To begin I urge you to watch this video. This video will explain the numbers behind the idea that our collegiate institutions have used an array of media to disguise the fact that they use AFrican American’s as a tool for D1 sports and nothing more. I know it’s tempting to skip the video but what you’ll find is that you will see the facts behind the claim along with an emotional attachment.
That being said, UCLA is just one of the D1 schools to use this propaganda technique. The institution I’m focussing on is D1 sports and recruitment that goes along with it. Schools paint a picture of a diverse community of students at their school and show a picture of a black student on a pamphlet to resemble a varied campus. The reality is that of the 19,000 males enrolled at UCLA, 3.3% are AFrican American and of that 660 males, 65% are student athletes.
This has become a widespread problem where schools isolate the options for African American males down to basically, “Pick a sport and pursue it, or don’t come here.” This may be a generalization but if you don’t believe that this is the mindset of young black boys, then look again. A documentary released a few years ago presented a neighborhood in Philadelphia and took a look at a group of young AFrican American kids. When asked what they wanted to be when they grew up they all said NBA stars. They didn’t have any other choices. This may not seem unusual but when the narrator talked with their teachers, the teacher reported that the boys showed up to class maybe 50% of the time. These were middle school boys. They were so shaped by the idea that if they did not play pro basketball they were out of options that they had already given up on their studies.
What once stood for the institution of knowledge is now divided into two categories. Black and white. There are universities out there that do not hold these ideals but they are washed over in the grand scheme of D1 schools who want the money major sports bring in and will recruit in whatever means possible. In that video he states “No one snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.” No one university is going to take credit for the whole institution of this messed up watered down education system that now wants to educate some and harness the talents of others. The stereotype of the black student athlete is only being further enhanced with schools like UCLA only accepting AFrican Americans who can play sports. The feeling is that they are “Not on an even playing field with their white counterparts.”
The phrase he continues to come back to is “You tell me I should be proud to be a Bruin.” As if his identity matters to the school when they along with other schools identify them as a source of revenue, a tool for their own support. The opportunities for students in America are being skewed and the playing field is not level.
When will the institution set aside to educate us learn that “Those with less opportunity are fighting for their position trying to find their place, but those with privilege are hitting triples when they were already born on third base.” And you tell me, I should be proud to be a student…
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darealdreamteam 