Clemson probes party that mocked blacks

CLEMSON, S.C. - Clemson University and the NAACP said Tuesday they are investigating an off-campus party held during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend that some considered offensive because white students drank malt liquor and at least one partygoer wore black face.
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Pictures from the party were posted online, and Clemson officials learned of the Jan. 14 party this past weekend. The school is probing whether students were harassed or whether there was underage drinking.

Clemson President James Barker wrote in a letter to students and faculty that he was "appalled, angered and disappointed" by the party, which "appeared to mock and disparage African Americans."

"Many people have been offended and deeply hurt," he said.

The party organizers issued an unsigned letter of apology, saying, "We invited all races and types of peoples and never meant any racial harm."

"We want everyone to know how sorry we are, and that we are willing to do anything to make things right," the letter said.

The
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was looking into the party and at least three similar events at other colleges around the country, said state chapter president Lonnie Randolph.

Clemson has roughly 1,100 black students out of more than 17,000 undergraduates, the university's Web site says.

not everyone wants to be a hero and break the stereotype, and its even harder when no one supports you if you are willing. playing into the stereotype is ridiculously easy for an uneducated person to fall into, because the first people to approach them are usually gangstas and from an early age, then when it comes time to mature and choose a side, they cant change because people don't want to know them, or who they can be. If we gave these people respect and allowed them to mingle in our social groups they may shed their old habits and mature but we don't give them a chance. anyone who is educated will usually grow out of the gangsta / homie especially anarchists and punks because they live a constant contradiction and eventually realize this.