It has been alleged that white visitors are not permitted in the common areas of the Person of Color Theme House, an off-campus co-op for University of California, Berkeley students.
Many POC relocated here to be able to escape white aggression and presence, therefore respect their choice if you bring white visitors, according to a post on Reddit that included a photo of the house rules.
The home’s website claims that it strives to foster a “inclusive” atmosphere, however the house regulations clearly say that “White guests are not permitted in communal places.”
The house is a five-story, 30-room residence nearby Berkeley’s campus that has space for up to 56 students.
On its website, the co-op states that it “aims to offer housing to low-income, first-generation, immigrant, and disadvantaged students of colour.”
The residence was built as a component of the Berkeley Student Cooperative, a project intended to provide students in the Bay Area of California with cheap accommodation.
Members should avoid bringing parents or family members that are bigoted, according to the house rules, since “Queer, Black, and Indigenous members should not have to shun common places due to homophobic or racist parents/family members.”
Many people contend that the home is not respecting its ideals despite the regulations.
A mixed-race individual said in a comment on a Reddit article about their experiences there that their “presence as a light skinned person was not welcomed warmly” because of their light complexion.
They claimed that housemates used racial insults against them and that they were even forbidden from allowing their white father to join the home.
The home is “not campus run,” according to Janet Gilmore, Senior Director of Strategic Communications at the university, who also said to DailyMail.com that “it is not the duty of the campus to comment.”
Gilmore said that while the university does have its own theme programmes, they do not discriminate on the basis of race in accordance with UC and school policy and do not have “any such regulations like the one mentioned in the Reddit picture.”
The college lacks the authority to punish the landlord under the Code of Student Conduct since this involves an off-campus, unaffiliated landlord.
Even the anti-discrimination guidelines promulgated by Berkeley Student Cooperative, the organisation in charge of the housing, seem to conflict with the discriminatory guidelines.
Acts that discriminate against any members of the BSC community on the basis of attributes including age, gender, or sexual orientation are forbidden under the school’s anti-discrimination policy.
The Fix was informed by Stephen Ross, the Berkeley Student Cooperative’s manager of cooperative experiences, that the house regulations are not “official policy.”
Although white individuals may and do reside at POC house, Ross emphasised that the facility’s main goal is to provide people of colour a secure and nurturing home setting.
Ross said that the Person of Color Theme House has its “own culture and rituals” and that its main goal is to provide people of colour “a secure and supportive living environment.”
Because some members have been traumatised by the “white violence” referenced in the rules, he said that house members intentionally attempt to “not make Whiteness important to the experience for members living in the house.”
This, according to Ross, is adversely influenced by things like “everyday experiences of hidden and overt racism” and “racist and discriminatory words made by former President Trump.”
As a “safe haven” where people can “digest their experiences and feel supported,” the home, he said, can provide its residents.
Since private landlords manage the homes in the Berkeley Student Cooperative, the University often thinks that it is unnecessary for them to comment on their actions.
The mansion has “become known for its reputation of anti-Blackness” and “upholding white supremacy,” according to a 2020 Medium essay.