------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the May 3, 2001 issue of Workers World newspaper ------------------------- BROWN UNIVERSITY: STUDENTS PROTEST RACIST ADVERTISEMENT ON REPARATIONS By Michael Shaw Providence, R.I. An April 7 forum on "Campus Racism and the Providence Community" at the Congdon Street Baptist Church near the Brown University campus brought together anti-racism fighters from both the prestigious college and the Providence, R.I., community. The forum was called in response to the Brown Daily Herald running a racist broadside--disguised as an "ad" that attacked the movement seeking reparations to African Americans for slavery. The inflammatory diatribe understandably enraged Brown students of color as well as their allies. Once it ran in mid-March an ad hoc organization of Brown students mobilized to confront the all-white BDH editorial board. Sixty students showed up with petitions signed by 200 students. They demanded that the BDH donate ad space to rebut the racist propaganda, or else donate the more than $500 received for running the piece to the Third World Center or an African American group. The meeting with the editors lasted 30 minutes. The board stonewalled. The coalition members told the editors that if at least one of the two demands were not met, the issue of the Herald would be removed. The next day, March 16, members of the coalition appropriated 4,000 issues of that day's paper. (Providence Phoenix, April 6) After the anti-African American broadside was printed, there was an immediate explosion of racism against students and faculty of color. Izetta Autumn Mobley, a sophomore from Washington, D.C., returned from spring break to discover a letter from Connecticut in her mailbox containing a picture of a mutilated Black child. Professor Lewis Gordon, director of the Afro-American Studies Program, has received up to 90 hateful emails and voice mails daily since the bigotry display began. (Providence Phoenix, March 30) The big-business media have reported factual details about the atmosphere of intensified racist terror unleashed since the ad appeared. But at the same time the media have heaped laurels on the heads of BDH's editorial board as "defenders of freedom of speech." An editorial in the BDH's March 23 issue was headlined "Free speech at Brown: Student editors deserve praise for standing up to the censorious mob." The editorial stated, "The Providence Journal, the Boston Globe, and the Boston Herald have all editorialized against this assault-by-mob on the BDH's First Amendment rights." The editorial also referred to the paper's editors as "heroes." The Brown administration has not uttered one word of condemnation toward those who printed the racist broadside. It has also failed to take responsibility for the consequences. Speak out against racism The CCS has not taken this white supremacy or its defense lying down. The coalition is seeking allies for its righteous struggle. This is why the April 7 forum was called. Sympathetic students, faculty, alumni, and activists of many nationalities attended from Providence and Boston, including representatives of the group DARE--Direct Action for Rights and Equality. Barbara Bernier, a law professor at Roger Williams University who is one of three faculty members of color at that school, opened and moderated the forum. She said it is ridiculous to defend printing the racist broadside by hiding behind the First Amendment. The freedom of speech that the constitution protects is only relevant in relationship to federal government censorship. Forum panelists--all students of color--gave their perspective on what has happened at Brown over the past few weeks. Melissa Rodriguez said the Herald has a history of exercising racially biased editorial discretion. And she said that the newspaper and Brown itself have created a safe space for racist, hateful views under the guise of promoting free speech. By taking several hundred dollars to run this hateful "ad," she said, the BDH profited from a racist attack on the community. Student Kate Lesle said the appearance of the broadside was timed to coincide with the forthcoming United Nations Summit on Racism in Durban, South Africa. All nations that profited from colonialism and slavery, particularly the United States, are dreading this conference because the issue of reparations is high on the agenda. Therefore reactionaries are trying to short-circuit discussion of the issue. Several students of color described the rise in fear and anger on campus that the whole episode has subjected them to. Bill Bateman of the International Action Center spoke on the importance of self-determination for oppressed communities in crises such as this. He encouraged those present not to be stifled by racists who attempt to bully while hiding themselves under the mantle of "free speech." Michael Shaw expressed Workers World Party's unqualified support and solidarity with the students and everyone else battling racism locally. Coalition member and Brown senior Karen Wheeler outlined plans to continue fighting back. She talked about plans to organize teach-ins about the reparations movement, set up an alternative newspaper, move for stricter hate-speech rules at Brown and implement changes at the Herald. On April 16, over 150 Brown students and community members turned out to hear a lecture by Sam Anderson on the struggle of African Americans for reparations. Anderson, a mathematician, professor and writer, is a founder of the Black Panther Party in Harlem, a member of the Black Radical Congress and author of "Black Holocaust for Beginners." Anderson applauded the students who fought back against the recent outbreak of racism on Brown's campus, saying, "These young people have done a great service for Black liberation." Anderson delved into the history of the reparations movement, which originated in this country during the 1860s in the Reconstruction when angry Black people sought compensation for slavery. The reparations movement still terrifies the ruling class, he said. He explained that the terms of reparations, still being debated by the Black community, might include not paying state or federal taxes, receiving free education and health care, and demanding freedom for political prisoners. Anderson emphasized the importance of progressive whites educating other white people about racism and how to destroy it. His message was overwhelmingly well received by the multinational gathering. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
