[Paula]

Why is it OK to have a Miss Black America contest, but if there were a Miss White America contest, people would just freak out? The same question can apply to many things like Black Students Union, Hispanic Heritage Month, etc. Is this reverse discrimination? Also, has anybody ever been turned down for a scholarship from the United Negro College Fund based on race?

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Name : Paula, Gender : F, Age : 31, City : Texarkana, State : AR Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Paul]

Paul, Paula, Paula...you don't think that there are 'white' clubs?! You mentioned the Miss Black America, etc. Have you seen the physical appearance of the majority of the winners of said 'beauty contests?' When someone of color is selected, most often they are light skinned, ie Vanessa Williams. As for the student clubs and cultural awareness months, they aren't meant to bring other races down, they are meant to bring ours up, by spreading awareness/sharing the beauty of each others culture and diversity. The reason there are no 'white' days is because who is really 'white?' Remember, there is always St. Patrick's day! I hope this made some sense and lets you see it from another perspective. Hang in there, and keep asking questions! BTW. I have a friend (caucasian woman) who was accepted for a scholarship at Alabama State College, a historically 'black' college...so see! There is hope! B-)

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Name : Paul, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Catholic, Age : 30, City : Denver, State : CO Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jon Stasny]

I think it's because white people are the majority by far in the U.S. If white people were only a slight majority, white-only events would not be a big deal.

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Name : Jon Stasny, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 37, City : Grand Junction, State : CO Country : United States, Occupation : machinist, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Augustine23656]

To answer the second question first, the UNCF makes scholarships available at historically black colleges. I'm not aware of any reason a non-black attending one of these colleges couldn't get such a scholarship. As far as the ethnic pride celebrations go, keep in mind that 'black' is a de facto nationality in this country, and not so much a skin color. White people taken as a whole do not self-identify as 'part of a group,' whether in America or in Europe. Indeed, in my wife's native Polish, there is no way to say 'white people' ('biale ludzie' doesn't sound right, though it's a literal translation). Virtually everyone there is white and there's not a concept of self-identifying based upon that fact. But there are different nationalities among white people, and some of them choose to play up their ethnicity - St. Patrick's Day for the Irish, Columbus Day for the Italians, and so on. There once was, and may still be, a Miss Polonia contest in Erie, Pennsylvania. So there is indeed 'white pride' if you want to call it that (I wouldn't) - it's just diffused among various nationalities.

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Name : Augustine23656, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 38, City : Columbia, State : SC Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Ken]

There are Miss White America contests, only they aren't called that. Whenever they crown a Miss St. Patrick's Day parade queen, a Pulaski Day parade queen, a Columbus Day queen, that is a "Miss White America" pageant. And if you ask some people, the Miss America Pageant itself is a "Miss White America" contest, Vanessa Williams notwithstanding. When there is a Miss Black America contest, they are honoring African-American heritage, not simply skin color. Your idea of a Miss White America contest sounds like you just want to honor someone simply on the basis of their white skin. White is not an ethnic group; Polish is, Irish is, African American is, Hispanic is. It was called the Miss Black America pageant because that was the term used to describe the racial group at the time the pageant was created. If you want to honor your ethnicity, fine. If you want to honor someone because of the color of their skin, a semi-random configuration of DNA, then I might find that strange.

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Name : Ken, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Catholic, Age : 32, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : marketing, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Samuel]

Don't take this as an insult, but your question seems to underscore a curious social phenomenon I've long suspected exists in our larger culture: The inability of many, if not most whites (not to mention an alarming number of blacks and other minorities as well) to comprehend the extent to which racism (historical and contemporary) has affected the contours of our American society.

To illustrate, I'll turn your first question around: Would there have been a need for a Miss Black America if black women had never been excluded from the "original" pageant in the first place? Has the largely white-controlled mass media's resistance to recognizing the beauty of non-white women contributed as well? Also, ask yourself: Even though America has a huge population of Spanish-speaking citizens and residents of South and Central American origins, why are there separate Spanish-language networks? If you allow yourself to take an honest look at the larger historical picture, you will see that these organizations and individuals are merely trying to fill a basic human desire, the desire to fit in, as they have found largely rejection from the larger (read: white) society. The intent is not to create an atmosphere of exclusion, but to avoid being marginalized.

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Name : Samuel, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 31, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Firefighter, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Priya]

With all due respect, this argument is as ridiculous as the one that asks, 'If gays can have parades then why can't straight people?' When white people are broadcasted all over the media, are in complete political power (look at the racial make-up of Congress) and are regularly participants and winners of beauty pageants, one can easily see that the very underlying culture of America has been constructed as 'white'. White is not a culture; someone way back just decided to clump all fair-skinned people to increase demographic size and hence political power; Irish-Americans, Polish-Americans, Italian-Americans, etc, on the other hand, are more than welcome to (and do) have their own festivities, scholarships, and all.

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Name : Priya, Gender : F, Age : 19, City : Berkeley, State : CA Country : United States, 

[Shawn]

I believe there is a Miss Black America Pageant because prior to the '90s, the Miss America Pageant was the "Miss White America Pageant." Let's be honest: Before Vanessa Williams won the pageant, tell me what other black woman held that honor, or any other woman of color, for that matter. I think people of color stopped trying to fit in where we weren't wanted, and created our own contests, organizations, clubs, etc. This was done not to be "anti-white" but to celebrate our own - because if we didn't, nobody else would. Lest we forget the not-too-distant past, white was all you saw; there wasn't any diversity or tolerance of anything that was different or outside of white mainstream. So, to answer your question in a nutshell, the different minority organizations were formed to instill self-pride and acceptance of ones' self, something we couldn't get from this vast Melting Pot we call the United States of America.

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Name : Shawn, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 31, City : Baltimore, State : MD Country : United States, Occupation : MIS Programmer/PC Specialist, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[WiccaIrish]

Don't forget the many European sub-races such as Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Nordic, etc.

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[C.S.]

For so long, blacks weren't allowed to participate in the many events that were run by whites. Now, just because white people allow us to participate, doesn't mean that we can't have our own.

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Name : C.S., Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 16, City : Shelby, State : NC Country : United States, Occupation : High school student, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Andrew]

Things like Miss Black America and Black Student Unions came about because most clubs, organizations, contests, sports leagues and the rest of society excluded non-whites. When blacks and Hispanics and Jews and gay people and women are welcome in every corner of society, I am sure organizations that cater to these and other groups will start to disappear.

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Name : Andrew, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 35, City : Huntington, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Reporter, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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