Some Arizona State University fraternity students posted horrendously offensive photos of themselves dressed in basketball jerseys, bandanas, drinking out of watermelons and throwing gang signs in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr., Day. This is almost as bad as the Naked ASU Girl. The Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity members posted the photos on Instagram and hash tagged the images “#mlkparty” and “blackoutformlk.” Various media outlets scooped the story and it went viral overnight.
- Photo posted on Instagram
- Photo posted on Instagram
- Photo posted on Instagram
Phoenix New Times reported that the party wasn’t held on campus or approved by ASU, and the fraternity has been on “social media suspension” in the past.
“ASU has suspended chapter operations, can and will take additional action against the individuals involved, and is meeting with the national TKE organization today to take further action,” Keeler says. “ASU has one of the most diverse student bodies of any major university in the country, and it is unfortunate that a few misguided individuals held an offensive party at a time when ASU, the state and the nation are celebrating Dr. King’s achievements and legacy. The university will not tolerate this kind of behavior.”
Unfortunately, they weren’t the only bigots using Dr. King to exploit their parties or black sales.
(via PNT)
This article appears in Jan 16-22, 2014.
Their parents must be so proud.
What if it was a black fraternity dressed in all green, leprechaun hats, drinking green beer, with four leaf clovers in their hands for St. Patty’s day? Would it be a story?
Does anyone even know if these pictures are offensive to the black community? Have they asked? What about the aforementioned symbols of Irish people, are we so sure that is not offensive to them?
Watermelon cups are a great idea which leads one to believe that Cantaloupe cups and Honeydew cups would be great as well. Thanks insensitive drunken ASU kids!
Dressing like NBA players and acting “urban” for an MLK party might be insensitive but it’s far from racist. They will be embarrassed someday, as these photos follow them FOREVER!
People like the kids above actually think they’re being clever. One wonders how racist they really are, as such things are so funny to them and to be readily dismissed. In fact so normal have such representations become in communities, that many don’t see any problem whatsoever with sharing these photos online. Because, as they would argue, it’s “just a joke.”
Which raises the question how did such distorted views become normalized in the first place….?
http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2014/01/as…
Modern US universities just want to churn out mindless drones. There is nothing more offensive about this than the movie White Chicks and I didn’t really find that offensive. University officials just have a knee jerk reaction to anything that draws attention. University officials and faculty don’t want us to notice how they abuse their position to line their own pockets!
And how are the actions of these young boors connected in any way with honoring Dr. King? This is a holiday to recognize the life and accomplishments of a man who literally gave his life to bring this country a bit closer to its stated ideals. Instead, these spoiled brat frats chose to mock what they perceive as popular African-American culture. What this really says is that these children (I use that term to describe their apparent emotional and intellectual state) have a very shallow and limited conception of African-American culture and a rather stunted educational foundation that will probably not be expanded much during their years at university. Boors they will remain.
Typical Arizona behavior and comments