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Unversity president decorated home with cotton stalks while hosting black students

Averon

Member
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-table-with-cotton-stalks-and-collard-greens/
A Tennessee university president has apologized for offending African American students with a table centerpiece that included stalks of cotton — a piece of Southern-style decor that is raising questions about cultural and racial sensitivity.

He also served "black meals"

Lipscomb University President Randy Lowry said in a statement late last week that he had invited African American students to his home for dinner, serving what one student called ”black meals" — ”mac n cheese, collard greens, corn bread." A picture posted on Instagram showed the meals placed around a table that was embellished with a jar filled with decorative branches and cotton stalks.

When asked about this setup, he gets instantly defensive.

She said that when Lowry was asked why there was cotton on the table, he told them he did not know.

”He kind of thought it was ‘fallish,' THEN he said ‘it ISNT INHERENTLY BAD IF WERE ALL WEARING IT' then walked off," she wrote on Instagram.

Lowry told the Tennessean that he was ”probably not as artful as I should have been" in his response, ”but I was trying to meet everybody and get on with the show."

Lock if old

edit: He also served tacos to Latino students the day before.

”As we arrived to the president's home and proceeded to go in we seen cotton as the center pieces," she wrote. ”We were very offended, and also the meals that were provided resembled many ‘black meals' they had mac n cheese, collard greens, corn bread etc. The night before Latinos also had dinner at his house and they had tacos. They also DIDN'T have the center piece that we HAD tonight."
 

Wilsongt

Member
Tennessee...

Unsurprising.

They can't have drag shows downtown, but they can have racist theme university parties.
 
This is after he served tacos to the latino students the night before.

edit: he literally did this according to the article! I'm not making a joke
 

Kthulhu

Member
I could maybe understand if it was already there, but that plus the food makes me think it isn't some coincidence.
 

Volimar

Member
You know I could almost believe the centerpiece thing being a mistake if it weren't for the meal. Jesus, either he really really wanted to be racist or he's so out of touch, I'd be checking for transmissions to Ork.
 

AlteredBeast

Fork 'em, Sparky!
At best, the man is a completely ignorant dumbass who should never be allowed to administer a college... At worst, well, you know.
 

Buzzman

Banned
Tons of people decorate their home with cotton, this could be a simple misunderstanding. We shouldn't be so quick to call this racism becausjkdnsadcxjalsdajadkpj
 

Volimar

Member
He might have made a racist meal, but you have a typo in the thread title OP. So who's the real screw up here?

<thinking emoji>
 

rjc571

Banned
The cotton thing is bad but why would serving black students mac n cheese and corn bread be offensive? You can't serve somebody food that is identified with their culture? Seriously?
 

BriGuy

Member
I get how the cotton is offensive, but I'm not seeing the "black meals" aspect of this; shit sounds like standard barbeque to me.
 
I get how the cotton is offensive, but I'm not seeing the "black meals" aspect of this; shit sounds like standard barbeque to me.

And I’ve heard of people using cotton stalks in fall because of a lack of colorful flowers.

I have no idea anymore.
 

Drensch

Member
How does this guy get this far? You could say it was an isolated mistake, but the previous night with Latino students makes that a hard sell.
 

Kusagari

Member
The cotton thing is bad but why would serving black students mac n cheese and corn bread be offensive? You can't serve somebody food that is identified with their culture? Seriously?

He served tacos to the Latino students he met with the day before.
 

ThisGuy

Member
Tons of people decorate their home with cotton, this could be a simple misunderstanding. We shouldn't be so quick to call this racism becausjkdnsadcxjalsdajadkpj

The 'black meals' is laughable though. Black people do not own Mac and cheese, corn bread, or collard greens. Those are staples in Ohio. Everyone cooks them. Next picked mushrooms and dandelions are going to belong to a single race. A 'insert race' meal.


Do they really? I don't know jack about home decor and can't recall hearing about cotton. The cotton just screams of him trying to be sly. Which makes me think this fool believes those are black only foods.


He served tacos to the Latino students he met with the day beside.

Yeah, 'nuff said.

It sucks seeing food used to discriminate. Because honestly, I'd still eat that delicious shit no hesitation haha.
 

Slayven

Member
The cotton lets you know where their head is, would be like serving Tacos AND doing a impression of Speedy Gonzalez
 

rtcn63

Member
Is the mac and cheese like if I were to host a bunch of Italian students and serve them this

NwqsK.jpg
 

JBourne

maybe tomorrow it rains
I've lived in the south for 29 years and I've never seen someone use stalks of cotton as a centerpiece. I've seen people have a random stalk or two in a mixed autumn bouquet thing, but never just a vase full of cotton.

I feel sorry for the students that had to take part in this bullshit.
 
Looking for a reaction so that he could then pretend to be victimised and misunderstood and rally people around him.

Reminds me of those teenage girls that walked through Howard University's cafeteria with MAGA hats on, then played the innocent, misunderstood victim angle when they were accosted by students there.
 

PInk Tape

Banned
"Yeah lets put cotton as the centerpiece because black people love to be reminded that they were once forced to pick this by slave owners."
 

kirblar

Member
At the very least, it's absurdly paternalistic and pandering, as though you're afraid those students might not like "your" food.

It's like getting Chinese takeout for dinner because you've invited an Asian family over for dinner.
 

JaggedSac

Member
I could maybe understand if it was already there, but that plus the food makes me think it isn't some coincidence.

Yeah initially I was like "that seems like a fairly common decoration" and then I read the meal portion. Yep, that person is a shit head.
 

Slayven

Member
I've lived in the south for 29 years and I've never seen someone use stalks of cotton as a centerpiece. I've seen people have a random stalk or two in a mixed autumn bouquet thing, but never just a vase full of cotton.

I feel sorry for the students that had to take part in this bullshit.
Yeah i lived in the south all my life i never heard of this shit. It's looks crappy as hell
 

rjc571

Banned
At the very least, it's absurdly paternalistic and pandering, as though you're afraid those students might not like "your" food.

It's like getting Chinese takeout for dinner because you've invited an Asian family over for dinner.

Some people do cook food from other cultures, you know. In the past few weeks I've made Italian sausages, Chicken Burritos and Chinese Stir-Fry and I am not from any of those cultures.
 
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