The topic of race and racial issues has been a sensitive one on campus since last year’s lobster fiasco. Stemming from a situation that I still can’t claim to fully understand, the entire school was suddenly discussing class differences and racial prejudices, all the while many of us were afraid of saying anything at all, afraid to sound politically incorrect.
While the discussion of these issues was (and still is) legitimate and necessary, the explosion of differing opinions and tempers that occurred within the days and weeks following the incident caused a lot of frustration, hurt feelings and misunderstandings. Some of these same issues have resurfaced over the past week regarding Freeman’s shirt for Camelympics.
The front reads, “I’m a Freeman” in all caps, with “Free” and “man” on different lines. The back depicts Morgan Freeman, long associated with the dorm in South campus. Last year, his face hung on the dorm’s welcome banner as freshman arrived.
However, according to rumors, the picture on the back of the t-shirt was originally suggested to be Michael Vick.
The double entendre of Freeman and free man would have worked flawlessly in this case, as Vick has recently been released from prison for his involvement in an illegal dog-fighting ring.
This is not to say that the allusion to Morgan Freeman does not also have its merits – not only does he share the same name as the dorm, he portrayed a man who was set free from prison in the movie Shawshank Redemption. However, as he is a black man, you can see where the problems begin with the phrase “free man.”
President Barack Obama jokingly addressed our nation’s obsession with skin color while on the David Letterman show last week. When Letterman asked if Obama thought recent criticisms of his job performance were “rooted in racism,” he answered, “It’s important to realize that I was actually black before the election.”
Obama makes the point that a lot of Americans (and apparently, students at Connecticut College) still do not seem to understand – it doesn’t always need to be about someone’s skin color. Every issue, every disagreement, every opinion, and so on does not always need to boil down to “it’s because he’s black” or “it’s because he’s white.”
Obama’s continuing struggle with the health care debate is due to from resistance from members of Congress as well as the American people to widespread change in the system.
The only reason Morgan Freeman was on the back of the Freeman shirts was because his last name is Freeman. He is also a beloved actor and important figure in popular culture.
I’m not sure who first pointed out the potentially racist implications of the shirt, but I do know it was approved by Residential Education and Living as appropriate. Due to refusals to comment by the housefellow of Freeman and area coordinator of South campus, I also do not know who told Freeman residents that a hyphen needed to be added between “Free” and “man”; however I do know that the changes had to be made after students had already received the shirts.
What I do know, from talking to friends and residents of the dorm, is that this was one big misunderstanding. I honestly do not think that race was an issue while Freeman residents and student staff were discussing ideas for their Camelympics shirt.
However, Javier Mijares, SGA Chair of Diversity and Equity on campus, pointed out that, “Ignorance does not justify discrimination.” The Connecticut College community has to be more aware of situations that could potentially hurt another member of our student body in order to prevent these situations to keep happening over and over again, despite how blown out of proportion they might become.
Obama hoped to run in the 2008 election as the first “post-racial” candidate. Many called this idealistic and unrealistic, but he just wanted to be seen for his politics, not his skin color.
While it is clear that he was not successful in this endeavor, he hopes to continue to make the issue of race a non-issue throughout his presidency. I hope that on our campus race can become less and less of a hot button issue because at such a small school, it’s hard to think that we would try to offend or prejudice against our peers, neighbors, and friends.
Photo by Andrew Nathanson
