Black and White: Race Relations at Ole Miss

Junior Brooks Turner is a white guy in a black fraternity at Ole Miss.

Yet there’s more to his story than the color clash that some may see. Last fall, Turner went through the intake process of Alpha Phi Alpha, a member institution of the nine historically Black Greek letter organizations in the National Pan-Hellenic Council. He’s not the only person to ever ‘buck the trend’ and pledge his allegiance to a fraternity that typically takes members with a different skin color than his own, but there are not many other individuals on the UM campus willing to take that leap.

According to figures provided by the Dean of Students Office, students in the three Greek councils make up nearly 33 percent of the university’s entire population. 

Thus far, Turner’s experience in Greek life has been everything he looked for and more.

“I didn’t really anticipate the bond I would have with the other guys (in my pledge class),” Turner said. “I really do view these guys as brothers.”

Black v. White; Race Relations at Ole Miss on Dipity.

However, Turner’s path to becoming an Alpha was a bit different than that of his fraternity brothers. He attended high school at French Camp Academy, a small, Christian boarding school in Kosciusko, Mississippi. The school was a melting pot of diversity and included students from Baltimore, New York, Las Vegas and even the Bahamas. 

His perspective, grounded by an unorthodox high school career for Mississippi standards, allowed Turner to see the fraternity for what it signified – an organization promoting positive standards upheld by members. 

“I started to pay more attention to (Alphas) on campus, watching the things in which they were involved and the people that were actually in the organization,” Turner said. 

Turner wanted to become involved with the fraternity, but he says stereotypes were always in the back of his mind. 

“Going in, it was something I was worried about, not only other people on campus, but just society in the South and then even family members,” said Turner. “I wondered how people would take it and so when I first made the decision to try and become a member, that was something I worried about. But by the time we came out to campus, I really wasn’t worried about it at all because I knew the reasons why I did it, I knew the organization and anyone who had a negative outlook on (my membership) was out of ignorance."

Turner says he did not wish to become a member of Alpha Phi Alpha to bridge any racial divides between white and black students or their respective Greek organizations. His perception of race relations between white and black students at Ole Miss is relatively positive. He does not feel that there is as much tension as some perceive. 

However, Turner does see an unwillingness of different student groups to associate with each another; not because of race per se, but instead because individuals are content with not moving outside of their own comfort zones, which may translate into both white and black students still remaining somewhat segregated. According to Turner, the unwillingness to associate may be due more to the region than the university itself. 

“There are a lot of small communities in the South,” said Turner. “People don’t really travel that much. They stay in those communities and they spend time with the same people. It may be more out of ignorance. They don’t understand any other types of cultures.” 

Greek students at Ole Miss may not have the chance to intermingle with NPHC members due to the population discrepancy. Between 50-100 students make up the NPHC organizations while the majority of Greek students compose the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council organizations.

Coulter Ward, UM Assistant Dean of Students for Student Organizations, says comparing mere figures alone do no tell the whole story for the differences between the councils. 

“All three councils have different mentalities in regard to membership. There are different pressures placed on them by their national headquarters, alumni, and the active members,” Ward said. 

UM Assistant Professor of History and African-American Studies Dr. Maurice Hobson says there are other differences at play at The University of Mississippi. Hobson maintains that perhaps African-American fraternities and sororities at Ole Miss are behind the curve in comparison to other chapters at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) like Jackson State, which were created as early as the 1940s. Hobson says most black organizations were not launched at Ole Miss until 1974 due to the later integration of the university, which means the organizations have not had nearly as much time to mature like fellow chapters throughout the South. 

While Hobson says the university has recognized its role in racial history of the nation and is more willing to make amends for past injustices than other institutions of higher education in which he has been involved, there’s a still a discrepancy in the way the administration at Ole Miss treats black Greek organizations. 

“To say that the university has been good to African-American fraternities and sororities, I can’t say I agree with it,” said Hobson. He claims that the member institutions of the NPHC have attempted to get houses on Fraternity Row and have been denied by university administration. 

Just as Hobson feels that black fraternities and sororities may have been treated differently on campus, Turner has noticed a difference in the way some peers now treat him after becoming an Alpha. 

“When I first came out wearing my letters, they almost ignored it, like they wouldn’t even bring it up and it was obvious that I was in an African-American fraternity,” Turner said. “I mean, many people won’t really talk to me about it, so it’s not that they directly said something, but you can tell a lot about people’s actions.”

Turner’s new affiliation has allowed him to view integration between white and black students from a unique viewpoint, but he certainly would not change his decision to become a member of Alpha Phi Alpha.

“Going through everything I had to become a member really did make me a better person. It made me stronger, more confident person. It made me really dig deep and find what it is I want in life and what kind of man I want to be. I felt like the Alphas did a great job instilling really positive qualities that were going to make me a better person for the rest of my life,” Turner said.

Caroline Johannsson

Being from outside “The Ole Miss Family,” I’ve had the privilege to experience first-hand just how taboo the subject of race relations at Ole Miss may be. The idea came about when I learned that the Mississippi education system had only been integrated for 40 years (1971-2011). With the violent actions leading up to James Meredith’s enrollment and the sometimes sordid history of segregation at this institution, I felt it would be interesting to do a multimedia project on the topic.

Just walking around campus and hearing some people talk, I have often wondered if segregation still exists. The Meek School of Journalism’s upcoming Diversity Rocks Week also provided me with the opportunity to do some digging.

When I first mentioned to friends and classmates about the project and its topic, they gave me strange looks and told me I would have a hard time finding people who would tell the “truth.”

The majority of them agreed that Ole Miss still has issues, but none of them wanted to have their name or face in the school newspaper.

I don’t know if I would call it being naïve, but I couldn’t fathom people not wanting to talk to me about the subject. I have been told several times that racism is now considered morally – and at times even legally – wrong, but I had no doubts that I would be able to find people to interview about integration at Ole Miss

I was wrong.

I found several people willing to talk about their opinions, but as soon as they learned that Ryan and I wanted to get them on video and that their interview would be on DM’s website, they changed their mind and politely declined.

Ryan and I discussed the issue at length, but no matter how much we talked about it, I still couldn’t quite grasp the idea of people being so scared of standing up for their own thoughts and opinions.

Eventually, we did get some great – and some not so great – interviews. It reminded me of why I like this so much; you meet interesting people with different views and opinions and you always walk away from interviews having learned something new.

Ryan Whittington

I had tough time with this subject. Not only have I grown up in Oxford and with The University of Mississippi, it holds a special place in my heart. I did not wish to tarnish the image of Ole Miss and I certainly did not want to point fingers.

That’s not to say that I haven’t seen a difference between how some groups at Ole Miss treat other groups at this institution, and have for some time. My doubts were compounded by the views of a person from an entirely different country. Caroline mentioned to me that she saw a rift in the student population and it was clear to me. If my undergraduate and graduate career in Journalism at this institution has taught me anything, it’s that if one person sees a problem, something needs to be done, even if only to provide the perspective of an individual who may see things differently than the majority.

The question became, “How should we approach this topic?”

It was certainly a question easier for us to ask than for interviewees to answer. Like Caroline said, we got some great interviews, but many others were lacking. Some people we spoke with danced around the issue of race relations at Ole Miss. Others said there’s a big problem and others said there’s not a problem at this institution at all; instead, it’s a larger cultural issue throughout the state and the South.

The truth, as always, is a bit gray.

Hopefully, we have selected an individual to focus upon who has a perspective unlike everyone else at Ole Miss. Through his story, perhaps we will be able to illuminate some of the issues that only those of us who are not from here are able to see, thus instituting a change in the status quo. Perception is key and the perception of our institution, our state, and our country is of the utmost importance for all of us.