Racial Issues and West Virginia University

I am currently writing a book about the first African American Scholarship player at WVU, Dick Leftridge. He is Also the highest NFL draft choice in WVU history as well yey, he is not in the WVU Hall of Fame. I find this very interesting from a racial standpoint.

What the hell is wrong with you asking such a stupid question. It sounds like you are the racist one here.

What,
what is stupid and racist here?

Hall of Fame is for performance at WVU, not after. The NFL draft does not determine the skill of a player or his percent contribution to the team. Hall of Famers have major WVU achievements and it is not a racial issue. If they gave it to him because he was "the first African American Scholarship player at WVU" then that would defeat the whole purpose of the Hall of Fame. It is based on merit, not on race, social barriers/class, and as such the afore-quoted statement should have no bearing on that decision whatsoever. I see "what"'s point. It seems that you want him included because of social and racial standing, not on merit. Again, NFL draft number is not a good measure of skill. Some of the lowest NFL draft picks have been the best NFL players. I am not accusing you of being racist, don't get me wrong, but I feel you don't fully understand the implications of your statement. Many people slip through and never make it to the Hall of Fame. I don't see why it should be turned into a racial issue. At WVU we respect that he was a good player but he does not strike the same awe as players like Sam Huff or Jerry West. People always assume that if everything is not done for a minority, that it is a racial issue because they think the people at WVU are a bunch of hillbillies. I am from NY and the people of WV are the nicest people I know. They would not cheat someone out of the Hall of Fame because of race. That statement is offensive and borderline reverse raicsm. Please do not insult my school or this state again with such offensive comments/poor phrasing, whichever teh case may be. West Virginia is not backwards and racist, just poor.

WVU FAN wrote:

I am currently writing a book about the first African American Scholarship player at WVU, Dick Leftridge. He is Also the highest NFL draft choice in WVU history as well yey, he is not in the WVU Hall of Fame. I find this very interesting from a racial standpoint.

Not to say its overt racist but I imagine race is a factor given the Hall of Fame electorate is probably almost certainly comprised of whites. They typically cover there own behind first and foremost.

We have had a similar incident in my state where the basketball coach essentially put the state on the map. The politics of race have prevented a lot from acknowledging the accomplishments of his teams and he himself.

This man is a Hall of Fame NCAA coach and has a long record of winning every he has worked.

Yet the University of Arkansas refuses to even commemorate his NCAA championship anniversaries.

But they name a award after a longtime local newscaster [Paul Ells] who got drunk and killed an old lady and himself one night a few years back.

You judge a tree by the fruit it bears.

One running for president isn't good enough for you. Now we have to have one as the coach.

Check out the WVU Hall of Fame - you won't have any trouble finding Black athletes
http://www.wvu.edu/~sports/hall_fame/

West Virginia, despite being listed statistically as one of the most "white" states in the USA, is probably the least racist. This is in part due to the history of oppression in the state, which like much of Appalachia has been kept in a 3rd world economic situation. It is also likely in part because of the fact that many in WV are, despite being listed as "white" in the census, in fact of mixed ancestry, as there was much intermarriage with Native peoples in WV as in Appalachia generally.

The recently instituted WV Music Hall of Fame was quick to include a number of black artists, including Bill Withers and others not as well known generally.

Don't start on WV, now...

Sinajuavi wrote:

West Virginia, despite being listed statistically as one of the most "white" states in the USA, is probably the least racist. This is in part due to the history of oppression in the state, which like much of Appalachia has been kept in a 3rd world economic situation. It is also likely in part because of the fact that many in WV are, despite being listed as "white" in the census, in fact of mixed ancestry, as there was much intermarriage with Native peoples in WV as in Appalachia generally.
The recently instituted WV Music Hall of Fame was quick to include a number of black artists, including Bill Withers and others not as well known generally.
Don't start on WV, now...

You are correct. WV split from VA because they were opposed to slavery. Their ancestry is indeed mixed.

I live in WV and the white people there are very friendly. They are nice looking to. It must be the black blood in them.

tsalagi wrote:

<quoted text>
You are correct. WV split from VA because they were opposed to slavery. Their ancestry is indeed mixed.
I live in WV and the white people there are very friendly. They are nice looking to. It must be the black blood in them.

Hey Tslaagi! Aren't there crazy inbred whites in WV?

Mack the Great wrote:

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Hey Tslaagi! Aren't there crazy inbred whites in WV?

i remember my mother has to cuz one out in west virginia.

Mack the Great wrote:

<quoted text>
Hey Tslaagi! Aren't there crazy inbred whites in WV?

I'm sure there are plenty in appalachia. I live in the panhandle. they are attractive, hillbilly white people there. And friendly too. Much friendlier than DC.

"Hillbilly" is an ethnic slur. It is part of a complex of stereotypes and slurs used against Appalachians to rationalize the abuse of the region and its maintenance in virtual 3rd world economic conditions. This complex of slurs includes the commonly repeated myths that Appalachians are "inbred", drink moonshine, go barefoot, feud with their neighbors, etc.

The reality is that this is an oppressed region exploited for its lumber and coal, with a history of violent abuse including the murder of many during the days of coalmine unionization.

Appalachians are quite often mixed, usually between European (usually Celtic) and Native American. In parts of Appalachia there are people called Melungeons who are usually mixed between Europeans, Natives and Africans.

The media has long contributed to maintaining the negative stereotypes, with insulting press coverage of the region for over a century, as well as popular TV programs and movies such as "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Wrong Turn".

West Virginia is the only state whose entire territory is Appalachian. It is one of the poorest in the nation, with very high unemployment and other social problems. The coal industry continues to dominate the state economically and politically. Southern WV is to this day being destroyed ecologically by mountaintop removal mining.

Despite attention to the region during the days of the Johnson Administration's "War on Poverty", in most respects little has changed in WV. It ill behooves anyone concerned with the oppressed of the world to participate in the slurring and insulting of the people of this region.

Sinajuavi wrote:

"Hillbilly" is an ethnic slur. It is part of a complex of stereotypes and slurs used against Appalachians to rationalize the abuse of the region and its maintenance in virtual 3rd world economic conditions. This complex of slurs includes the commonly repeated myths that Appalachians are "inbred", drink moonshine, go barefoot, feud with their neighbors, etc.
The reality is that this is an oppressed region exploited for its lumber and coal, with a history of violent abuse including the murder of many during the days of coalmine unionization.
Appalachians are quite often mixed, usually between European (usually Celtic) and Native American. In parts of Appalachia there are people called Melungeons who are usually mixed between Europeans, Natives and Africans.
The media has long contributed to maintaining the negative stereotypes, with insulting press coverage of the region for over a century, as well as popular TV programs and movies such as "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Wrong Turn".
West Virginia is the only state whose entire territory is Appalachian. It is one of the poorest in the nation, with very high unemployment and other social problems. The coal industry continues to dominate the state economically and politically. Southern WV is to this day being destroyed ecologically by mountaintop removal mining.
Despite attention to the region during the days of the Johnson Administration's "War on Poverty", in most respects little has changed in WV. It ill behooves anyone concerned with the oppressed of the world to participate in the slurring and insulting of the people of this region.

W.V is the birthplace of welfare.

As far as diversity this part of the country is primarily descendants of caucasian tribes.

Welfare exists due to poverty. Its genesis in WV is due to generations of abuse and exploitation by timber and coal companies. If you wish to see an example of what this history is like, view the film "Matewan", by John Sayles, starring James Earl Jones.

Appalachians created one of very few land-based ethnic groups to evolve in America since Columbus. The other notable one is the Mexican "californio" culture of California. Both were self-sufficient, and based on mixtures of existing cultures.

Appalachians, combining the cultures of mostly Celtic Europeans with Native Americans, mostly Cherokee and Shawnee, became culturally distinct from mainstream USA, and living in a marginal and remote region which was subsequently discovered to be rich in resources, found themselves after about 1880 to be treated as a 3rd world sector, producing prime materials, their resources controlled by outsiders, and used and abused to the extent those outsiders could do so.

This pattern continues today with some modifications.

tsalagi wrote:

<quoted text>
You are correct. WV split from VA because they were opposed to slavery. Their ancestry is indeed mixed.
I live in WV and the white people there are very friendly. They are nice looking to. It must be the black blood in them.

Of course! White people according to you can't be nice or nice looking without being part black.

Mack the Great wrote:

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Hey Tslaagi! Aren't there crazy inbred whites in WV?

You are the inbred you idiot racist!

Proud to be White wrote:

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You are the inbred you idiot racist!

Indeed. And that one whines about racism? I would like to see how well he might fare should be of the Scot Irish ancestry living in Ireland. I do believe he would change his mind in calling them inbreds when faced down by the violence issued at the hands of the IRA and directed towards the Ulster Scots. Church burnings are child's play to that lot.

So let him say that the Scots Irish and other's are inbreds. Odd though in that Thomas Jefferson, the framer of the Bill of Rights, was one of the Scots Irish heritage.

I can guarantee you that Mack would fair much better at the hands of the Scots Irish than at those whom oppressed them in their homeland.

He's a child and not particularly too bright.

Mack the Great wrote:

<quoted text>
Hey Tslaagi! Aren't there crazy inbred whites in WV?

I suggest that you put your time to good use and understand what you label as inbreds.

You speak of racism and violence in this country towards your people. Do you know of the IRA? The very one's you label as inbreds suffered greatly in Ireland. But it's obvious that you don't have a single objective viewpoint due to your lack of education and instead, fixate on being oppressed. You have not a clue as to what true oppression or violence directed at you.

Bloody racist.

Appalachia itself is a victim of quite a bit of racism and oppression. Apparently some in here are ignorant of that.

Not only the Scots-Irish but also Irish and Welsh and Scots from Scotland have suffered quite a bit of it as well, and all of those groups are present in Appalachia along with Native Americans, Romany, blacks, Italians and others.

Usually someone who spews racism at any group will also evidence it against other groups...I have noticed this repeatedly online. The "whites" who are the quickest to insult an Appalachian for being an "inbred hillbilly" are the same ones who hate "black" folks. And the same for "blacks" who insult Appalachians...they are the same ones calling "whites" devils and cavemen.

Racism is a social and mental disease. It makes its bearers stupid and crazy...or in some cases they were already that way and therefore were very susceptible to picking up racist attitudes and mentality.

There are many examples of this on this forum.