The Power of the Common Purpose by Dr. E. Faye Williams

Nov. 15, 2015

The Power of the Common Purpose
By Dr. E. Faye Williams

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 (TriceEdneyWire.com) - Despite contrary declarations, on the morning of November 9, 2015, Tim Wolfe, President of the University of Missouri system, tendered his immediate resignation.  The explanation was his failure to take corrective action to change a climate of racial animus on campus and within the university system.  Wolfe ignored and took no action to address numerous and recurring complaints of the use of racial epithets and acts denigrating students of color.  By the end of the day on November 9th, the Chancellor of the Columbia, Missouri campus had also issued a statement announcing his resignation, effective January 1, 2016.

In a seemingly short period of time, UM was thrust into social unrest reminiscent of the 1960's Civil Rights Era.  The resignation of the highest official in the UM system and of the highest university official on the Columbia, MO, campus clearly indicated a problem of importance great enough to bring scrutiny from across the nation.

For months, Black student groups had objected to Wolfe's indifference to their complaints of racial slurs used on campus and other acts of racism, like painting a swastika with feces on a dormitory wall that contradicted the spirit of academic inclusiveness and challenged their perceptions of personal safety.  Wolfe, a businessman with no academic background, was unresponsive to complaints of growing racial animus.  He appeared unwilling to take a public stance against the overt acts of discrimination that took the campus to the brink of racial violence.  Whether misunderstanding or insensitivity, Wolfe's inaction in the face of increasing discord became an obstacle to positive change and made Wolfe a target of those seeking change.

By Sunday, November 8th, circumstances had come to a head.  Graduate student, Jonathan Butler, who threatened not to eat until Wolfe resigned, was near the end of what would be a week-long hunger strike.  Politicians from around the state began to weigh-in with their opinions concerning the discord.  A campus-wide sit-in became increasingly large and graduate groups announced walkouts.  #Concerned Students1950, an amalgam of students honoring the year that African Americans were first admitted to UM, became increasingly vocal in their objection to Wolfe.

Most acknowledge that the tipping-point came when the Mizzou Tiger football team announced a boycott of practice and a game with BYU unless Wolfe resigned.  The potential for payment of one million dollars in penalties to BYU seemed to make the difference in Wolfe's resignation.

Observers acknowledge Wolfe's resignation as a seminal moment in the protest at UM. Most will applaud the efforts of the student and faculty protesters to right an obvious wrong and start a movement to healing, inclusion and cohesiveness.

The greater lesson that springs from this event is a reaffirmation of the power in unity and common purpose.   Past lessons confirm the futility of attempting violent change. Historically, our successes have come from a determined and unified approach to change. The actions of our young warriors prove there’s still room in our arsenal of change for the methods we employed in the past.

Like our march from Selma to Montgomery, peaceful demonstrations by an unexpected mass of protesters drew attention and change in the fight against racial injustice at UM.  Like our bus boycott in Montgomery, the threat of financial loss that would have been realized by a Mizzou Tiger football team boycott of the BYU game was truly a "game changer" in the fight for justice.  Money talks!

The example set by our youthful protesters in Columbia, MO, serves as a model for protests that are sure to come.  If, as the state of current politics suggests, we are forced to re-litigate the battles of the Civil Rights Era, let us do so with the strength that unity in a common purpose affords us.

(Dr. E. Faye Williams is President of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc.  www.nationalcongressbw.org.  202/678-6788)