First Black Man In Decades Wins SGA Presidency At The University Of Alabama
The University of Alabama has elected its first black student government president since 1976. Elliot Spillers defeated Stephen Keller, who currently sits as vice president of student affairs, on Tuesday and received more than 8,500 of the estimated 15,000 total votes. This was both the highest election turnout and margin of victory since 2009.
From AL.com:
Elliot Spillers, a junior from Pelham, is also considered to be the first non-Machine candidate to win the election since John Merrill (now Alabama’s Secretary of State) won in 1986.
This will be Spillers’ first elected position within the SGA, where he has served appointed positions, most recently as deputy director of engagement.
Spillers contributes a large part in the success of his campaign to Greek organizations. He recruited significant support in the sorority community, and fraternities played a pivotal role — Alpha Tau Omega flew a giant Spiller banner from its house on campus.
With all the racial tension that’s received national attention lately, it’s hard to remember the significant progress this country has made over the years. Great to see a story like this to remind us just how far we’ve come.
Roll Tide!.
[via AL.com]
Image via Youtube
I don’t understand all the racial subjects on TFM lately. It’s like it’s aimed at separating us more than uniting us as Greeks. I don’t like it.
11 years ago at 12:45 pmGreeks played a large role in his victory. I believe that falls more in the uniting category.
11 years ago at 12:47 pmYou obviously didn’t read this article before commenting, scooter.
11 years ago at 12:47 pmI did, I just don’t understand why it’s significant that he is black. A candidate won because of his ability to unify and organize Greek life successfully. That’s it.
11 years ago at 1:16 pmMaybe if you did a little research you’d know the machine is a secret organization of Greeks at alabama. And he won because he was able to break some fraternity’s off not because he unified them.
11 years ago at 1:52 pmit’s 2015. no one should care that he’s black. this is the shit that keeps racism alive.
11 years ago at 12:46 pmI’m pretty sure a little video that came out this weeks shows why this is significant.
11 years ago at 12:51 pmRacism doesn’t just go away if you stop talking about it, take a sociology class.
11 years ago at 12:51 pmI think you just need to take a common sense class, pal.
11 years ago at 1:00 pmAnd get back to your sociology class. You might be missing something.
11 years ago at 10:44 pmIt’s hard NOT be racist (as in to perceive race instead of character) when every time someone does something noteworthy, they are labelled as “a _______ (black, latino, woman, etc.)” except for when crimes are committed then they are labelled as “teens” or “youths”.
11 years ago at 1:09 pmthe reason why he gained so much support was because he was the first non Machine backed candidate to have an actual legitimate chance to win the election in decades. It’s hard to get elected to important SGA seats at Bama without the backing of the Machine.
11 years ago at 1:53 pmplus he has a strong suit game so he had that going for him
11 years ago at 2:32 pmWhether its 2015 or 3015 as long as there are different races racism will be around
11 years ago at 3:46 pmTfm or CNN?
11 years ago at 12:48 pmShut up Meg
11 years ago at 12:51 pmMy god you motherfuckers are persistent. I’m not even mad, frankly I’m impressed.
11 years ago at 1:07 pmShut up, Meg.
11 years ago at 1:19 pmThis is great, but real progress will be the day we stop pointing out things like this…. Elliot won because he was the best candidate. No reason to bring race into this at all. “The best way to end racism is to stop talking about it” – Morgan Freeman.
11 years ago at 12:48 pmHow do you think Obama got elected? Because there was no way in hell he was the best candidate. People thought if they voted for a black guy that racism would be gone forever out of their lives. LOL
11 years ago at 1:12 pmI don’t understand why this is downvoted. There are many people (and I’m not just talking about the 98 or 99% of blacks who voted for Obama) who voted for him in 2008 just to prove that we are a post-racial society, though they didn’t realize the irony and hypocrisy of voting for him just because of skin color. I remember reading a lot of pieces and seeing a lot in the news about how his election was supposed to end racism, though after 6 years he has undoubtedly made it worse.
11 years ago at 2:51 pmIt’s because in 2008 when Obama was elected roughly 60% of TFM users were still in elementary school. They don’t understand the majority of people who voted for Obama were trying to prove they weren’t racists. #KeepYourChange
11 years ago at 3:03 pmPeople are given an edge all the time because of their race. College admissions, government, jobs, etc. Real progress will be the day that people aren’t given advantages or disadvantages based on the color of their skin.
11 years ago at 3:36 pmThat would be progress but that’s not how the system works because of extremists like Eric Holder or Al Sharpton who think by spewing utter nonsense they think they’re helping move things along. They’re holding off real progress because they believe they’re owed something because their ancestors were slaves. They never learned that nobody in this world owes you anything.
11 years ago at 4:11 pmThe flaw with your point is that these “edges” only exist because minorities routinely get discriminated against in the first place. For example, if a black and white guy both apply for the same job and are equally qualified, the white guy is far more likely to get the job. Even if the white guy has a felony, he’s still more likely to get the job. How is that fair to the black guy? Do you have a remedy for that? In a country that’s supposed to be egalitarian, these types of things shouldn’t exist. But unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world.
11 years ago at 6:22 pmWe live in a world where blacks quite literally get extra points on their SAT, LSAT, MCAT, and every other standardized test that determines where you go to school. The system is flawed, yes, but the only way you get past that is not giving artificial handouts, it’s demanding performance. Companies and schools should be free to always hire who they decide is the best candiate irrespective of the other of someone’s skin.
11 years ago at 3:57 pmWe get it TFM, you’re not racist.
11 years ago at 12:51 pmAnd people wonder why black people play the race card..
11 years ago at 12:52 pmIt’s more significant that he beat the machine than the color of his skin
11 years ago at 1:02 pmI’m so glad that if any random person looks on the TFM website, the first thing they’ll see is an article with this headline. This is the exact type of article that makes people hate Greek life. This man won on his own merit, not because he is black. Thanks for breaking him down to the color of his skin TFM. Take this shit down.
11 years ago at 1:02 pmIt’s a problem that he was elected solely because of his race and not his experience or qualifications. I thought all this talk about racism was supposed to prevent this kind of thing.
11 years ago at 1:04 pmI hope that ATO would be supporting him for his academic and personal merits, not just because of his race…
11 years ago at 1:07 pm