Racist incidents reported in Oklahoma, Ferguson

University of Oklahoma students rally outside the closed Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house during a rally in Norman, Okla. The two fraternity members accused of leading the singing of a racist chant were expelled from the university.

University of Oklahoma students rally outside the closed Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house during a rally in Norman, Okla. The two fraternity members accused of leading the singing of a racist chant were expelled from the university.

The University of Oklahoma expelled two students Tuesday morning for apparently leading a racist chant on a bus full of fraternity men two days after a video of the act surfaced.

The nine-second clip showed men from the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity wearing tuxedos on a bus, pumping their fists and chanting to a pounded beat.

The University of Oklahoma SAE chapter was closed Sunday and university president David Boren promised that the school’s attachment with the fraternity was over.

Hundreds of students have protested the fraternity’s actions, arriving on campus Monday morning with tape over their mouths, while the university football team and Coach Bob Stoops walked through campus arm in arm instead of practicing.

One of the two students expelled, Parker Rice, issued an apology acknowledging that though “the song was taught to us [SAE], […] that doesn’t work as an explanation.”

The University of Oklahoma incident is one of many recent occurrences that coincide approximately with the 50th anniversary of Selma’s infamous Bloody Sunday.

A U.S. Department of Justice report mentioned that nearly every branch of Ferguson, Missouri government had specifically targeted African-American residents for tickets and fines.

This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on March 13, 2015.