What do racism and ignorance have in common? Well, they both plague America and they are often mistaken for each other. The most significant difference between the two is probably better put this way: ignorance is much easier to fix.
Nowadays, many people don’t believe racism still exists. They believe it’s the delusion of minorities. Like Ben Shapiro claimed in the public debate hosted by Seattle radio station KTTH, Black Lives Matter Movement “creates more problems for people, because now they grow up in a milieu and an environment where they are told that every obstacle they face is from some shadowy, nameless, faceless group who is out to get them simply because of the color of their skin.”
Some even reject the idea of embedded modern racism after the murder of black teen Michael Brown. “It’s 21st century,” the non-believers said, “nobody is racist anymore.” Well, the facts often prove this theory otherwise.
Austin Reed Edenfield, a former University of Mississippi student and fraternity member, pleaded guilty on Thursday, March 24, to tying a noose on the school’s statue of its first black student.
He waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge before U.S. District Judge Michael Mills in Oxford. Edenfield was charged helping others to intimidate black students and employees at the university, according to ABC News.
He faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Because Edenfield cooperated in the prosecution of another former student Graeme Phillip Harris, the prosecutors have recommended probation for him rather than jail time.
People do crazy things and make mistakes at the ripe age of 19, but they were way out of line.
On the night of February 15, 2014, Edenfield, then 19, along with Harris and another freshman from the fraternity house Sigma Phi Epsilon, attempted to tie the noose around the neck of the Ole Miss statue of James Meredith, who integrated Ole Miss in 1962 amid rioting which was suppressed by federal troops. Edenfield tied the rope after Harris failed to do so, according to the Reuters. They also draped a former Georgia state flag with a Confederate battle emblem on the statue, said officials.
Harris and Edenfield then went back the next morning to observe the reactions and were filmed by a video camera at the Ole Miss student union. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob Coleman said Harris raised his fist and shouted “white power” toward a white university employee that morning, according to ABC News.
They said Harris often expressed ill will toward black students and he finally hatched the plan to place the noose on the historical figure after a night of drinking with Edenfield and the other freshman. “It’s James Meredith, people will go crazy,” Harris told Edenfield.
Graeme Phillip Harris
Harris was sentenced to six months in prison, followed by 12 months’ supervised release. He is currently held at a minimum security prison in Butner, North Carolina, and is scheduled to be released July 1, according to Federal Bureau of Prisons records.
The third person was not prosecuted. All three students have withdrawn from Ole Miss and the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity closed its chapter. The University of Mississippi still struggles with its racial issues, given the state’s bloody past of lynching of blacks.
Did these three young white men know beforehand the symbolic significance and consequences of their actions? Maybe yes, since they chose to place a noose rather than TP the campus like the rest of the kids. Or maybe not, unaware of the consequences they will face and the anger they will trigger.
It’s surprising and disappointing at the same time that such young boys would harbor so much hatred toward certain people because of the color of their skin, while receiving their higher education at college. It also makes us wonder what could possibly nurture this hatred in their hearts. Was it influence from parents? Peers? Neighbors? TV? Social Media? Or even teachers? How many more people who share their beliefs will we find in Mississippi? In politics? In America?
In a world that is seemingly equal and fair today, eliminating racism and ignorance could be even more difficult to achieve and will be a forever ongoing battle. But first, we must acknowledge their existence.
