Black History Month
Our recent campus celebrations honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. and the variety of events connected to Black History Month are
cause for reflection on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion on our
campuses and in our communities.
The quote of Dr. King I find myself using most often is, “We’ve
come a long way, but we have a long way to go.” Miraculous changes have
occurred during my lifetime: I was born months before the adoption of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964. This was followed the next year by the Voting Rights Act
and the Higher Education Act. These three Acts and the adoption of the 19th
Amendment extending the vote to women in 1920 represent the most important legislative
achievements for democracy and equity in the United States during the past
century.
The momentum of progress has been inconsistent, and there
have been disappointing instances of regress. This is our history, but it need
not be our future. As Frederick Douglass said in his remarkable speech on the 4th
of July 1852 in Rochester, NY, “We
have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and the
future.”
Thirty-four
year later, in a speech on the 24th anniversary of Emancipation in
Washington, DC, Douglass said, “The American people have this to learn: that
where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails,
and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy
to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither person nor property is safe.”
Over a century later, many of our neighbors find themselves
the regular victims of poverty, ignorance, and oppression. We can do better We
must do better. Our campuses are ideal proving grounds for this work. This is
where we engage in difficult conversations and challenge our own beliefs and
understandings of the world around us. As Dr. King said, “The time is always right to
do what's right.” (speech at Oberlin College on 22 October 1964).
As our understanding of a truly democratic society develops,
our goals necessarily become more complex. We
must strive for inclusion, not just diversity; we must strive for acceptance,
not just recognition; and we must learn respect, not just tolerance.
Douglass
also said, “We know and consider that a nation is not born in a day. We know
that large bodies move slowly—and often seem to move thus when, could we
perceive their actual velocity, we should be astonished at its greatness. A
great battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but
the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation,
to appreciate it.” (speech to the Women’s
Loyal League at the Cooper Institute, 13 January 1864).
It
is hard to appreciate the changes for good that have occurred over time, but it
is also too easy for us to fall victim to malignant patience, or worse, apathy.
When we fail to recognize the role each of us plays as the authors of our culture,
we all become the victims of delayed justice.
To
honor Black History Month, let us all reflect on the state of our nation and commit
to how each of us can best contribute to its continued moral growth. We have a
collective responsibility for our equity-challenged world, but we must work
together to advance discourse and actions supporting inclusion, acceptance, and
respect.
