Monday, June 15, 1998
Demands for diversity must continue
First and foremost I would like to thank my Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ for allowing me the chance to become sports editor of
the Daily Bruin for the 1997-1998 academic year. When I was warned
me of the time commitment, I thought to myself, "Oh, it can’t be
that bad." I can now say that I was one little naive puppy –
precisely because the amount of work that one has to put in
literally becomes more than a full-time job.
As an African American, I can attest to the fact that students
of color are doing positive things here on campus. With the recent
attacks on affirmative action programs, it is incumbent of me to
fight and speak out against the racist and clearly discriminating
forces that seek to close the doors to those who have very little
power under the system in which we live. James Baldwin once said
that if we know something (about any issue that can be potentially
harmful to another) and we do nothing about it, then we are just as
much responsible for perpetuating what the oppressor is implicating
onto the oppressed.
My position as the Sports editor was a political one. Each day
became a new day for me to educate my peers (many of whom were from
very privileged backgrounds) about what it means to be an African
American person in a position of power and as a student here on
campus. Many of them were oblivious to the struggles that we, as
African Americans, have to contend with on a daily basis (e.g.
racism, discrimination, being stereotyped). Professionally, I not
only created a well-balanced, well-covered and professional sports
section, but I also provided my peers with a chance to see that I
come from a history of greatness and that I am, in the words of the
late Lorraine Hansberry, "Young, gifted and black."
When I leave UCLA, I want this university to realize how hard it
is for African American students to successfully matriculate from
here into the real world. Academically, the work is easy – but the
racism and white privileges that are very much prevalent on this
campus can become tiring and defeating. African Americans recognize
that this institution of higher learning is really a game. It is a
game where whites (because of their political and economic status)
are afforded privileges that allow them (metaphorically) to cheat
their way through what is supposed to be an equal opportunity
learning environment. If those of you who are white are offended by
the nature and tone of my prose, then I must say that you have
truly begun to experience a mere fraction of what African Americans
have had to endure all throughout our tenure at UCLA and in
America.
My last and final wish for those who come after me is that you
all fight for and demand diversity on this campus precisely because
education does not just come from textbooks, but from learning and
understanding those who come from different backgrounds and
cultures.
UCLA is an institution where we are, in theory, encouraged to
exchange scholarly discourses. If we do nothing on behalf of
diversifying this campus, then we will continue to to regress as an
institution and as a country.
Congratulations, Class of 1998, and welcome, Class of 2002.
Stanley Johnson Jr.