<p>I’m seeing all these posts about families visiting UA for either college tours or football games and I am truly green with envy. My S is a junior and although I have a couple of degrees from UA, he has not yet visited–hopefully in the spring.</p>
<p>He was in B’ham a year ago for debate camp and we had a chance to see the Civil Rights Institute. I highly recommend it for all ages. My brother and I who grew up in B’ham in the 50’s and 60’s (yep, I’m an older mom!) toured it with my S. It spoke eloquently to both generations. It is extremely well done and I say that as someone who spent a lot of years in the NYC/Philly area with those outstanding museums. </p>
<p>Given the historic role, albeit not always a positive one, Alabama and UA played in civil rights history, I thought I would put in a pitch to make the institute a part of your tour.</p>
<p>Having lived in Alabama and graduated from both Alabama and Auburn, I can honestly say the state has made a lot of progress but still has a long way to go. Comments like Sharon Cahoon only highlight the issue.</p>
<p>Well, the whole intent of the OP was to alert visitors, many of whom fly into B’ham, to a wonderful resource they may want to see when they are in Alabama. It certainly was not meant to suggest that Alabama is without racism or sexism, whichever fliptime180 meant to suggest are alive and well. Clearly, the comment sections “net” of any piece on the internet pulls up any number of rotten fish, as M2CK remarked.</p>
<p>The comment that allegedly shows how far Alabama has to go reads, verbatim: “I hope we don’t ever have a female play-by-play announcer or color commentator again.”</p>
<p>Translation: The person who wrote that sentence (in the context of grumbling about the quality of the national TV announcers for the Bama-Duke game) thinks female football commentators suck, both in the play-by-play role and as color commentators. </p>
<p>If you can find latent racism buried in the use of a universally accepted sports term, such as color commentator, then you’re part of the problem, not the solution. </p>
<p>Was the comment sexist? Probably. Is that unique to Alabama? Of course not.</p>
<p>Racism abounds in all 50 states, including mine. Yes, Alabama has a way to go, just as the so-called melting pot of Hawaii does. On the other hand, take a look at what UA has done with Foster Auditorium and remember to celebrate how far we’ve come.</p>
<p>Frankly, I didn’t even go to the link. The post implied it was a racist comment, and I don’t care to read trash. …so I just believed the poster that the comment had a racist taint.</p>
<p>Yes…it refers to a Color Commentator…which is a commentator that adds flair, interesting tidbits, etc…often it’s a former player, coach, etc.</p>
<p>Yes…it’s sexist to not want to a woman commentator.</p>
<p>Anyway…anyone can find inappropriate comments posted from people in any state. For some reason when it happens in a southern state, there are people wagging fingers indicating that this is how the south just is. </p>
<p>The truth is that good-sized cities in this country have become rather homogeneous (not in ethnicity, but in that there aren’t that many differences overall). </p>
<p>I just found out that Tuscaloosa is an All America City…didn’t know that.</p>
<p>It has been convenient and comfortable for many folks to paint the Deep South TODAY with the racist brush. I lived in B’ham during much of the civil rights movement and was in the first class of African-American Literature offered at UA so I understand the issues. Acknowledging the past is far different from living in the past.</p>
<p>Last year, my S’s debate partner, who is biracial, was not allowed to go to debate camp with him in B’ham because of her mother’s concern for her safety. Even when I told her that the director of the debate camp had a biracial child and did not feel the girl would be in any danger on the Samford campus, she persisted and the girl was not allowed to come. I think there will be students who do not come to UA for similar reasons and that is too bad. But as I see the stats on the number of OOS, I am sure that, over time, this will change.</p>