progress.. University of Mississippi cheerleaders, seen in 1962 and now

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/04/progressive-american-south-flag-klansman-next-door

[Peregrine]

1. But they are still the Rebels

UNLV too and probably 100's of other colleges and high schools.

[Recursion]

2. Aren't they the Bears now? (nt)

[Journeyman]

7. UNLV are the Runnin' Rebels, and have nothing to do with the South or Rebellion. . .

Their mascot is Hey Reb!, an anthropomorphic mountain man, the embodiment of an independent, rebel spirit.

Have you never rebelled against societal norms, or sought a different path outside the safe confines of structured civilization? That's the image evoked by UNLV's nickname. More in the mode of Jedediah Smith or John Wesley Powell (a Union officer, by the way), than that of Edmund Ruffin.

[Fawke Em]

11. So what?

The word, "rebel" has several meanings.

[Tipperary]

16. Those who rebelled against King George III

were also called rebels.

[dumbcat]

17. And they are now called

Founding Fathers.

[Tipperary]

18. Nevertheless, they were rebels.

I like the term personally.

[kwassa]

3. Ole Miss? Where the noose was hung around the statue of James Meredith?

from 4/18/14

http://gawker.com/frat-bros-hang-noose-on-statue-of-ole-misss-first-black-1564678461

A fraternity chapter at the University of Mississippi has been shut down after three members hung a noose around the neck of a statue of James Meredith, the university's first-ever black student.

A pre-2003 Georgia state flag, featuring the Confederate battle emblem, was also draped over the statue's face.

After an investigation, Sigma Phi Epsilon has decided to close its Ole Miss chapter, the University said Thursday. The three students responsible, who are all from Georgia, have been kicked out of the fraternity, CBS News reported.

The school is pursuing disciplinary action against the students, according to an Ole Miss spokesman. The FBI is also investigating.

[intheflow]

6. But also the home of one of the most aggressively antiracist institutes in the country.

William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation. Old Miss has its problems, but overall it's one of the most enlightened places in the state.

[Journeyman]

8. Ah, reality. Always more complicated than our easy classifications permit . . .

Thanks for the link, by the way. A most interesting institute.

[kwassa]

9. Why is this reality?

Having an institute on the campus says nothing about the general racial climate on the campus.

I suggest you read this:


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/02/25/first-black-female-ole-miss-student-body-president-reacts-to-newest-racial-incident-at-university/

I pushed ahead, campaigned hard and became the only black maid elected by the student body on homecoming court.

This turned out to be one of the highlights of my freshman year, but there were ups and downs. I witnessed the Ku Klux Klan come to campus and protest after the chancellor demanded students stop chanting “the South will rise again” when the band played “From Dixie with Love.”

I never imagined that I would see the KKK standing on the steps of our beloved university, wearing white robes and carrying Confederate flags. My eyes burned at the sight.In sophomore year, I was invited to join Phi Mu, a traditional white sorority. I became the only black member of that sorority chapter.

The next week a blog online proclaimed: “Phi Mu Accepts Black Girl — Laughing Stock on campus.”

[intheflow]

10. Of course you've posted this out of context.

Right before this the writer stated,

If I was going to a school in Mississippi, I was going to the best academic institution in the state. And Ole Miss was the best. It was in my eyes an academic institution parallel to the Ivy League.

Four years later, the decision is one I would never undo. Ole Miss challenged, pushed, tested and supported me.

And later in the article she recalls how her white sorority sisters reacted when she'd been harassed with more racism on campus:

But I also remember returning to my room in the Phi Mu house, where several sorority sisters came to check on me. One gave me a hug.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you, but don’t worry; I’m your sister and I’ve got your back.”

In that moment, through the hurt, my sorority sister reminded me there was good in the world. Her love and compassion toward me, especially that night, will never be forgotten.

So, yes. Reality is what you make of it. But by actively choosing to only see one side of Ole Miss, you are making your own reality.

[6chars]

12. I feel pretty ignorant about the south

As a northerner, I have read about it and seen it on TV but haven't spent time there (unless you count Disneyworld). Kind of like Russia or something. While i certainly condemn the racism that exists there or anywhere, and i am comfortable condemning racist incidents and individuals, i am uncomfortable generalizing that southerners think this or that, or even that mississippi thinks this or that, or that Univ. of Miss thinks this or that.

[intheflow]

14. I'm from Massachusetts but lived in Mississippi for two years.

Went down full of assumptions and biases, discovered a state that was infinitely more nuanced than I ever imagined. It was strange the way blacks and whites got along. Often tense, but often caring. Families go back a long way on both sides of the racial lines. A white neighbor can sincerely ask a black neighbor about their mother's health, for instance, and really care, but then stand up at a public meeting and stereotype black people as lazy good-for-nothings. It was kind of bizarre to witness, as an outsider, but was also a good lesson in the depth and breadth of the complexity of human relations.

[6chars]

15. thanks for reducing my ignorance

see what i mean

[Journeyman]

20. Thanks. I was away from my computer, but my response would have been very similar. . .

I would add, when situations are seen only in generalities then solutions are sought in the commonplace, and will invariably fall short of the far more complicated realities we actually face.

[KG]

4. progress!

[Blue_In_AK]

13. Ol' Miss has made a lot of progress.

When I went to the University of Houston in 1964-68, they wouldn't let our football team play against them on their field because we had black athletes. It's been a long time ago, and my memory is foggy, but I think they had to play that game in Tennessee or somewhere. U of H was one of the first universities in the south to have integrated athletics. http://www.history.uh.edu/cph/tobearfruit/story_1955-1980_section06.html

[bluestateguy]

19. And no Ross Barnett there to make fiery speeches

about how he "loves Mississippi, her culture, her heritage and her customs!"

You're a fool if you don't know what all that really means.