Rev. Jeremiah Wright is back in the news again, probably through no fault of his own, this time around. There is a protest underway over the university’s rescission of an honorary degree to Wright, the former pastor of Sen. Barack Obama whose remarks caused headaches for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
In a March letter to Wright, announced on May 1, Northwestern President Henry Bienen wrote that he decided to withdraw the degree in sacred theology because controversy about Wright could disrupt graduation ceremonies, as Jodi S. Cohen wrote May 2 in the Chicago Tribune. The rescission is believed to be the first in the history of the Evanston, Ill., school, founded in 1850.
“In light of the controversy surrounding statements made by you that have recently been publicized, the celebratory character of Northwestern’s commencement would be affected by our conferring of this honorary degree,” Bienen wrote to Wright.
According to the Maynard Institute, for the protesters, who have gathered 1,348 signatures on a petition demanding that the degree be reinstated, the issue is about more than Wright. “I’m participating in the petition not based on the merits of whether Rev. Wright does or does not deserve an honorary degree,” Sidmel Estes-Sumpter, a member of the Medill School of Journalism Board of Advisers and a former president of the National Association of Black Journalists, told Journal-isms. “I have issues with the lack of process by the university. Northwestern always seems to ‘change the rules’ when it comes to African Americans. This latest episode is only the latest insult by the university that has led to a dramatic decline in the number of African American students, the decreasing number of African American professors and the almost nonexistent numbers of African American administrators. Northwestern has failed to serve the needs of African Americans across the board and is listed in the latest Journal on Blacks in Higher Education as one of the top four universities in the country with the largest decrease of African American presence on campus,” said the 1977 Medill graduate. The number of black freshmen dropped from 118 in 1998 to 111 in 2007, according to the Journal.
“This is absolutely outrageous, straight up reactionary politics,” said Kevin B. Blackistone, former Dallas Morning News sports columnist newly appointed to a chair at the University of Maryland, and a 1981 Medill graduate. “The president said he was rescinding the offer because he didn’t want to detract from the celebratory nature of commencement for graduates and their families. Then why give any honorary degrees at all or have any invited speakers who drone on seemingly forever only to be quickly forgotten? Wright certainly would not have been forgotten. The sound bites that have been used to slay him are exactly what graduates need to hear: a challenge to do differently, if not better. No uncritical yammering from him. “Interestingly, James Cone, the theologian who coined the phrase black liberation theology, that frightens so many, called Wright one of the finest practitioners of the craft. Where did Cone get his Ph.D? Northwestern. Come on, now!”
Alan K. Cubbage, vice president for university relations, told Journal-isms, “It is highly unlikely that Rev. Wright will receive an honorary degree at commencement” on June 20. But C. Cole Dillon, who heads the Northwestern University Black Alumni Association and is an organizer of the petition, said it addresses more than the rescinded degree. An underlying reason for the protest is “to try to change the conversation on race.” It irks Dillon, she said, that Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is to receive an honorary degree when he is a defendant in a lawsuit over police torture of blacks that was prosecuted by Northwestern’s own MacArthur law clinic. Daley was Cook County state’s attorney at the time of the 1980s incidents.
However, not all African Americans support the petition. Some Medill graduates who are professional journalists did not feel comfortable taking a public position, Dillon said. Others are sympathetic but have other concerns. “I think they’re a day late and a dollar short. This announcement was made nearly two months ago,” Charles Whitaker, director of the Medill’s Academy for Alternative Journalism, told Journal-isms. “That was the time to rally the troops, circulate petitions and express alarm about rescinding the honorary degree. That ship has sailed now. There is absolutely nothing to be gained from circulating a petition at this point. The president certainly isn’t going to have an epiphany and decide to reinstate Wright no matter how many signatures he gets on a petition at this point.
So, I am not sure what side of the fence many people find themselves, but if they had a problem with the university’s decision, then the petition drive should have started from back then and not now when the ceremony is approaching. Rev. Wright, though he spoke fact, said some very incendiary things that caused Barack Obama a lot of headaches. I am sure that Sean Hannity adn company will have this on their broadcasts tonight. The university has a right to do just what it did, but it may have sent the wrong message to many blacks. Northwestern University is an institution of higher learning with an exceptional track record. I would hate to see the school get caught up in the political fallout from Rev. Wright, through no real fault of its own. Just my thoughts, you be the judge…..
Filed under: Barack Obama, Northwestern University, Rev. Jeremiah Wright
Black Political Thought 