I am writing in response to the Nov. 3 cover story “Tufts celebrates Black Solidarity Day,” but more especially in response to the event itself. I was only able to witness part of the rally behind the Campus Center patio on Monday, but what I saw does not correspond to the impression conveyed in the Daily, which quoted only proponents of the event and depicted a positive, unity-oriented celebration. Instead I heard several implicitly and explicitly racist statements, some of the most egregious of which elicited applause from those members of our faculty and fellow students in attendance.
A few classmates and I were walking past the patio on Monday just as Professor Peniel Joseph was delivering the keynote address. But we did not hear anything about “solidarity between different communities and how we support each other and grow” as one attendee reported to the Daily. We heard “black people have lived here longer than anyone” and “black people are more willing to bleed for this country than anyone else.” Coming from a history professor, the first claim strikes one as odd and absurd, but the second is not nearly so harmless. Two of the people I was walking with were white ROTC students, who were justifiably outraged at the suggestion that their skin color makes them less likely to fight for America. That such an ignorant and racist statement could come from one of our professors and gain the support of our peers ought to be troubling to everyone.
But, in an effort to be mature, we did not call the Bias Education and Awareness Team or hold a rally of our own to celebrate our victimhood. In fact, we did nothing at all, and continued walking by. But even that was not enough for Professor Joseph who, noticing us at that moment, called to “all you white folks walking by” to stop and listen to what he had to say, drawings loud cheers (and some jeers) from the crowd. Naturally, being singled out for our skin color as needing special education by a Tufts professor did nothing to improve our comfort level and we kept walking.
Later I passed by the rally again, where I listened to a story about white police officers shooting an unarmed black youth. The race of the police officers featured prominently in the narrative as if it proved something. However, one can just as easily find anecdotal evidence of blacks victimizing whites. Most people would argue that neither type of story proves anything about either race as a whole. Moreover, if the rally on Monday were truly about solidarity and unity with other communities, why would it so prominently feature commentary and stories such as these?
I concede that Black Solidarity Day was likely conceived innocently with no malice towards other groups and am loath to attribute some of the comments I heard and attitudes I perceived to racism. But I cannot ignore what took place. I would welcome an explanation from Professor Joseph and the organizers of the event. But regardless, I think this university ought to take a hard look at whether we have nurtured our own brand of racism within the Tufts bubble.
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Michael Hawley is a junior majoring in political science.
