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Gifts for all occasions in the Galleria! Subscribe to the "What is the Deal?" mailing list. January 25, 2004 What is the Deal with a Race-Based Award? By Jan A. Larson  Omaha Westside High School annually presents an award to
the "Distinguished African American Student" and recognizes that
student as part of the school's Martin Luther King Day events.Three enterprising students threw a wrench into the celebration this year and earned suspensions for their efforts. An Omaha World-Herald article described how twins Paul and Scott Rambo, along with fellow student and native South African, Trevor Richards, plastered the school with posters featuring Richards giving the "thumbs up" sign along with a message urging support for Richards for the award next year. Richards moved to Omaha from South Africa six years ago and is white. Predictably, the politically correct school administration threw a fit and threw the three teens out of school for a day. The boys shouldn't have been suspended. They should have been applauded. These young men clearly saw through the politically correct nature of this award and drew attention to that fact through their satirical display. With all students eligible for other awards at Westside, these students thought that an award that excluded everyone but those of a particular skin color seemed patently unfair. They are right. Imagine the outrage that would have resulted if there had been an award for whites only. A definitive way to ascertain if a particular policy/award/benefit, which has as its determining factor a physical characteristic, is appropriate is to replace the physical characteristic with another one. How about an award for the "Distinguished Short Student," the "Distinguished Fat Student" or the "Distinguished Disabled Student?" The so-called leaders of the African-American community in this country lead a constant "struggle" for equality. Well, equality is a two-way street. When minorities, any minority, demand equality, but then turn around and use their minority status to gain an unfair benefit, the entire goal of the achievement of true equality is compromised. High school students cannot be expected to see the big picture on this issue, but I suspect that if the award winner, Kingsley Okafor, really thought about it, he might very well determine that winning an award for which over 1500 of the 1600 students in his school were automatically excluded on the basis of their race, is not really worth winning. Principal John Crook, demonstrating no spine when presented an opportunity to deliver a powerful lesson to the entire student body, shirked his duty and took the coward's way out by suspending the three students. Crook, who categorized the incident as, "... offensive to the individual being honored, to people who work here and to some students" might be wise to also consider the big picture. Any award given to anyone where the primary determinant is the color of one's skin, whether that may be white, black, brown or any other color, is offensive. It is offensive to any clear thinking members of the human race. I sincerely hope the three young men caught in the middle of this incident don't come away thinking they did wrong. Crook was wrong and this award can only be categorized, at best, lame and at worst, racist. -- Send feedback to the author. The "What is the Deal?" column will appears weekly on the Pie of Knowledge website. Guest submissions are welcome and encouraged. To submit an article to "What is the Deal?" click here. To subscribe to the "What is the Deal?" mailing list and receive early notification when a new column is available, click here. The Pie of Knowledge will never, ever divulge email addresses to any third party for any reason unless so ordered by a court of law. Contributions to the Pie of Knowledge are greatly appreciated. 
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