Compton Cookout

Yesterday, while listening to NPR, I heard of the troubling events surrounding the so-called “Compton Cookout” at the University of California, San Diego this past February. The invitation, posted on Facebook, notes that February, typically observed as Black History Month, is very important. Members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity who hosted the event invited guests to celebrate Black History Month by wearing their favorite urban clothing (such as white T’s, FUBU, Ecko, Rockawear and “stunner shades”), to speak loudly and to eat foods such as watermelon and chicken and drink Malt Liquor. The invitation goes on to describe “ghetto chicks” as those who “usually have gold teeth, start fights and drama and wear cheap clothes...” as well as people with very limited vocabulary. There is evidence that this event at UC San Diego is not an isolated incident as UC San Diego and other college campuses have recently experienced other incidents of racial intolerance and bigotry. Such bigoted, hate-filled and divisive rhetoric and behavior point to our common need to continue to teach and practice tolerance and deeper understanding across cultures. Perhaps all of our nation’s colleges and universities should find the opportunity to use the tragedy of the “Compton Cookout” as a way of teaching such tolerance and understanding among our young.