Racial tensions are high at the University of Oklahoma after a video of the school’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity chapter singing racial slurs surfaced on the Internet Sunday. Student protests broke out on campus, a committed athlete abandoned his admission and rapper Waka Flocka Flame canceled an upcoming OU appearance. But the campus wasn’t the only place where protests and reactions took place. St. Louis resident Reginald Cunningham decided to extend the discussion on Twitter and launched the hashtag #blackexperience to spread light on the reality of racism in America. “More or less it’s about starting a conversation and opening the eyes of those who may not know that this is the everyday…
Racial tensions are high at the University of Oklahoma after a video of the school’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity chapter singing racial slurs surfaced on the Internet Sunday.
Student protests broke out on campus, a committed athlete abandoned his admission and rapper Waka Flocka Flame canceled an upcoming OU appearance. But the campus wasn’t the only place where protests and reactions took place. St. Louis resident Reginald Cunningham decided to extend the discussion on Twitter and launched the hashtag #blackexperience to spread light on the reality of racism in America.
“More or less it’s about starting a conversation and opening the eyes of those who may not know that this is the everyday black experience… for pretty much all people of color,” Cunningham told The Huffington Post.
Two questions prompted the collective narrative of responses.
When was the last time you experienced blatant racism? #BlackExperience
— Bram StrokeHer (@kidnoble) March 9, 2015
Tell your story. When was the first time you were called a n*gger? #BlackExperience
— Bram StrokeHer (@kidnoble) March 9, 2015
“When it comes to race, it’s almost like it’s still a taboo conversation. It’s an uncomfortable space for many people,” Cunningham said. “Of course hashtags are contagious and they are kinda what bring people together.”
The hashtag was inspired by not only the SAE frat video, but also in response to the DOJ’s damning Ferguson report exposing racial bias and the Black Lives Matter movement fighting to prevent similar instances from reoccurring. Cunningham encourages the confrontation of ugly truths as a way to move forward.
And don’t forget that each of you matter. Each and every one of you #BlackExperience
— Bram StrokeHer (@kidnoble) March 9, 2015
And never ever be afraid to confront racism head-on. As PoC we have a moral responsibility to fight against it. #BlackExperience
— Bram StrokeHer (@kidnoble) March 9, 2015
It’s a dialogue that Cunningham has no plans to bring to an end anytime soon, “Because as long as we’re having that conversation, then the possibility of progression is there.”
Follow the conversation on Reginald Cunningham’s Twitter, and see the black experiences people shared below, many of which include racially charged language. .
I almost drowned at Lake Lanier because the lifeguard said he wasn’t gonna jump in and save a nigger. I was 8 #BlackExperience
— Bruce Banner (@nerd_worldorder) March 9, 2015
#blackexperience I was in 9th grd me & this white kid were arguing & he said "my daddy wouldn’t even like me talking to your color people".
— jordan (@_RosieO) March 9, 2015
In high school football when we played a predominantly white school and the students yelled "NIGGERS" at our bus #BlackExperience
— Bambino (@jdboutpaper) March 9, 2015
check my mentions. A troll is probably saying it now RT @kidnoble: When was the LAST time someone called you n*gger? #BlackExperience
— ShordeeDooWhop (@Nettaaaaaaaa) March 9, 2015
This fall while coaching HS football. From my own stands RT @kidnoble: When was the LAST time someone called you n*gger? #BlackExperience”
— Domo stays Domming (@DaGreatWario) March 9, 2015
21, 6 weeks b4 graduating college RT @kidnoble: When was the LAST time someone called you n*gger? #BlackExperience
— Kam, the Killa (@CoolWithA_K) March 9, 2015
August 9-… 2014, on twitter. RT @kidnoble: Tell your story. When was the first time you were called a n*gger? #BlackExperience
— ShordeeDooWhop (@Nettaaaaaaaa) March 9, 2015
2nd grade my best friend was depressed bc a white student told her she’d be his slave. #blackexperience
— Shanye (@0hBehave) March 9, 2015
#BlackExperience When you’re caught between the white and black community because you’re biracial.
— Kali Nicole (@BacktoKaliKali) March 9, 2015
at 13 years old.. my cousins & i were chased by klansmen in pulaski, tn; i still have the scar in my mouth bc he punched me #BlackExperience
— ρoρєyєѕєxuαl 1922 † (@_lesbiTREN) March 9, 2015
#blackexperience can I touch your hair? #naturalhair struggles, b/c we’re specimens that need to be examined
— Creole Queen (@AIL24) March 9, 2015
#BlackExperience At 5, my parents were first Blacks to by property on my block. White folks left en masse. White flight, they called it.
— Anita Cameron (@adaptanita) March 9, 2015
#blackexperience .. When someone throws the money on the counter and demands you to pick it up. And you do it because you need a job.
— ____Amy WineHead. (@Nellmisfitlivin) March 9, 2015
I’ll especially never forget about one young man who’s skin was clawed at by a white boy trying to "scratch the black off." #BlackExperience
— #BlackExperience (@kidnoble) March 10, 2015
Feb, cashier assumed I was paying w| food stamps.. I wasn’t. RT @kidnoble: When was the last time you experienced racism? #BlackExperience
— Amaya. (@HoneyyDip__) March 9, 2015
"@kidnoble: When was the last time you experienced blatant racism? #BlackExperience" When we didn’t order watermelon but they brought it out
— Mellow Yellow (@_DGood_) March 9, 2015
Got pulled over for a durag and FL plates in Tenn RT @kidnoble: When was the first time you experienced blatant racism? #BlackExperience
— Mr. Woods (@Ultra55_) March 9, 2015
When your hair is "too white girl" to relate to the #BlackExperience but your butt is too big to fit into "normal sized" jeans.
— Kali Nicole (@BacktoKaliKali) March 9, 2015
#BlackExperience As an engineer, listening to a customer tell me he’s going to "nigger-rig" something then immediately apologize afterwards.
— Reginald MaGee (@makarios58) March 10, 2015
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#BlackExperience Stirs Racism Conversation Following Oklahoma Frat Scandal
