There seems to be a real disconnect with students at Xavier University in Cincinnati when it comes to the reality of Black Lives Matter and the Trump campaign. Images were recently posted to social media that display a startling lack of understanding and sympathy over the deaths of unarmed Black men at the hands of police, combined with the racist rhetoric that has emerged from the campaign of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
On Monday, a White female student sent out a Snapchat image of herself in Blackface with the caption, “Who needs white when black lives matter.” The image soon went viral after a Black student posted the racist selfie on his Facebook page. The student posted, “We are tired of the blatant racism that is so comfortably shown to us on Xavier’s campus…From racism/prejudice reports being brushed off to being told that ‘it wasn’t meant that way.’ From threats being made on yik yak (an anonymous twitter) to sly comments being made as we walk by. We are tired. This is not okay.”
The next day, another racist image was posted that was even more infuriating. This image featured a plastic skeleton in a dashiki with a noose around its neck. Also in the image was a flag that declared, “TRUMP, Make America Great Again.” The racist display appeared in a dormitory window on the campus. University President Michael Graham sent out a campus email that stated in part, “Racist actions are unacceptable on our campus, and we have mechanisms to respond in a responsible and thoughtful manner. When one of us falls short, we all fall short.”
Graham stated that the college will take steps to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. The nature of what these steps will entail has not been released.
