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NEWS BRIEFS
8/25/2005

Protesting Protest with White Noise

Writer: JULIE MICKENS
jmickens@steelcitymedia.com

Do you like being white? asked a Tribune-Review reporter of a young man calling himself Tim Bodine.

If nothing else, being white gave Bodine an opportunity to lead an Aug. 19 Downtown march of
redemption for white peoples support of slavery in America. Bodine and four other guys calling
themselves the Caucasian American Understanding Coalition walked from the County Courthouse to
the United Way building, where the Pittsburgh Urban League is housed. A pre-march release on the
groups Web site noted the young mens deep commitment: Many of them will [march] on their lunch
break.

The men carried signs reading Im Sorry and handed out brochures. For over a hundred years, African
Americans suffered the horror and indignity of slavery, the brochures said. (Its more like 250 years, but,
hey.) Since then, this dark chapter in Americas history has gone largely uncommented upon.

Today, CAUCs statement continued, we, as the parties responsible for these decades of suffering, open
a channel, admitting our bad.

When an overlap was observed between the marchers and the crew that puts together the
sometimes-satirical Deek magazine, Bodine admitted he had seen the magazines Mediocrity Is a Sin
stickers around town, but thats not what were here to talk about today.

This was the first public outing for CAUC, Bodine said; perhaps thats why they had never before been
seen at any events led by racial-justice groups like, say, the Urban League. Nonprofits can be hard to
work with, Bodine noted.

CAUC has had previous, private events before, Bodine claimed. One brochure photo featured an
earnest-looking young white man behind a podium, paired with an even-more-earnest young white man on
guitar, captioned: A simple PowerPoint slideshow can start the healing.

On CAUCs Web site www.cauc-pittsburgh.org -- the same photo is labeled a PowerPoint sing-along
about the horrors of slavery.

When the veracity of this depiction was questioned, Bodine marveled at the cynical media. The other four
CAUC members wore labels stuck over their mouths that informed onlookers they were SILENCED BY
SHAME.

Lets get a chant going, said Bodine, speaking into a mic plugged into a boombox. Two-four-six-eight / a
dialogue we want to initiate!

Michael Loomis came out to see the group because, he said, It reminded me of when Republicans tried
to register voters for Nader last fall.

When the young men got to the United Way Building at One Smithfield, they ran into three
African-American women headed to lunch.

Their brochure, Caucasian American Understanding, looked like a white-power [group], said Aya Amina
Van Zant. But I guess any time a Caucasian stands up against oppression and admits their race has
oppressed people, thats a good thing.

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Protesting Protest with White Noise http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/scripts/printIt.cfm?ref=4750

Id thought they were against interracial couples or something, said Joelle Jeffries.

Or against blacks in general, added Sabrina Moore. They should be careful, because theres a lot of
blacks who work in that building.

Added Jeffries, I was about to go over and give them my input!

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