This is a rant and it has nothing to do with the primaries or general election, so I’m not sure how many “eyes” it will get. But it’s regarding an issue that transcends partisan and inter-partisan disagreement, and that is systemic racism in America.
In this case, it involves Austin, TX --the liberal bastion that so many on this site and elsewhere laud and the only “progressive” place in deep red Texas. Well let me tell you something, this haven for the progressive values of inclusion, diversity and openness was anything but those things for my husband and me 25 years ago, and neither is it for my daughter and her classmates today.
This incident has sparked an outcry from concerned black alumni of the University of Texas. It seems that Cody Young, an African American student at the university was attacked in West Campus, a neighborhood in Austin, TX, for simply existing while black.
Young, a mathematics senior, called the police on Feb. 20 around 7:30 p.m. after three white men threw glass bottles and yelled “fuck you, n-----” at him at the intersection of Leon Street and 25th Street, according to an Austin Police Department arrest affidavit. After Young said he was going to call the cops, the men came down to the street and attempted to assault Young. The suspects, Tucker Sauer, 21, and Lucas Henderson, 20, were charged with public intoxication and deadly conduct after police arrived at the scene, according to the arrest affidavit. The third man involved, only identified as “Danny,” was not charged.
“I did nothing to provoke these gentlemen,” Young said. “I just literally walked out, and the first thing they saw was my skin color. And that provoked them to act in that way.”
I grew up in Houston in the early 70’s and attended the University of Texas in the late late 80’s and early 90’s. My husband grew up in East Texas and was the first in his family to attend college, and one of only three African Americans to earn an engineering degree from the university in December 1994. I am a fourth generation college student, whose family has deep roots in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and majority serving institutions. My mother was the only African American female to graduate from the University of Oklahoma in accounting in the early 70’s, while her sister attended Virginia Union University in the late 60’s and was a classmate of Donda West, Kanye West’s mom. My daughter is a senior studying at the University of Texas now, and my son is a freshman at Stanford. African Americans have a deep and rich history in higher education. But this reality does not counter racism. Period.
Presently, Young is waiting and wondering if justice will be served. I fear that his story will become yet another unresolved battle that reflects the conundrum of “attending UT while black”.
Young said three to four days after the incident, he submitted a report to the Office of the Dean of Students, which handles administrative disciplinary processes for code of conduct violations. Sauer and Henderson, who were both Sigma Alpha Epsilon members at the time of the incident, are appealing the University’s potential disciplinary action, sources familiar with the matter said. Young said he feels frustrated with the situation after more than a month has passed with no announcement or update of disciplinary actions taken against the individuals.
“Thirty-five days later, and the process is still going on,” Young said. “Our University, that I love, that I’m about to graduate from, is telling me it’s going to take up to 75 days — at the most — for them to be able to do something.”
I’m enraged right now. For decades people have fought for inclusion and progressive ideals at the University of Texas. My husband and I were involved in the protests against Phi Gamma Delta, a white fraternity known as the “Fijis” for promoting events in which Michael Jordan was depicted as Sambo. Today, my daughter’s friend is wondering if the University will discipline fellow students who instigated a racially motivated attack against him.
While black alumni are mobilizing, the reality is that our “outcries” are not enough. If you are an alumnus of the University of Texas, I urge you to contact the Dean of Students’ office and let them know this cannot stand. All alumni, regardless of race, have to speak up. Sadly, the voices of angered black alumni are not enough.