Tobi Akingbade, 24, said she burst into tears at her desk when she saw the image, which mocked a photo she had tweeted after graduating from the University of Hertfordshire at the third attempt in September.What highly specialised, technical subject was she attempting to get a degree in, then?
Miss Akingbade, who studied mass communication and lives in east London…Well, it’s hard to see how one could fail that, isn’t?
And even harder to see how anyone could regard this as worth studying for in the first place.
In an open letter on Medium.com, she wrote: “I sat behind my screen at work and burst into tears... For a few seconds I felt worthless, meaningless and not very human… “Using a photo of someone else in blackface doesn’t eradicate the fact that you used a photo with blackface to mimic me, a black woman. “Blackface is not cool during Halloween and it’s not cool in February. Did you not know that you veered into racism when you turned me into an object of ridicule using blackface?”
The writer, who works for a social enterprise called Dream Nation, said she had endured “five difficult years” at university before completing her degree due to problems in her personal life.She works for a company that has this as its mission statement: ”We believe that every individual has unlimited potential, and when people reach, or even come close to achieving what they are capable of, they are able to change their families, communities and eventually the world. Our mission is to empower a generation to become Practical Dreamers; women and men who take steps to turn their dreams into their reality. We created Dream Nation as a social enterprise to give structure to the movement.”
And if you can figure out what any of that means, or what this company actually does, congratulations!
The man who shared the tweet has since taken it down and apologised, after facing a barrage of criticism from supporters of Miss Akingbade. She said she accepted his apology, writing: "As weak as your apology was, I accept it. "Why? Because I have a life to live and harbouring unforgivness does nothing for my own sanity. "There is no way I’m letting the actions of an ignorant Twitter warrior stay rent free in my head."Except of course by plastering it all over social media. Which makes me wonder, now, if the whole thing wasn’t a publicity stunt for Dream Nation…
11 comments:
I suppose it is rather hard when there isn't anything lower to confer if you fail the Mass Communication degree after all it appears that you get a PPE if you fail an MBA based on what we see in parliament.
So let me take a guess here,Dream Nation isn't a company that makes an actual product or provides a bona fide service to people in exchange for real money,it sounds like some woolly headed liberal left body that exists to give employment to people that real world commercial enterprises have zero use for and if it folded no one would miss it or even realise it had gone.
and more to the point, who`s paying for this useless body to exist? it wouldn't be the taxpayer would it?
Its a bit suspicious as the photo of the kid with the nutella facemask was a popular meme for a while.
http://dreamnation.co.uk/
creates opportunities to network
(haven't gone through the website but that could amount to paying a sub to said site for access to "like-minded practical dreamers" who decide which pub to meet in.
Jay
Eh? She studied "mass communications" and she bursts into tears when confronted with a joke photograph?
Poor little flower.
Did they actually tell her anything about mass communications during her "course"?
I think The Daily Mash has this kind of 'twitter spat in a teacup' drama covered with this article, "Proper grown-ups blissfully ignorant of latest Twitter row";
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/proper-grown-ups-blissfully-ignorant-of-latest-twitter-row-20160215106255
How long does it take to learn how to use a megaphone?
But she spent five years to "study" mass communications - the poor ickle muppet!
Remember when university degrees weren't worthless?
Oi, Madam! I might not be in the first flush of youth, but how old do you think I am?
Being an elderly white male, I burst into tears every time I see a picture of a mime artist. I feel it's defiling me as a person... oh no, I can't keep up this pretentious bollocks any more - well, not with a straight face, anyway.
I ran a quick check on Companies House for this Dream Nation lot and it seems to be some form of Lefty art project masquarading as a trading company. See https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/09115630
The company only has one officer, a Mr Claud Williams, and was only set up in 2014. It hasn't yet submitted its first accounts so there is no way of knowing whether this is indeed yet another 'grant sucking' entity. However, the woolly nature of it's aims and objectives and the website style give rise to suspicions that it is aiming to climb on the taxpayer funding bandwagon. I can't see any evidence of trading in services or goods.
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/09115630
"..it sounds like some woolly headed liberal left body that exists to give employment to people that real world commercial enterprises have zero use for..."
Bingo!
"Did they actually tell her anything about mass communications during her "course"?"
They apparently taught her about 'trolling'.. :)
"It hasn't yet submitted its first accounts so there is no way of knowing whether this is indeed yet another 'grant sucking' entity."
Oh, I think there's enough circumstantial evidence to hand now...
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