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I don't know why don' you go to a Southern church on a Sunday morning? Most are still segregated along racial lines.
However, many historical Black American universities are now also attended by all types of people. In fact, I can remember when the homecoming queen at one of the historical Black American universties was a young White American woman about a year or two ago.
Also there are some groups that specifically meet the needs of the Black American community. So I don't know if the "They are no longer needed" logic applies. They may be needed by they may serve different purposes.
Well, both my sons went to a prdedominately Black college, on baseball scholarships, and graduated. I went to all their games and I've played basketball all over the city. I also played on a semipro football team, with 45 Black guys and 5 White guys. Sports is a great way to meet, associate and be friends with people of all walks of life.
I don't know why don' you go to a Southern church on a Sunday morning? Most are still segregated along racial lines.
However, many historical Black American universities are now also attended by all types of people. In fact, I can remember when the homecoming queen at one of the historical Black American universties was a young White American woman about a year or two ago.
Also there are some groups that specifically meet the needs of the Black American community. So I don't know if the "They are no longer needed" logic applies. They may be needed by they may serve different purposes.
I've been to all Black churches, all White churches and mixed churches. I move freely between Black and White groups, and obviously I know that many people don't.
All it says to me is that many Blacks like to hang together, and many Whites like to hang together. Humans tend to self-segregate by ethnicity, culture, skin color, etc.
I know what I want to say to answer your question but every time I type it it doesn't make much sense I've never been to an event that I would consider racist because it doesn't stop people from other races from participating; it's just focusing on black people and even then it's usually focusing on a specific subject like black poets, black artists...I've been to a black writer's expo but there were lots of non-black people.
Does that make sense?
Ideally, it would be just a writer's expo without regard to the skin colors of the writers. Perhaps an expo by genre would be better without a focus on the color of one's skin. It suggests that Blacks and Whites write differently, and is reminiscent of claims that Black and White brains are different, IMO.
I don't pretend to have the answer, but I think perpetuating divisions by skin color is a bad idea.
Ideally, it would be just a writer's expo without regard to the skin colors of the writers. Perhaps an expo by genre would be better without a focus on the color of one's skin. It suggests that Blacks and Whites write differently, and is reminiscent of claims that Black and White brains are different, IMO.
I don't pretend to have the answer, but I think perpetuating divisions by skin color is a bad idea.
I thought it was perfect just the way it was. I've been to genre expo's before and they usually are larger, more expensive, less personal and bring out well-known writers.
It was an expo that featured the non-fiction works of black writers. I loved it because in school I was only offered a very small sampling of black writers, and even then the time we spent on them was small compared to others. This gave me a chance to learn about writers I'd never heard of and wouldn't have been able to find without knowing what I was looking for.
I personally have never had an issue with this events separated by race, religion, culture, sex, whatever (as long as everyone was welcome to attend; I'd never go to an invite that either excluded people or was aimed at putting other down) I've been to several and I always looked at it as a learning experience. They're only negative if you go into them with a negative attitude.
I thought it was perfect just the way it was. I've been to genre expo's before and they usually are larger, more expensive, less personal and bring out well-known writers.
It was an expo that featured the non-fiction works of black writers. I loved it because in school I was only offered a very small sampling of black writers, and even then the time we spent on them was small compared to others. This gave me a chance to learn about writers I'd never heard of and wouldn't have been able to find without knowing what I was looking for.
This (in bold) kept coming to mind when I was thinking about it and responding to you. That was the only reason I could think of also. Too much Black history has been suppressed.
Again though, I did say "Ideally". Ideally, it shouldn't be this way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by natalayjones
I personally have never had an issue with this events separated by race, religion, culture, sex, whatever (as long as everyone was welcome to attend; I'd never go to an invite that either excluded people or was aimed at putting other down) I've been to several and I always looked at it as a learning experience. They're only negative if you go into them with a negative attitude.
Bear with me for a moment (you won't like the next statement). Just about everyone would be shocked and all heck would break loose if there was a White writer's expo specifically advertised and focused on White writers. Many, if not most people could cite the same reason - I was given only a small sampling of White writers in school. It's a conundrum -- and that is really all folks are pointing out, IMO, when they say, "If a white person did this...."
Bear with me for a moment (you won't like the next statement). Just about everyone would be shocked and all heck would break loose if there was a White writer's expo specifically advertised and focused on White writers. Many, if not most people could cite the same reason - I was given only a small sampling of White writers in school. It's a conundrum -- and that is really all folks are pointing out, IMO, when they say, "If a white person did this...."
They have them all the time. They just don't call them "white" expos. They call it American Literature. I've been to quite a few of those as well where all the featured work was done by white writers, especially if they focus on an earlier time period. That didn't bother me either. I guess to make everyone feel better they could change the names so that they didn't single out black, Asian, Spanish, etc but if the purpose is the same (to expose the work of a certain group of people) what difference does it make what you call them?
They have them all the time. They just don't call them "white" expos.
Calling them White expos wouldn't be accepted. However, from my POV, I think society could be moving in that direction. I really don't want to see that. My interest is also personal because my family is mixed and in my opinion, American views on skin color in general are really jacked up. From my POV, we seem to be regressing with an increasing focus on skin color and division.
I'm just using your expo example as an analogy, apply the same logic everywhere else in our society. For example, in Augusta, GA someone created a White Basketball League. It was met with the usual accusations of racism. It could have had nefarious reasons behind it, I don't know. I haven't heard anything else about it since it made the news at its inception, but the point is that racism is the immediate assumption by society at large because it carries a White skin color label.
I believe the League prohibited Black players. That's discriminatory, but if they are calling themselves a White American League, it's logical. Let's assume they do not prohibit Black spectators. Now, presumably a Black writer's expo would exclude White writers in its focus, but does not prohibit Whites from attending. Logically, these two scenarios are identical, but are viewed differently by society because that is how most of us have been trained. If one is wrong, and the other is right, it creates friction.
I agree with you that Black separatism is no longer needed. To continue obsolete practices that may give the impression of being benign, actually give the other side justification to practice separatism.
To me, it makes more sense to back off of Black separatist organizations than to start creating White separatist organizations for the sake of equalizing, particularly in a political context.
Quote:
Originally Posted by natalayjones
They call it American Literature.
American literature includes Americans regardless of skin color. This seems to be a difficult concept for the majority of Americans to grasp.
If it happens to be focused on a period when there were no known Black American writers is one thing. Imagine singling out White writers and calling it a White expo to focus solely on them because of skin color...that's considered another thing. I can't see a valid reason to focus specifically and purposely on White or Black writers only unless there is a more narrowed focus of examining works from a cultural perspective for specific reasons. However, even under that condition, this type of White writer's expo would be taboo, while the Black expo acceptable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by natalayjones
I guess to make everyone feel better they could change the names so that they didn't single out black, Asian, Spanish, etc but if the purpose is the same (to expose the work of a certain group of people) what difference does it make what you call them?
I don't think it's about making people feel better...or about whether or not expos are right or wrong. It's about equality. Americans of varying skin colors are either viewed and treated equally or they aren't. Separatism, and particularly double standards, are not conducive to equality, IMO.
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I've never been to an event that I would consider racist because it doesn't stop people from other races from participating; it's just focusing on black people and even then it's usually focusing on a specific subject like black poets, black artists...I've been to a black writer's expo but there were lots of non-black people. 
