"You dont look like a Susan Brown" (long)

[CyndieRN2007]

I want to know how other people would react.....Am I over reacting?

Not too long ago, my nursing dept got a new health manager due to the expected retirement of the existing health manager. The nurse who was about to retire has a name that does not sound ethnic, (Please do not blast me) just say its Susan Brown. She stayed on to train the new health manager before officially retiring....

Another nurse and I needed needed to get certified in CPR, and Mrs "Susan" gave me her corporate card to pay for the class. Ok. Here's what really burned my tail. The new manager, told me she was nervous about me using Susan's corporate card, because I dont "look" like a Susan Brown!!!!! I felt my face turn red, and I said....Well, my name is Cynthia Johnson, what do I look like my name is, Maria Gonzales? To explain a little bit more, I am half mexican and half black. I look very ethnic. I was very hurt and furious at the same time. I have never been made to feel like that before. Am I over reacting? Would any body else taken this to be a prejudiced statement?

Well, about a month later....the new nurse manager was suspended for sending a racist email through the company email network. The email was called...."I am white and proud" and was horrible. It stated how unfair it was to have an all black college like spellman or moorehouse, but if white people wanted an all white college, it was considered racist. Or, why was it ok for black gansters to promote violence against white cops, but it was unacceptable for white cops to beat "n----rs! I dont even want to repeat some of what the email said.

The new nurse manager was suspended for three days. We then had to have a meeting with her, to listen to how sorry she was, and that she was not a racist, that she just wanted people to "ponder" some of the ideas in the email. She asked us if we thought she was racist, and that she believed she never acted that way. I told her that she did, when she told me I didnt look like a "Susan Brown". I told her that I have never felt so humiliated, and that she made me "realize" my differences as far as ethnicity goes. I asked her to look at me, and tell me what she saw. Did she see someone who made a 4.0 in nursing school, someone who was named an All State Academic Scholar, or did she see a minority female who didnt "look" like a Susan Brown? She couldnt answer.

Thanks for listening.

[Chscruggs]

[

although, i have often wondered why it is socially acceptable for blacks to have "ms. black america", if there was a "ms. white america" everybody would have a fit over racism. and honestly i dont know why it is legal to have an all black school. i cant have an all german school, or all indian school and quite frankly, i wouldnt want one. i like diversity and culture. but i have to admit, i have wondered why it is ok for the blacks to have stuff that is "theirs" but whites cant have stuff that is "theirs". my indian heritage is a minority, but i dont feel i should get anything special because of it. i am a human being, black, white, blue, or red. what is so special about what country your ancestors came from? arent we all americans?

before you made this statement have you even researched when or why these schools even came into existence? obiviously if black americans had the opportunities to attend colleges and were able to participate in the "miss america" pagents there would have been no reason to have a morehouse, spellman or the miss black america pagent. these colleges were founded and funded by white americans who wanted to help create opportunities for black americans. as for the miss black america that sorta speaks for it's self. " don't look like a susan brown"!

"morehouse legacy

in 1867, two years after the civil war ended, augusta institute was established in the basement of springfield baptist church in augusta, ga. founded in 1787, springfield baptist is the oldest independent african american church in the united states. the school's primary purpose was to prepare black men for the ministry and teaching. today, augusta institute is morehouse college, which is located on a 66-acre campus in atlanta and enjoys an international reputation for producing leaders who have influenced national and world history.

augusta institute was founded by the rev. william jefferson white, an augusta baptist minister and cabinetmaker, with the encouragement of the rev. richard c. coulter, a former slave from augusta, ga., and the rev. edmund turney, organizer of the national theological institute for educating freedmen in washington, d.c. the rev. dr. joseph t. robert, trained minister and physician, was appointed the institute's first president by william jefferson white." http://www.morehouse.edu:16080/about/legacy.html

[color=#333333]spellman

[color=#333333]"in 1880 packard toured the south and decided to open a school for african american women and girls in georgia. after persuading the woman's american baptist home mission society to provide support, she moved to atlanta in 1881 and, with giles, opened a school in a church basement. enrollment at the atlanta baptist female seminary increased rapidly. in addition to teaching in the school, the two women also held prayer meetings, conducted sunday schools, and taught sewing classes. the american baptist home mission society (parent of the women's society) made a down payment on a permanent site for the [color=#009900][color=#009900! important][color=#009900! important]school[color=#333333] in 1882, and early in 1883 the school moved to its new home. the balance due was paid in 1884 by [color=#336699]john d. rockefeller[color=#333333], who had been impressed by packard's vision, and the school was named spelman seminary in honour of rockefeller's wife and her parents. rockefeller hall, with offices, a chapel, and dormitory rooms, was built in 1886, and packard hall was erected in 1888. with the granting of a state charter in the latter year, packard became treasurer of the board of trustees. she continued in that post and as president of the school until her death, at which time spelman seminary had 464 students and a faculty of 34. spelman seminary became [color=#009900][color=#009900! important][color=#009900! important]spelman [color=#009900! important]college[color=#333333] in 1924, and in 1929 it became affiliated, along with [color=#336699]morehouse college[color=#333333], with atlanta university."

[color=#333333]http://archive.rockefeller.edu/collections/rockorgs/lsrmadd.php

spelman college admits qualified student candidates regardless of race, color, national or ethnic origin, or physical challenge. http://www.spelman.edu/about_us/glance/

miss black america

j. morris anderson first created and produced the miss black america pageant on august 17, 1968, it was a local philadelphia area pageant to protest the lack of black women in the miss america pageant. in 1969, the miss black america became national with 42 u.s. states competing in new york city's madison square garden. the winner was miss black new york.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/miss_black_america

[Zookeeper3]

Here is something I'm proud of.....

http://www.ptk.org/schol/all_state/NMmem.htm Im the second person on the list!

I graduated at the top of my nursing class, and I was respected by fellow students and instructors. Im proud that I am a minority... and you all are right, some people are just ignorant. Thanks you all!!!!!

Cyndie, phi theta kappa too!, okay sorry for the OT.

I'm not an ethnic minority and yes I've seen both discrimination and reverse discrimination occur. As a child who was raised by "archie bunker" I can tell you that there any many predjudices that are stronger than those of color, all of them hateful.