After a Latina author's speech about navigating a predominantly white society, students burned her books

On Wednesday night, students at Georgia Southern University (GSU) ripped and burned copies of a Latina author’s book about a woman of color navigating life at a predominately white university.

The burning happened after Jennine Capó Crucet, author of Make Your Home Among Strangers and a professor at the University of Nebraska, spoke at the university about the book and her personal experiences. Make Your Home Among Strangers follows a young Cuban woman who has to balance the needs of her family with being a minority at a predominately white elite university.

Crucet’s book was assigned to incoming freshman at GSU who each go through a “first-year experience” course, and the university had invited her to speak about it at their campus. Several students who spoke with BuzzFeed on the condition of anonymity said attending the discussion was mandatory. GSU did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for clarification.

After reading from the book and sharing some personal anecdotes, Crucet took questions from the audience. She received a contentious question from a student who took issue with her opinions on white privilege.

“I noticed that you made a lot of generalizations about the majority of white people being privileged,” the student asked, according to GSU student newspaper The George-Anne. “What makes you believe that it’s okay to come to a college campus, like this, when we are supposed to be promoting diversity on this campus, which is what we’re taught. I don’t understand what the purpose of this was.”

Ben Reilly wrote:

On Wednesday night, students at Georgia Southern University (GSU) ripped and burned copies of a Latina author’s book about a woman of color navigating life at a predominately white university.

The burning happened after Jennine Capó Crucet, author of Make Your Home Among Strangers and a professor at the University of Nebraska, spoke at the university about the book and her personal experiences. Make Your Home Among Strangers follows a young Cuban woman who has to balance the needs of her family with being a minority at a predominately white elite university.

Crucet’s book was assigned to incoming freshman at GSU who each go through a “first-year experience” course, and the university had invited her to speak about it at their campus. Several students who spoke with BuzzFeed on the condition of anonymity said attending the discussion was mandatory. GSU did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for clarification.

After reading from the book and sharing some personal anecdotes, Crucet took questions from the audience. She received a contentious question from a student who took issue with her opinions on white privilege.

“I noticed that you made a lot of generalizations about the majority of white people being privileged,” the student asked, according to GSU student newspaper The George-Anne. “What makes you believe that it’s okay to come to a college campus, like this, when we are supposed to be promoting diversity on this campus, which is what we’re taught. I don’t understand what the purpose of this was.”

https://time.com/5698850/jennine-crucet-book-burning-georgia-white-privilege/

You know, in the name of freedom of expression, which the right claims to value so much these days ...

Hard to imagine a more effective way of keeping her ideas from the public than literally burning her words.

'Wolfie wrote:

I have to laugh at a lot of so-called "Latina" and "Latino" activists and agitators in the Americas who often label themselves as "black" on the basis of having one dark-skinned ancestor --  even though they themselves are often much "whiter" than me and some of my relo's...

Doesn't surprise me at all, to find yet another Latina agitator putting their foot in it, trying a bit of  "me too !" blarney, trying to hitch themselves to the American Negroes discrimination wagon..

As for the 'latino' and 'latina' labels, it often appears like they themselves often forget that the "latin" in their ethnicity comes from Spanish and Portuguese ancestry (i.e. country of origin, via 'Latin America' colonies..) --  and not from any "blacks" they have in there.

nicko wrote:Bullshit !

'Wolfie wrote:

I have to laugh at a lot of so-called "Latina" and "Latino" activists and agitators in the Americas who often label themselves as "black" on the basis of having one dark-skinned ancestor --  even though they themselves are often much "whiter" than me and some of my relo's...

Doesn't surprise me at all, to find yet another Latina agitator putting their foot in it, trying a bit of  "me too !" blarney, trying to hitch themselves to the American Negroes discrimination wagon..

As for the 'latino' and 'latina' labels, it often appears like they themselves often forget that the "latin" in their ethnicity comes from Spanish and Portuguese ancestry (i.e. country of origin, via 'Latin America' colonies..) --  and not from any "blacks" they have in there.

Original Quill wrote:

'Wolfie wrote:

I have to laugh at a lot of so-called "Latina" and "Latino" activists and agitators in the Americas who often label themselves as "black" on the basis of having one dark-skinned ancestor --  even though they themselves are often much "whiter" than me and some of my relo's...

Doesn't surprise me at all, to find yet another Latina agitator putting their foot in it, trying a bit of  "me too !" blarney, trying to hitch themselves to the American Negroes discrimination wagon..

As for the 'latino' and 'latina' labels, it often appears like they themselves often forget that the "latin" in their ethnicity comes from Spanish and Portuguese ancestry (i.e. country of origin, via 'Latin America' colonies..) --  and not from any "blacks" they have in there.

We often ran into these questions in school desegregation cases, particularly in the Southwest.  The white power structure would tell them, why side with them, as you are more like us?

I would answer, instead of driving a wedge in between ethnic groups, try focusing on who makes them feel like second and third class citizens.  It is the whites who try to hold back blacks, as well as Hispanics, and are responsible for defining and discriminating against both groups.

Color doesn't exist, until someone makes it significant.  Whites started this.  We wouldn't have any discrimination if it weren't for white people.

Ben Reilly wrote:

Original Quill wrote:

We often ran into these questions in school desegregation cases, particularly in the Southwest.  The white power structure would tell them, why side with them, as you are more like us?

I would answer, instead of driving a wedge in between ethnic groups, try focusing on who makes them feel like second and third class citizens.  It is the whites who try to hold back blacks, as well as Hispanics, and are responsible for defining and discriminating against both groups.

Color doesn't exist, until someone makes it significant.  Whites started this.  We wouldn't have any discrimination if it weren't for white people.

People of all colors discriminate, that's ridiculous.

Original Quill wrote:

Ben Reilly wrote:

Original Quill wrote:

We often ran into these questions in school desegregation cases, particularly in the Southwest.  The white power structure would tell them, why side with them, as you are more like us?

I would answer, instead of driving a wedge in between ethnic groups, try focusing on who makes them feel like second and third class citizens.  It is the whites who try to hold back blacks, as well as Hispanics, and are responsible for defining and discriminating against both groups.

Color doesn't exist, until someone makes it significant.  Whites started this.  We wouldn't have any discrimination if it weren't for white people.

People of all colors discriminate, that's ridiculous.

Nonsense.  Not until someone makes skin color an issue, does it even arise.  We don't discriminate by eye color, or size of feet.  I repeat: Color doesn't exist, until someone makes it significant.

Ben wrote:Color does exist...

nicko wrote:Question for Ben,  did you find much "color" problems in England ?

nicko wrote:Ben's gone to sleep,as he does when lefty insults are thrown around !