What are your thoughts on the black students at Hampton University that got angry because a white person won the "Miss Hampton University" crown? Are they racist, or are they justified?

I am not quick to call "racist" on anyone, but I have to say that, after reading the comments, yes, I think most of the objection is based on racism.

One thing that really points me in that direction is that I went back to find a comment from a student who stated that, yes, the protests about this were based on her race. It was there yesterday but it is gone today. There were a couple of others that said the same thing that are gone today.

How much of that side of it from the students themselves was cleaned out? The ones blasting the students from outside of the campus were left in. Of course, maybe the comments were deleted by the authors at the pressure of someone to not make the school look bad... I do not know. If those comments were cleared out, how many others like them have been cleared out that I did not see?

It does not look to me that this is being fully represented because there are a good number of students in that comment thread who are stating another reason for their problem: they think that her living off campus is reason for her to not be able to represent the school. Some of these objections look like they are the real reason, some look like they couch racism.

There is also this comment which, if true, shows a huge problem on the school's part. That it is from the mother of a runner up casts suspicion on the statement:

"YOU are missed informed. It was decided that she would win before the pageant was held on Friday. The school is trying to diversify. Believe that is the only reason why she won. I was at the pageant and my daughter was a contestant and one of the runner ups. I spoke to the Dean who was responsible for the pagenat and per HER words, it was necassary in order for the school to survive."

If THAT was so, the entire contest was rigged and the contest, ITSELF, was based on race.

The words 'racism' and 'racist' are thrown about these days like the words 'witch' and 'magic' were in the past. Racism is the belief that one group is superior to another based on a racist, ignorant belief of racial differences in character, intelligence, etc. After reading your linked report, it seems two things are dividing the campus. First, change. There are very few beauty pageants in this country that can count a black woman as this year's winner, and now this traditionally black pageant has a white woman wearing the crown, too. Fear and resentment of change is human nature, and that black women have taken a backseat to white women in this country shouldn't be a secret to any American. Whether or not I agree with the sentiments of the black students, I do understand them. And the second issue involves the white student not attending the main university but it's satellite campus in Virginia Beach. "The main campus has about 5,700 students while the university's Virginia Beach campus has about 90 students." And I can understand that issue as well and would be interested in the demographics of both locations. My bet is that those 90 students are primarily white, while the main campus is primarily black. Perhaps the real point, that's being missed altogether, is that beauty pageants, in and of themselves, promote not only racism, but sexism and classism as well. Colleges should be rewarding scholarship and not beauty or sports ability.