Youthful Life: X

*This is my unpublished response to the racist fraternity chant incident with SAE at OU. Diet Racism Racism displayed by racist chant overshadows covert racism By Joseph Oteng It was the chant heard round the world. Brothers of the now disbanded Oklahoma University chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity had their charter revoked and were evicted from their house. The racism put on display by those fraternity men was simply boring. It was the tried and true easily recognizable version of racism. It lets us sound the alarm, condemn blatant bigots, and return to our routines of silence, apathy, or ignorance towards the everyday injustices around us, many of which we participate in. This whole ordeal points to the oversimplified markers for racism that are stuck in the height of Jim Crow law mandated segregation. We look for foam-mouthed vitriolic spewing of the n-word, prejudiced signage of separationist nostalgia, or the haunting visages of black face. Don’t...

*This is my unpublished response to   "The Year of the White Male" . Half-Assed Allies Wanted by Joseph Oteng Mention the phrases police brutality, sexual assault, or marriage equality and straight white men seem to prepare themselves for an onslaught of social justice jargon which often ends in definitive name-calling à la racist sexist homophobe. On this campus and so many others like it exists a culture rightfully concerned with social justice, inequality, and the differences that make us diversely human. College is a time where some students discover themselves, learn beyond ridged binaries, and challenge prejudiced beliefs. Others however cannot be bothered to google an identity, examine privilege, or curb biased speech let alone attend a lecture, join a discussion, or a demonstration. The excuses abound for why people don’t get social justice, don’t want to, or don’t care to. The implications, however, are burdens that no one can carry. In failing to do so,...

The 20s are all about creating the world you want. If you want the world to be the want you it, the you, yourself have to make it that way. Be the person who says something; be the one who does something; be the one who is something. You have to be. No one else. The world on changes if we change and do better. We have to try harder. Do a little bit more. Go that extra mile. Change does not occur unless we are the ones to enact it. Cosmogonies are stories of world making - write your own.   *Instead of telling about my time with Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie, I thought I would share would you the piece I wrote for my journalism on her.   Creating the World You Want An interview with Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie - By Joseph Oteng “Yoga, peppermint tea, chocolate twice a day, reading books, and natural hair YouTube videos,” Chimamanda joked as the secrets to finding peace in your life. Chimamanda is an accomplished writer, activist, and public speaker known for her July 2009 T...