Wealth inequality can't be discussed without talking about race within the American context, they are inseparable. The global recession coupled with racism means that students of color are particularly vulnerable to financial setbacks.
Discrimination is not merely symbolic, but it has material consequences for Black students who go deeper into debt, are less likely to graduate, and are made to feel marginal at their universities. Racism is embedded in the fabric of higher education today. Such history, when it is unveiled, can be the tinder of revolt. Many of these universities further justified racism through "scientific" experiments that were meant to show the inferiority of non-white groups. At Princeton, for example, the first eight presidents were slaveholders. In Ebony & Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America's Universities, Craig Steven Wilder outlines the deep connections to slavery in the early histories of Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Dartmouth, Pennsylvania, and William and Mary. Yet these words often whitewash the reality of what it means to be a racial or ethnic minority at institutions that profited from slavery, imperialist war or the prison-industrial complex. Universities often use terms such as "diversity" and "multicultural" to describe increasingly heterogeneous campuses. Just as Wilson's history shows that liberalism is not necessarily anti-racist, the liberal language used today by universities like Princeton is often deployed to cover up conditions of inequality and bigotry. president-is remembered today as a "Progressive Era" president" but he was also a leading racist of his day, who sent troops to occupy Haiti, declaring that Black people were ignorant.Ī recent New York Times article posed an important question about whether Wilson's racism was an exception to his liberalism or an inherent part of it. Wilson-a former Princeton University president, New Jersey governor and a two-term U.S. IN CHALLENGING the legacy of Woodrow Wilson, one of the founders of modern American liberalism, the Black Justice League has done a valuable service. Nonetheless, with the support of various faculty members in the Department of African American Studies, the Black Justice League was ultimately able to win concessions from the administration.Įisgruber agreed to "initiate conversations" with the Board of Trustees about removing Wilson's name from campus buildings, to immediately designate four rooms for use by cultural groups, and to look into cultural competency trainings for members of both the faculty and the counseling and psychological services staff. The Black Justice League leads protests against racism on and off the Princeton campus
The bomb threat was later found to be baseless. In addition, the university warned the Princeton community via e-mail of an anonymous bomb and firearm threat that apparently referenced the student protesters.
By the next day, they were able to reach a compromise with the administration, and Princeton will consider renaming buildings and schools like the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.ĭuring this process, students were faced with intimidation and encountered threats of disciplinary action from the administration. Protesters showed their resilience by sleeping outside in the pouring rain for over 30 hours until their demands were heard. The persistence of racism on Princeton University's campus was central to their three main demands: 1) Rename institutions that bear the name of the notoriously racist former President Woodrow Wilson 2) Institute cultural training for faculty and staff and 3) Create cultural space dedicated to Black students. Of those, over two dozen members of the Black Justice League went to President Christopher Eisgruber's office and demanded to be heard.Īfter a hour-long conversation with the administration, the students camped outside Nassau Hall. ON NOVEMBER 18, two hundred students participated in a walkout at Princeton University in New Jersey.
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