“There isn’t a day in my minority life that I’m thinking to myself, Golly gee…white people sure have held me down.”
Students at the University of Texas in San Antonio sparked controversy with the launch of a new magazine titled “No Whites Allowed.” The publication is the brainchild of a group of students whose objective is to highlight people of color—more specifically “queer” people of color. While the magazine didn’t receive the university’s approval or authorization, flyers were still disseminated announcing the launch of “No Whites Allowed.”
Representatives for the publication responded to widespread backlash by saying white people and straight people were welcome to attend the launch party, but neither are required for success. While some students feel ostracized simply for being white, others are more combative.
(Credit: Facebook/Art by Shan Fannin)
Launching a magazine titled “No Whites Allowed” is far from being all-inclusive and tolerant. No one wants to see something this ridiculous in circulation. There would be protests and talk show appearances nationwide if a “No Blacks Allowed” magazine were launched. Students would be suspended and heads would roll.
There’s no doubt students have become adept at marketing and using social media for attention to a cause. Rather than focus on the positive, these students attached negativity to the title of their publication for shock value just to create buzz. They’ve effectively cast a dark cloud over their publication. What sort of content can be found inside a magazine called “No Whites Allowed”?
There are plenty of ways to focus on a minority community and bring the positivity needed for support. Naming a magazine “No Whites Allowed” does nothing to encourage or support people of color. In fact, having a polarizing title associated with a project for minorities only serves to create resentment. It feeds the notion that white people are responsible for the troubles faced by today’s groups of minorities.
The magazine is supposed to be a creative outlet for “queer” people of color, where they can be heard. According to the creators, there’s absolutely no other “safe space” for people of color to express themselves. There definitely isn’t anything called social media or the internet.
Naturally, the magazine launch party was held at a vegan restaurant. An organizer was quoted as saying, “Inclusion is not inherently good, and exclusion is not inherently bad.” With such cutting-edge rhetoric, I can see why they had trouble coming up with a productive title.
Giving so much power to hatred completely masks creativity and transforms the idea of tolerance. There isn’t a day in my minority life that I’m thinking to myself, Golly gee…white people sure have held me down. I have seen many successful young people achieve amazing things without needing a safe space.
I’m literally imagining a publication full of terrible poetry slams and squiggly drawings. If that’s the case, I’m pretty sure no one wants to be allowed.
