Spelman graduate schools Wendy Williams about tasteless HBCU comment

Photo Credit: Wendy Williams Show
Photo Credit: Wendy Williams Show

Did the real Wendy Williams host her eponymous show on Wednesday, July 6, 2016 or did she allow “Clueless” Stacey Dash to stand in for her? Clearly, the talk show host couldn’t hear herself during her “Hot Topics” segment when she dismissed the necessity of the NAACP and HBCUs. Addressing Jesse Williams‘ Black people and humanity matter speech, which was presented when he was accepting his BET Humanitarian Award, Wendy praised Jesse’s words as “poignant on one hand” and then she played devil’s advocate, slapping viewers with jaw-dropping insults. She said, “On the other hand, I would be really offended if there was a school that was known as a historically White college. We have historically Black colleges.”


She continued, “What if there was a national organization for white people only? There’s the NAACP. By the way, what is the ‘C’ for? Colored? Are we still using colored?”


Now, Wendy! No one is going there with you about the “C” in the acronym. But to entertain you, we have no problem with being people of color who are cognizant and conscious, which means we are awake. #StayWoke

Your comments, which were likely meant to be coy, are condescending and cruel.


Here, rolling out’s summer intern, who graduated from Spelman College this year and will be attending Columbia University’s School of Journalism this fall, obliged this editor to share her thoughts about Wendy’s comments:

It’s appalling that she would criticize the spaces that were specifically made for students of color because early institutions did not admit them at all. Saying that there should be “historically White colleges” or a “National Organization of White People” is insulting because most colleges/universities and other organizations and corporations are dominantly White. I believe her comment implies her ignorance to the fact that our spaces were created to give us representation and safe spaces whereso the larger outside world wouldn’t necessarily allow it.

Sincerely,
Tiffany Pennamon

Spelman College, Class of 2016
Candidate for Bachelor of Arts in English

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