The lights go dark in the cafeteria at Jones College Prep in the South Loop. As Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” blares over the sound system a line of black-clad students, right arms raised and fists clenched, begins marching from each corner toward the stripe of red carpet that divides the room.
“That’s what I love about this,” says a member of the school’s African American Club, the sponsor of the night’s event. “People who think it’s just about black people miss the point entirely. This is about challenging people’s preconceptions about race.”
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“Actually,” continues the AAC member, “we didn’t come up with the idea of honoring the Black Panthers. She did. So we thought, Who better to make the presentation than her? Plus we thought it would kind of shock people to see a Jewish girl who probably knows more about the Black Panther Party than they do. I guess we were right.”
The words “This event is racist” began showing up on some of the submitted ballots. “Some of the students called me a racist,” says McHenry. “I was called, by some of the teachers, an angry black man. Some asked, How can he discriminate against the straight white male? Some said they were going to create their own club, the White Male Club. And I said, Hey that’s wonderful–do that. Our goal is not to exclude anybody but to include people who are not celebrated. The straight white males of this school can still come out and support their fellow students.”
McHenry, draped in a purple dashiki, hurries about in an effort to make sure that the audio for the Asian Club’s presentation doesn’t fail a second time. After the club has successfully started its act, a fan dance, I pull him aside to ask whether he thinks the controversy is good. “Yes and no,” he says. “I think some of the teachers here are very comfortable, and because I, along with my students, tend to challenge and/or question what I think is a very Eurocentric curriculum, it causes tension. But it’s that same tension that gets reporters down here to cover this event. And that is definitely a good thing.”
