Letter of Solidarity from SAME to BSU students at UCSD

The San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (SAME) wishes to extend solidarity to the Black students of the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and the Black Student Union (BSU) there, in the aftermath of the racist “Compton Cookout” party.

It is horrible that in this place and time, some of your very classmates enjoy mocking and degrading Black people in a manner reminiscent of some of the worst periods of US history.  

It is shocking that they are brazen enough to build a racist party on the internet, employing some of the most demeaning stereotypes of Black people—then following it up by taking to the airwaves defend the party using utterly offensive language.

And it is disheartening that things have gotten to a point where many students don’t understand—or don’t care to understand—why spreading hate is not “free speech,” or “funny.”

We know that this situation didn’t just “happen.” It was created—by Proposition 209 which ended Affirmative Action, by years of budget cuts, by (now massive) tuition hikes, and by an administration which doesn’t have combating campus racism, misogyny and homophobia high on its priorities.

As you know, ongoing discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people in the areas of employment, the military, marriage, etc. continues in perfect legality.  Is it any wonder that in this climate of discrimination that individuals feel emboldened to commit hate crimes, slur or defame LGBT people?

We stand by your side as you fight for justice—both against the racist students at your university, and also to change the institution which has created the conditions for them to develop their disgusting views and feel brazen enough to act on them.  We are joining you in protest for the statewide student day of action on March 4th.

We have a long and difficult battle ahead of us.  Campus bigots are one thing, but unemployment, imprisonment, run-down neighborhoods, lack of opportunities in education and professional life, and discrimination at every turn are the realities behind hate speech.  We share your sentiment that this fight must come from below, by the people who are themselves suffering and their allies.  This is the history of this country—nearly 40 years without a mass civil rights movement has left us all weakened, opening the door to co-optation and betrayal.  Let’s rebuild our shared struggle.

In Solidarity,
SAME