Towards a Post-Racial AmericaMorehouse College in Atlanta is an elite, all-male, historically black college. Sure, some whites have attended the school over its 141 years, but like Howard University, the vast majority of its student body is black.
But this year, Morehouse closed the academic calendar with a bold social statement, apropos of the times and, especially, Barack Obama's deeply held belief in a post-racial world. The college named its first-ever white valedictorian.
Joshua Packwood, the honored 22-year-old, holds a 4.0 GPA, received a Rhodes scholarship, and most significantly, once turned down a scholarship to Columbia University to attend Morehouse.
The news wasn't universally applauded, though. One junior commented, "I support him and his mission to be successful in life. I just kind of wish he had done it at a different institution."
Isn't this as important in the move towards racial justice as when historically white colleges began admitting, graduating, and honoring black students?
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Isn't this as important in the move towards racial justice as when historically white colleges began admitting, graduating, and honoring black students?"
My answer to this question is quite frankly no. The Burckhardt quote "Beware the terrible simplifiers comes to mind" when reading both this article as well as all other coverage of this topic.
Morehouse College, as well as other so called "Historically Black Colleges and Universities" does not share the same racist and non-inclusive histories as "historically white colleges".
I'm certain with thorough research you would have discovered and disclosed the origins and premise of HBCUS, not to mention that most of their histories INCLUDED the direct assistance of "white" people.
*Morehouse College's First Three presidents considered themselves white men.
*John D. Rockefeller purchased and donated the land that Morehouse now sits on and was also very instrumental in the development of Spelman College....an all-female "HBCU."
So where does the lack of justice fall into play?
Seems to me, that Morehouse's legacy has been keen on the upholding of what is just, especially fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law.
Never in its history has it implicitly or explicitly denied any other race from attending let alone excelling in any academic or intellectual endeavors as have countless "white colleges" (Princeton, UVA etc) So I ask, how does your question of "racial justice" hold any relevant or sincere reasonable value?
Josh Packwood gained a 4.0 and subsequently achieved the status of Valedictorian, not because he was merely a white guy that just happened to "most significantly turn down a scholarship to Columbia to attend Morehouse" however he was an exceptional scholar who excelled at an exceptional institution of Higher learning with an exceptional history of diversity and inclusion unique even to this nation's most-esteemed Ivy League.
Beware the terrible simplifiers, who neglect to highlight the success of Josh Packwood, as well as the turbulent yet progressive history of Morehouse College. Beware the terrible simplifiers who in all of my scouring of various articles covering this topic, have yet to discover one that mentions Morehouse College's most influential and forward thinking Alumni of the 20th century, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Beware the terrible simplifiers who champion the labels of progressivism and equality, but subordinate content of character and thought, to outdated ideas of race and skin-color.
An opinion piece perhaps, but I certainly must expect a Part-time Professor of Journalism, to reach beyond AP sources in his writing endeavors.
Dave,
Thanks for your comment, which was admittedly more developed and thorough than my original post. I had not delved beyond the sources I found, not because I am a "terrible simplifier", but because my interest in this story and my motivation behind writing this post was simply to put the news out there and hope that other people -- such as yourself -- would weigh in. I'd hardly call it an "opinion piece" since I don't share any real opinions. I just mention that it happened and ask a question to the readers at the end.
This is what blogs are all about. Were I writing a magazine piece on this topic, I'd have had much more time to research the story, cover all my bases, and acknowledge some of the excellent points that you raised in your response. But magazine articles are not dialogs -- they're monologues controlled entirely by the writer. Also, because it was a blog post, it had to be short, to-the-point, and ideally, something a reader might want to engage with.
Again, note that the post is very, very short, and I do end it with a question -- not a rhetorical question, but one I wanted people to respond to. I regret that so far you're the only one to do so. I hope there will be more.
So again, thank you for writing and getting the dialog going. I certainly hope people will read your comment, as it provides historical perspective on Morehouse like no other sources on this story, and many excellent points about racial justice in this country.
But please understand the nature of blogging and refrain from insulting my intelligence and my profession for not covering as much ground as you did, especially given the briefness of the piece.
David