply disappointed and embarrassed by our earlier e-mail.

We express our deepest regrets to the entire Cornell Law School community. This will not happen again.

-Cornell Black Law Students Association

Eduardo Peñalver, Dean of Cornell Law, also released a statement:

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The meme, which was sent to a student-only listserve promoting a student-sponsored event, traded on offensive stereotypes about Asians that are utterly contrary to the culture and values of the Cornell Law School community. Within a short time of the message going out, the Black Law Students Association acted swiftly and responsibly by apologizing to the entire student community for the inappropriate message. In a subsequent email, the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association thanked BLSA for its apology. In the coming weeks, BLSA and APALSA plan to co-host an event discussing unconscious bias, for which the Office of the Dean of Students and the Dean’s Office will provide resources. The Cornell Law School administration has been in contact with representatives of both BLSA and APALSA since the original email came to our attention, and we continue to investigate the matter. I am impressed by the mature and responsible way in which the student groups involved have worked together to address this unfortunate incident in a thoughtful and constructive manner that reaffirms the inclusive and caring nature of our community.

For their part, the Asian-American student association took the apology and the meme all in stride:

On behalf of APALSA, I would like to thank BLSA for sending out the e-mail; it was a very considerate response.

While the meme was not used out of malice, and people may have varying opinions on the image, it encompasses certain stereotypes that could be found offensive to members of our law school community. It is always important for us, as future advocates, to be aware of the potential effects of what we say.

I once again thank BLSA for their response. If anyone wishes to speak further, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Thank you!

That was pretty gracious on behalf of APALSA. There was a problem, there was an apology, the problem was acknowledged and the apology accepted. And now we move forward. This is how you handle an offensive meme.

As we move towards a majority-minority country, I just want to emphasize the importance of sticking together against Donald Trump’s America. The Trump people will lose so long as blacks, Latinos, Asians, Jews, and all the other special crayons remember our shared interests in equal opportunity, and cultural sensitivity.

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Don’t assimilate the white man’s cultural stereotypes. It only benefits the white man’s culture.