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White African American Sues School for Discrimination

5-90

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http://www.blackvoices.com/blogs/2009/05/18/white-african-american-sues-school-for-discrimination/

BlackSpin said:
Paulo Serodio was born and raised in Mozambique. He is a naturalized citizen who has been attending medical school here in the United States. According to a lawsuit filed by Serodio, he was subjected to harassment and ultimately suspended unfairly once he began to define himself as a white African American.

Filed last week in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, the lawsuit traces a series of events that Serodio maintains led to his 2007 suspension from school, starting with a March 2006 cultural exercise in a clinical skills course taught by Dr. Kathy Ann Duncan, in which each student was asked to define themselves for a discussion on culture and medicine.

After Serodio labeled himself as a white African American, another student said she was offended by his comments and that his white skin prevented him from defining himself as an African American.

According to the lawsuit, Serodio was summoned to Duncan's office where he was instructed "never to define himself as an African American because it was offensive to others and to people of color for him to do so."

"It's crazy," Serodio's attorney, Gregg Zeff, told ABCNews.com. "Because that's what he is."

Serodio, who lives in Newark, N.J., said he never meant to offend anyone and that calling himself African American is meant to be disrespectful to any one else's cultural heritage. Source: ABC News 'White African American' Sues Med School

I do not see the problem with Serodio defining himself as an African American; he even added the "white" racial descriptor for specificity.

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines African American as "an American of African and especially of black African descent."

"There are people of all races who are African," Serodio said, adding that he's never had a problem identifying himself as an African American until that day in Duncan's class.

[Serodio also stated] "I wouldn't wish this to my worst enemy. I'm not exaggerating. This has destroyed my life, my career." Source: ABC News 'White African American' Sues Med School

Like everyone else, Paulo Serodio has the right to call himself whatever he wants. Why is it anyone else's business? Why would anyone else care?

Frankly, I don't see the problem either. He's from Africa, he's in America. Sounds pretty "African-American" to me (apart from the cognitive dissonance I have with the whole "-American" idea from the off.)

Perhaps this will help to show up the asininity of the whole "-American" idea and help it go away?

Discuss.
 
I'm with you. Who says African-Americans can only be black? How many "white people" are from/born in South Africa? I know at least 3 personally, one happens to be a NAXJA member.

Yeah. One of the blown RENIX controllers came from Africa. South Africa. From a white guy...
 
Not the first guy to get in trouble over this. There was a family who moved here from South Africa. If I recall correctly, one of them applied for a scholarship and when asked his race, he specified African American. Because he was from Africa and is now in America. There was a big hullabaloo.
 
Actually, to be specific, it's a sub-group of the sub-group to which you are referring.

"Dark blacks?"

(Sorry - I literally could not help myself! I'll try to be good...)

But I'm sure everyone will note that, whenever there's some Race Card (tm) flap in the news, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are always in view in short order.

Wonder how long it will take them to jump on this one, and which side they'll fall on?
 
Ill put money on it that theyll be on the kids side... :rolleyes:
 
haha...

The "White African-American" kid's side.
 
It's my guess they will both be no shows. On a side note: In a rare democratic moment, I went to see Hilary and Barack speak and when she introduced him as an AA I asked why he couldn't simply be American? I recieved no answer.

As far as the students delema, he will toil against and will ultimately forfit the right to minority status even though it seems he is well qualified as a minority. Just my guess.
 
A friend of a friend applied for an African american scholarship to try to prove a point to the people who were giving it. When he met these people they started getting mad about him being white. He replied they never said it was for blacks only and since he was from Egypt he qualified. He didn't get it but he had a blast p!$$ing them off.
 
I don't know. Something like this has the potential to show them in a very bad light. The Sharpton's of the world are all about color. The kid isn't black, it isn't going to further his agenda at all by becoming involved. If he does become in involved to show that "hey, this is about African-Americans, no matter what their skin color (Ha, yeah right, I laughed just typing that out), then he will lose all of his what I like to call, "racist" following. It's really a "no win" situation for what he is after. I doubt either of them will even acknowledge this.
 
"Dark blacks?"

(Sorry - I literally could not help myself! I'll try to be good...)

But I'm sure everyone will note that, whenever there's some Race Card (tm) flap in the news, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are always in view in short order.

Wonder how long it will take them to jump on this one, and which side they'll fall on?
The ignorant blacks, the ones who really do believe they deserve special treatment because they happened to be born into a race that used to be slaves. Irish were treated pretty poorly, you don't hear about them trying for special status. But then, they're white. Really white...:D

Ill put money on it that theyll be on the kids side... :rolleyes:
Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would never side with the white people in a fight between a black and a white. They're every bit as racist as they think everyone else is.
 
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