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Black Student Revolt Against Racism Ousts 2 Top Officials at University of Missouri
A revolt by African-American students at the University of Missouri has forced two top officials to resign. On Monday, President Tim Wolfe and Columbia campus chancellor R. Bowen Loftin announced they will step down in the face of protests over their handling of racism on campus. African-American students have staged weeks of demonstrations against what they called a lax response to bigotry and vandalism. In a key moment Saturday, African-American football players joined the protest, vowing to boycott games and other team activities until Wolfe resigned. We are joined by Mizzou student Danielle Walker, who has organized "Racism Lives Here" demonstrations on campus; and University of Missouri Black Studies Chair Stephanie Shonekan. "[Racist] incidents just seem to be almost a rite of passage for black students when they enter the University of Missouri," Walker says. "I think it is atrocious that these protests had to get to this point in order to truly bring about change, that a student was willing to give their life in order to bring the necessary attention [to] what we have been experiencing so long at this university."
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: A revolt by African-American students at the University of Missouri has forced two top officials to resign. On Monday, President Tim Wolfe said he is quitting, and Columbia campus Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin announced he will be stepping down by the end of the year, in the face of protests over their handling of racism on campus. African-American students have staged weeks of demonstrations against what they call a lax response to bigotry and vandalism. For a week, an African-American graduate student named Jonathan Butler staged a hunger strike that he said would only end with Wolfe’s resignation. Students set up a campus encampment in support of Butler’s action. They’ve dubbed themselves Concerned Student 1950, a reference to the year the school’s first black student enrolled. The administration has also faced opposition from graduate students who fought to win back their health coverage and activists who denounced a move to sever ties with Planned Parenthood under Republican pressure.
A turning point came on Saturday when African-American players on the University of Missouri’s football team joined the protest. In a tweet quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the players wrote, "The athletes of color on the University of Missouri football team truly believe 'Injustice Anywhere is a threat to Justice Everywhere.'" They announced they would no longer take part in any football activities until President Wolfe resigned or was removed, quote, "due to his negligence toward marginalized students’ experience," unquote. The coach and athletic department soon came out in support of the team. The pressure on Wolfe then snowballed. The following day, members of the "Concerned Faculty" group at the University of Missouri voted to stage a walkout, and the Missouri Students Association, representing 27,000 undergraduates, called on Wolfe to resign.
On Sunday night, Wolfe was still defiant, vowing to stay on. But in a shocking turn of events Monday, Wolfe held a news conference to announce his departure.
TIM WOLFE: I’m resigning as president of the University of Missouri system. My motivation in making this decision comes from love. I love MU, Columbia, where I grew up, the state of Missouri. I have thought and prayed about this decision. It’s the right thing to do.
The response to this announcement I’m sure ranges from joy for some to anger to others, and that’s why we’re here today. So let me speak to why this is so important at this time. To our students, from Concerned Students 1950 to our grad students, football players and other students, the frustration and anger that I see is clear, real, and I don’t doubt it for a second. ...
I’d ask everybody, from students to faculty to staff, to my friends, everybody, use my resignation to heal and start talking again, to make the changes necessary, and let’s focus on changing what we can change today and in the future.
AMY GOODMAN: That was University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe announcing his resignation. His move came just before the school’s governing body, the Board of Curators, was set to discuss his future. The resignation of Columbia campus Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin came just hours later. His departure takes effect in January, but he will stay working at the university. Students gathered on campus to celebrate their victory, and activist Jonathan Butler announced his hunger strike was over. Addressing supporters, Butler wore a T-shirt that said, quote, "I Love My Blackness and Yours."
JONATHAN BUTLER: Please stop focusing on the fact of the Mizzou hunger strike itself. Look at why did we have to get here in the first place and why the struggle and why we had to fight the way that we did. ...
At the end of all this, after all the letters we’ve sent, all the in-person interactions, after all the forums we’ve attended, after all the tweets and DMs that we’ve sent, telling the administration about our pain, it should not have taken this much. And it is disgusting and vile that we find ourselves in the place that we do. ...
So with that in mind, I give, one, all glory to God for even allowing me to still stand in this moment. And two, I want to acknowledge that this was—this was not—that it was not me alone. It was these people that I’m standing on here the stage with. It was the black community. It was the black faculty. It was the other faculty. It was the Forum on Graduate Rights. It was the people with Planned Parenthood. It was everybody who chose to stand up in this time who made this possible. This was not Jonathan Butler. This was the Mizzou community, for one of the first times that I’ve ever seen, stand together united.
AMY GOODMAN: That was hunger-striking University of Missouri graduate student Jonathan Butler, speaking just after the resignation of University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe.
For more, we’re joined by three guests. Dave Zirin is with us in Washington, sports columnist for The Nation magazine. His latest article, "3 Lessons from University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe’s Resignation." Danielle Walker joins us. She’s a master’s student at the Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri in Columbia and creator of the Racism Lives Here movement at Mizzou. Stephanie Shonekan is with us, as well. She’s chair of Black Studies at the University of Missouri, associate professor of ethnomusicology and black studies.
We welcome you all to Democracy Now! Let’s begin with Danielle. Danielle, can you first respond to the resignation of the University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe, as well as your campus chancellor, Loftin, who will leave his chancellorship at the end of the year?
DANIELLE WALKER: Yes. I think it’s important to highlight how leadership has to be held accountable. When Tim Wolfe says that, you know, he loves MU, how can you say that you love MU or that you loved MU when you’ve had students of color suffering so long underneath your leadership role? And so, it’s very bittersweet to see all these changes going on in our university, but also understand that this is long overdue, and it is time for new leadership to take over the reins and to assure that they are going to steer now the University of Missouri onto a course that is about diversity, inclusion and a welcoming environment for all students.
AMY GOODMAN: Danielle Walker, can you take us through what took place on your campus, why you created the Racism Lives Here movement? I think, for a lot of people, they heard for the first time what was going on at the university yesterday, when the president announced he was resigning. But you have been dealing with this for a very long time. Explain what led to this point.
DANIELLE WALKER: Yes. I’ve been a student of the University of Missouri since 2008. My sophomore year, we had the cotton ball incident, where white students sprayed cotton balls all over our Black Culture Center. And our administration’s response was that they committed littering and vandalism, not that it was a hate crime. That inaction, from there on all the way ’til now, has just been building upon itself.
And this fall, our student body president, Payton Head, was called the N-word while walking on campus, which is a common occurrence for black students. It’s almost normalized and expected that if you are walking on campus at nighttime and black, be prepared to be called the N-word. And I was absolutely outraged and disgusted that, once again, the administration, who I had hoped that when our body president was called this, that they will respond more alert to this, and they didn’t.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to—
DANIELLE WALKER: It wasn’t until I held a rally that I—
AMY GOODMAN: Let me go to Payton Head, the president of the Missouri Students Association. Head recently told The New York Times there’s not enough discussion about the history of systemic oppression at the University of Missouri.
PAYTON HEAD: The University of Missouri was founded in 1839 as the first public land-grant institution west of the Mississippi River. Who was building buildings in 1839? Slavery wasn’t abolished until 1865. But we don’t talk about that history here at the University of Missouri. Who built this campus? Who built the library that’s celebrating its centennial this year? Mr. Brady, you know, was—for Brady Commons, which was the name of the MU student center, you know, he fought to make sure that LGBTQ students could not meet on this campus. They went to the Supreme Court. That’s the reason why LGBTQ students can meet on campuses around the nation. But that was the name of our student center. So that’s the systematic oppression that I’m talking about.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s Payton Head, the university student president. Danielle Walker, if you could continue with the treatment of African-American students on campus that led to this?
DANIELLE WALKER: Yeah, once again, all these incidents just seem to be almost—almost a rite of passage for black students, of when they enter into the University of Missouri, that they are going to be faced with this hostile racial climate, the lack of sensitivity from their professors when they’re trying to have—you know, engage in dialogue in classes, when their classmates are invalidating their experiences. I think it’s atrocious that all these protests and movements had to get to this point in order to truly bring about change, that a student was willing to give their life in order to bring the necessary attention of what we’ve been experiencing so long at this university, with Concern Student 1950, once again, articulating this complex history at the university. There are so many tours that goes on on our campus, and the history is still being denied, and I think that’s why it’s important for Payton Head to shed light on what has been occurring at our campus, and why racism, when I said it lives here—because it does, it lives in our history, it’s embedded in our traditions and our legacy. But there has never been any formal acknowledgment of this history and how that continues to perpetuate these acts of hate.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about one of the latest incidents of a swastika?
DANIELLE WALKER: Once again, I was deeply disturbed that the only way I was able to find out that this incident occurred on my campus was through Twitter and that someone tweeted about it. There was no information from officials on our campus or administrators that released any kind of information from students. It actually—when the tweet happened, it was already a few days past the event. So this is what I am referring to of why I had to start this movement—
AMY GOODMAN: And what was—what actually happened?
DANIELLE WALKER: In regards to the administration, there still hasn’t actually been any—
AMY GOODMAN: In regards to the swastika—in regards to the swastika. This was a swastika that was smeared in feces on a dorm wall?
DANIELLE WALKER: Mm-hmm, yes. Yes.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you know who did it?
DANIELLE WALKER: And they just—no. They said the—quote-unquote, "The investigation is ongoing." Just like a lot of the responses we get.
AMY GOODMAN: And so now tell us—
DANIELLE WALKER: But once again, this communication is not—
AMY GOODMAN: Now tell us about Jonathan Butler and what he decided to do almost two weeks ago.
DANIELLE WALKER: I’m not too sure what personally led Jonathan Butler to his decision. I found out, just like the majority of the campus, two weeks ago, on Monday morning, that he was embarking on this hunger strike. I was definitely concerned about his safety and his health, but understanding that there are many different approaches in order to bring about positive change on our campus. And it’s going to take a lot of different angles, a lot of different strategies, in order to truly bring change upon the University of Missouri. And that should tell you everything you need to know about the climate here, that it took measures such as willing to give your life in order to truly try to bring about positive change in our campus. Because, you know, Tim Wolfe was saying this is a time for listening—no, we’ve been talking for a while. There is no—there is no need to ask for us to—you know, for you all to listen more. We have been talking. Before I was even at this campus, black students have been talking. It is time for you all to take action. You are in these roles, in these positions of power, and we are holding you accountable, because when you say you are for the students, we are the students. And so, Jonathan Butler, embarking on his hunger strike, was once again showing the dedication and passion of what is occurring on our campus for those who are truly committed to social justice.
AMY GOODMAN: And then can you talk about the football team, what the football team did this weekend?
DANIELLE WALKER: I think the football team was a very strategic and well-needed blow to really, you know, burst open what has been simmering on the table for a while. I think it’s important to show that sense of solidarity. And understand that there is power within the football team, the fact that students will receive an email from our provost discussing a football game last Thursday and how professors should let their classes out early or people at work should get off early in order to accommodate for a football team, but we can’t discuss issues of racism or hostility or hate that is happening on our campus. And so, the football team was definitely well needed, because that is definitely a focal point and a position of power on our campus because of financial and economic reasons.
AMY GOODMAN: Professor Stephanie Shonekan, you’re the head of Black Studies at the University of Missouri. Can you talk about how the faculty fit into this story? I mean, at the last minute, it was a faculty walkout, the student strike, the—Jonathan Butler hunger striking, the University of Missouri black players on the football team saying they would no longer play football. Talk about the teachers’ role, the professors’ role, and how long you’ve been there.
STEPHANIE SHONEKAN: So, I’ve been here for about four-and-a-half years. And I noticed as soon as I arrived the tension on this campus. Of course, because I teach in Black Studies, I get to teach students who experience all the things that Danielle has just talked about. So I knew all of this. I know that most of my colleagues did not know. That is, colleagues who are not black did not know that this was happening, or if they knew, it wasn’t a priority.
So, when this all started becoming more urgent, I and a number of my black colleagues began to pay attention and tried to draw attention to the students’ movement. I don’t want any faculty to take any credit for what has just happened. This was completely designed, implemented and sustained by different student groups within the black student population, and they all coordinated and—from a group last year that called themselves Wage Peace, there was a group called MU for Mike Brown, Danielle’s movement that really ramped everything up this semester, and then we’ve got the Concerned Student 1950 group. Faculty did not really, to be honest, come on board until it was really, really urgent. And it’s interesting that faculty did come on board for graduate students’ rights, and that was a very quick response from the faculty. But what bothered me just a little bit was that we didn’t have the same groundswell from the faculty for our students of color who were drawing attention to these incidents. However, once they did start paying attention in the last week or so, and, of course, elevating that during—over this last weekend, they did come through. The faculty got together, decided that—first of all, the black faculty decided that they would publicly come out and support our black students. And then other faculty also joined and decided that there would be a walkout on Monday and Tuesday morning. And so, this, I think, indicated to our students that the faculty was on board and that the faculty would support anything that the students needed to institute proper and complete change on our campus.
We also, as faculty, are thinking about the things that we do best. The things that we do are that we research, we teach, and we provide service for this campus. And so, as we study our mission at the University of Missouri, our mission is to teach, educate, research to make our world a better place. What our students have done is really model for us what we should be doing. And so, hopefully, we are all—all our faculty, not just our black faculty, but all our faculty are seeing this as a moment to create change within our classrooms, so that our black students don’t feel marginalized in our classrooms, that when we are talking—when it’s a classroom that is premed, that a professor should think about, "OK, what does the text say about dermatology and skin color? And how can we talk about that in a comprehensive way that includes black students?" So—and this can be—this should be done across our curriculum. So our faculty are working on ways to effect change in the curriculum so that all our students, those who think that it’s a good idea to draw a swastika in feces on a dorm wall, that student or that group of students needs training. That student needs to understand what that hatred really means.
And I’ll speak for myself—I think that Danielle will also speak to this—that the level of hatred in the reactions that we’re getting from this movement just really signify the critical nature of the change that is needed. And when the president talks about accountability, we want earnest accountability. We want accountability that really comes with action, that you don’t turn away from our students when they are really trying to get your attention about these issues.
AMY GOODMAN: Danielle—
STEPHANIE SHONEKAN: So that is the—so the—
AMY GOODMAN: Before we end this segment, though I’d like you to stay on as we talk about the significance of the football team’s action, I wanted to ask Danielle, the sort of mantra has gone around, "This is not a moment, this is a movement," and I’m wondering: Are the students and the professors going to be involved with the choosing of the next president of the University of Missouri, now that Tim Wolfe has resigned, as well as the campus chancellor? And what are your other goals?
DANIELLE WALKER: I mean, it would be amazing for that collaborance to occur, for us to be able to have—provide input. I mean, currently, right now at the university, the chancellor staff is predominately white. So this is presenting great opportunity to really diversify the staff and our leadership team in those power and key positions.
Once again, like, this is not just a moment, this is a movement. There is still plenty of work that needs to be done at the university. There are still plenty of other people that need to be held accountable. I think another step in the right direction is instituting and establishing a hate crime policy at the University of Missouri—so, speaking on, you know, the student or students who did the swastika, and setting that tone that these acts are not tolerated at our university, and then understanding what will happen to you if you choose to violate our core values, which is respect, responsibility, excellence and discovery. You cannot respect your fellow Tiger if you are drawing hate crime symbols in fecal matter in a dorm room. Those are tactics to scare, it’s tactics of fear, and it’s definitely rooted in hate.
And so, once again, there is still plenty of work that needs to be done at the university, and this movement will continue. It is still strong. We have garnered the right amount of attention and support, and understand that there are plenty, plenty different avenues. Dr. Shonekan is the only black department chair at our university. And so, once again, the demands listed by the Concerned Students 1950 of how the lack of representation is also a key problem in the events that are occurring on our campus, so to make our classrooms more inclusive, so I don’t have to feel uncomfortable of being the only black person in the classroom. And then, how can we reach a higher percentage of African-American students on our campus? Because it’s currently around 6 or 7 percent. All these are still key goals. And once again, that needs to be established in our university. And so there are plenty of things that still needs to be done. And once again, it does start from the top down. So with this new leadership, and hopefully leadership of color, could really start Mizzou onto the right direction, becoming a more safe and inclusive environment.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to break. We’re talking to Danielle Walker, who is a master’s student at the Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri, creator of the Racism Lives Here movement, and Dr. Stephanie Shonekan, chair of Black Studies at the University of Missouri When we come back, Dave Zirin will join them, and we’ll go to New Haven. Yesterday, about a thousand students marched around the issue of racial insensitivity at Yale University, and we’ll speak with one of the student leaders. Stay with us. ... Read More →
"Another Yale is Possible": Students Confront Racism at Ivy League School
Image Credit: Chris Melamed
The protests at the University of Missouri come as a similar dynamic plays out at one of the nation’s top Ivy League schools. On Monday, more than 1,000 students at Yale University in Connecticut held a march over racism on campus. The "March of Resilience" comes after several incidents where students of color said they faced discrimination. One woman of color was reportedly denied entry to a fraternity party because she is not white, and a faculty member drew criticism after rejecting calls for students to avoid culturally offensive costumes on Halloween. Monday’s crowd chanted slogans including: "We are unstoppable, another Yale is possible." We are joined by Lex Barlowe, African American studies major at Yale University and the president of the Black Student Alliance.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We move on right now to Yale University. The protests at the University of Missouri come as a similar dynamic is playing out at one of the nation’s top Ivy League schools. On Monday, about a thousand students at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, held a march over racial insensitivity on campus. The "March of Resilience" comes after several incidents where students of color said they faced discrimination. One woman of color was reportedly denied entry to a fraternity party because she’s not white, and a faculty member drew criticism after rejecting calls for students to avoid racially insensitive costumes on Halloween. Monday’s crowd of a thousand chanted slogans including, "We are unstoppable, another Yale is possible."
For more on the protests, we’re joined by Lex Barlowe, African American studies major at Yale University, president of the Black Student Alliance.
We welcome you, Lex, back to Democracy Now! Can you talk about what is concerning students at Yale?
LEX BARLOWE: Absolutely. Thank you so much. Yeah, so, I think, as you said, there have been specific incidents this past week, week and a half, that have really been very blatant and obvious about the ways in which the Yale community is really not welcoming or hospitable or even safe for students of color—in particular, women of color—on campus. And so, the thing that happened at the fraternity party and the way in which administrators are undercutting each other by, you know, first, an administrator—administrator sending out an email saying, "Please like respect—do not be culturally appropriative for Halloween," and then another administrator saying, "Actually, cultural appropriation is fine. Maybe should just look away if someone is doing something that is completely disrespectful to you and your entire culture and tradition." You know, these are things that are very public right now that have happened and have really brought to a head the ways—the ways in which more broadly and more systemically Yale is just not safe for people of color. And so, you know, we’ve been talking about these specific incidents—
AMY GOODMAN: I want to go to Thursday, Lex—
LEX BARLOWE: Yeah, OK.
AMY GOODMAN: —when hundreds of students confronted Nicholas Christakis, the master of one of the college’s residential dorms, over the email that his wife sent in which she condoned offensive Halloween costumes.
STUDENT: The moral of the story is that she wants an apology. Yet you respond not with an apology. That’s—
NICHOLAS CHRISTAKIS: What if I said to you—what if I said to you—
STUDENT: That’s my question. I’m just saying, are you going to—are you—
NICHOLAS CHRISTAKIS: What if I said—
STUDENT: Can I finish? Are you going to address the heart of her comment? That’s all I want. Are you going to give an apology? Are you going to say that you’re hearing us? Are you going to then go the lengths that she wants you to go to? Which, to me, don’t seem very far, but still seem—we’re not making a judgment on Master Christakis is inherently—like, we just want an acknowledgment of hurt, and we have yet to get that, which we can in a second. So, my question is: Are you going to say that or not? Because then, I could just leave if you’re not going to say that.
AMY GOODMAN: Students confronting Nicholas Christakis, a master of one of the college’s residential dorms at Yale. Lex, if you could explain what the letter was that his wife sent out about Halloween costumes?
LEX BARLOWE: Yeah, absolutely. So, the Intercultural Affairs Council, which is a body of various administrators at Yale, sent out an email a couple of days before saying, you know, "Please do not be culturally appropriative for Halloween. Respect other people’s traditions. Do not wear anything that is not your own culture." Pretty simple and pretty polite, to be honest. And a couple of days after that, the Associate Master of Silliman College Nicholas Christakis’s wife Erika Christakis sent out an email to the residents of her residential college basically saying, "None of that matters. Do whatever you want. The university is trying to control you. They’re trying to tell you what to do. If you want to be culturally appropriative, it’s OK if you really like it. You can do whatever."
And so, you know, students were outraged. It was basically an outright—you know, completely ignoring the students in her college and also in the university who find these issues to be not just, you know, discomforting and upsetting, but really deeply harmful and actually creating space for violence to happen on campus. And in particular, the advice that she gave was to either look away or to engage in dialogue with someone who might be wearing something culturally appropriative. And when students actually did try to engage with people, they were harassed, they were mocked, they were, you know, physically intimidated. And so, it really did create a completely unsafe atmosphere on campus.
AMY GOODMAN: And then, what happened this weekend with the confrontation of hundreds of African-American students on campus who were questioning the first African-American dean, Dean Holloway, who used to be the master of one of the residences, and even the word "master" has come up now as a question of why the heads of these residences, the dorms, are called masters?
LEX BARLOWE: Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, we actually had a forum the night before, where students were airing grievances. Students were crying. People were telling their stories about the ways in which these events just pointed to broader issues of Yale not being a safe and welcoming environment for students of color. And after hours of that the night before, we came out to Cross Campus to chalk, to write affirmations, to draw pictures, to just sort of be with each other.
And Dean Holloway came out to Cross Campus to look. He had actually not attended the forum the night before. And up until this point, which was almost a week after these—both of these incidents had happened, there was no acknowledgment from the administration whatsoever that any of this had happened. There was not even an email. And so, students began demanding of him, "Where is our email? Where is our email? Why have you not acknowledged this?" in particular because when past events of hate crimes, to be honest, have happened in the past, Dean Holloway had sent out a response within under 24 hours, like immediately addressing it.
And so, students were furious, especially in the black community, as Dean Holloway is the first black dean of Yale College, really expecting him to be more accountable to us. And so, we ended up being out on Cross Campus for hours and hours right before the confrontation with Nicholas Christakis happened, and people were just telling him their experiences. People were expressing their disappointment and their anger and their pain for hours, again, in public, you know, women crying in front of him, black men saying, like, "You were my role model, and now you’ve lost that respect." It was really—it was, more than anything, just really sad and very painful and also a very public display—
AMY GOODMAN: Lex, we just have 30 seconds, but I want to ask about last night’s March of Resilience.
LEX BARLOWE: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: Was it also inspired by or fueled by what happened at the University of Missouri? And in this 30 seconds, if you can say what are your—what do you want to see happen now?
LEX BARLOWE: Absolutely. So, yeah, so the march was actually planned—was actually planned—we found out right before, as the march was already in the works and about to be planned, that the president of the University of Missouri stepped down, and so that was incredibly inspiring and exciting and gave a ton of energy to the march.
You know, the march, for us, was really about reclaiming our right to community and demonstrating the beauty and resilience that we have for each other and with each other. And, you know, at this point, it was really not as much about what happened at the fraternity or the email that was sent out, but really was about these broader issues on campus.
And so, we have specific demands of the administration, which include—you know, which include more diversity sensitivity trainings. We have things that are related to the ways in which faculty get hired, ethnic studies departments being underfunded, faculty of color being retained. And we’re working on fleshing those out even more, but, for now, really just celebrating the women of color who have been leading this movement and been leading the organizing on campus, and who are also most deeply affected by these problems.
AMY GOODMAN: Lex Barlowe, I want to thank you for joining us, African American studies major at Yale University, president of the Black Student Alliance. When we come back, we go to Cairo, Egypt. ... Read More →
How Black Football Players at University of Missouri Changed the Game on Racism
The protests at the University of Missouri have been growing for weeks, but a turning point came this weekend when African-American players on the school’s football team joined in. In a tweet quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the players wrote: "The athletes of color on the University of Missouri football team truly believe 'Injustice Anywhere is a threat to Justice Everywhere.'" They announced they will no longer take part in any football activities until Wolfe resigned or was removed "due to his negligence toward marginalized students’ experience." The coach and athletic department soon came out in support. We are joined by Dave Zirin, sports columnist for The Nation magazine and the host of the Edge of Sports podcast.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: During a news conference on Monday, University of Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel said that supporting his players’ decision to go on strike was the right thing to do and that he would do it again.
GARY PINKEL: My players called me to tell me they were going to go over on campus that day and asked me if it was OK to do that. And my players are—those guys are really good leaders, and they want to get more involved with the campus. And I think—I think that’s positive, and I think that’s a positive environment to have. And then I got a call later that night about Jonathan. Guys were very, very emotional, and they were very, very concerned with his life. And then, at that time, they were discussing, you know, with me what they planned on doing this weekend. And we went back and forth. And I kept asking them, "Is it the right thing to do? Should you wait?" and so on and so forth. And they—I mean, I’m talking to guys who have tears in their eye, and they’re crying. And they asked me if I’d support them, and I said I would. I didn’t look at consequences. That wasn’t about it at the time. It was about helping my players and supporting my players when they needed me. And I did the right thing, and I would do it again.
AMY GOODMAN: Dave Zirin is sports columnist for The Nation magazine. His latest article is "3 Lessons from University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe’s Resignation." He’s host of Edge of Sports podcast and author of a number of books.
Dave, can you talk about the significance of the—what’s called, well, University of Missouri, Mizzou football team, the African-American players coming out over racism in the country and refusing to play football until the president resigned?
DAVE ZIRIN: Well, the significance was massive, because, first and foremost, it struck an economic blow at Tim Wolfe’s chance of keeping his job. If the team had forfeited its game this weekend against BYU, the school would have had to write a check for $1 million. That’s more than twice what Tim Wolfe makes in a year.
The second part of the significance is that immediately it blew up this story on a national level, beyond which the hunger strike, beyond which the protests could have possibly imagined. For example, the subject of the football players going on strike has been wall-to-wall coverage on ESPN. So you have masses of people who read the sports page but don’t necessarily read the front page, or who click on sports Twitter and not necessarily the mainstream news, are all of a sudden reading about this story, are all of a sudden learning what’s happening at Missouri.
And I’ll tell you something: This is not just a chicken coming home to roost, it’s a golden goose coming home to roost for Tim Wolfe, because it was his—it’s been his decision in his tenure to put the football team front and center. It’s been his decision to say that he was going to cut healthcare for grad students and teachers, while at the same time investing $72 million into the football stadium. It’s been the decision of his administration, for example, to even do things like not pursue sexual assault charges against people on the football team way back in 2009, that led to the suicide of a swimmer named Sasha Courey on campus, which was one of the things that Jonathan [Butler] talked about when he talked about the climate on campus, not just about racism, but also about gender violence, also about LGBTQ rights and utter marginalization of those students.
And then the last reason why it’s significant is that we’re talking about social power. The number of African-American students at Missouri University, it’s roughly 7 percent. The number of African-American football players, we’re talking about 69 percent. So here they are at the fulcrum of the political, economic, social and psychological life of campus, but none of those billion-dollar gears move at all if they choose not to play.
AMY GOODMAN: How much is the coach paid at the University of Missouri, the coach we just heard from?
DAVE ZIRIN: That is a great question. That is a great question. Gary Pinkel, the coach, makes over $4 million a year. In other words, I’m not great at math, but he makes roughly 100 times [sic] what Tim Wolfe makes. And it reminded me of a story from Ohio State a few years back, when the school president, Gordon Gee, was talking about his own coach, Jim Tressel, and he asked if he would fire Jim Tressel. And Gordon Gee said, "I just hope he doesn’t fire me." In one respect, this is a case, in some ways, of Gary Pinkel firing Tim Wolfe. But we have to realize that Gary Pinkel doesn’t stand with his players unless his players stand up. And his players don’t stand up unless the—without the students standing up. So the base of everything that we’ve seen happen has to do with the remarkable movement building done on the ground by students, by black students centrally, at Missouri University.
AMY GOODMAN: I think, actually, Gary Pinkel makes about eight times what Tim Wolfe made, if you said he made half a million—
DAVE ZIRIN: I’m bad at math.
AMY GOODMAN: —and Pinkel made $4 million. I want to go back for a minute to Danielle Walker, talking about what it meant for the African-American members of the football team, and then, overall, the football team, with the white coach, supporting your actions, basically, as founder of Racism Lives Here, supporting Jonathan Butler on his hunger strike.
DANIELLE WALKER: I mean, I was completely just flabbergasted that the football players, the black football players, was taking this initiative, because I understand that student athletes, especially football players, live a very different life on college—in colleges, versus, you know, traditional students who are not athletes. And so, I recognize the significance of their support and how this can really actually generate the much-needed momentum to really accomplish a lot of the demands that—once again, that students even before I was even here were asking for. So, once again, it was showing just the solidarity and how this was, you know, reaching all areas of our campus, that people were really starting—faculty, staff, you know, our student athletes were starting to understand the issues that are happening on our campus, and, more importantly, understanding that they are a stakeholder and that they have a role to play in this movement, as well. And so, I do appreciate that they finally recognized that and then understood, from where their positioned, what power and what influence that they have, and then taking that initiative, and how that definitely led to the events that unfolded yesterday.
AMY GOODMAN: And, Dave Zirin, how unusual is it for a college football team to take this stand? Now, again, it started with the African-American players—
DAVE ZIRIN: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: —but then the full team, with the white coaches, supported them.
DAVE ZIRIN: That’s a great question. And I think the root of that question is really sometimes we—people who care about the rights of college athletes, particularly in these revenue-producing sports, particularly black athletes who represent the heart of football and basketball, men’s sports, we often talk about them in terms of their powerlessness, and not their power, to actually stop the gears of this billion-dollar industry. And we saw it a great deal in the late '60s and early 1970s during the period that's often called the revolt of the black athlete, where you had players at schools like Syracuse, for example, say that they would not play unless a head coach that they said was racist was—had to step down, or at University of Washington, U-Dub, where players refused to take the field unless a statement against the war in Vietnam was read over the PR system. That actually really happened.
But in recent years, as the college football system has become such a multibillion-dollar leviathan, you’ve also seen athletes begin to get more restive and say, "Well, wait a minute, what about us? What about our rights?" You saw it at Northwestern University as players tried to organize a union. You saw it at Grambling University, that historic, historically black college, where players said that their working conditions, basically, their weight room was unsafe, and they would not play unless they were able to have a safe working space.
But this is above and beyond that. I mean, this is the first time you’ve seen a living, breathing connection between a football team and a campus movement. And I think what it does is it lays a handbook, really, for campus activists around the country, particularly at these big state schools, to say, "Let’s talk to the athletes. Let’s not see them as living in this separate space. Let’s actually try to connect with them. Let’s hear their grievances and see if they’re willing to hear ours, as well."
AMY GOODMAN: Dave Zirin, I want to thank you for being with us, sports columnist for The Nation magazine. We’ll link to your article, "3 Lessons from University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe’s Resignation." Also author of the book, Brazil’s Dance with the Devil: The World Cup, the Olympics, and the Fight for Democracy. ... Read More →
Egypt Frees Top Reporter Hossam Bahgat After Chilling Reminder That Crackdown Continues
A leading journalist and human rights activist has been released in Egypt following his controversial arrest this weekend. Hossam Bahgat was detained after publishing a report on the secret convictions of 26 military officers accused of plotting a coup against the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Bahgat was interrogated for hours on charges of publishing false news harmful to national security. On Monday, officials announced they would hold him for four days. But after an outcry in Egypt and around the world, Bahgat was released earlier today. We are joined from Cairo by Sharif Abdel Kouddous, independent journalist and Democracy Now! correspondent in Egypt.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We turn to Egypt, where a leading journalist and human rights activist has been released following his controversial arrest this weekend. Hossam Bahgat was detained after publishing a report on the secret convictions of 26 military officers accused of plotting a coup against the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Bahgat was interrogated for hours on charges of publishing false news harmful to national security. According to lawyers, he was offered a deal—never write about Egypt’s armed forces again, and he could walk free. He refused. On Monday, officials announced they would hold him for four days. But after an outcry in Egypt and around the world, Bahgat was released earlier today.
For more, we go to Cairo to Sharif Abdel Kouddous, independent journalist, Democracy Now! correspondent in Egypt.
Sharif, can you talk about both the detention of Hossam and his release just a little while ago today?
SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Well, it was news that caused a lot of amount—a great amount of joy here in Egypt when he was released. But at the same time, his arrest is yet another instance of state intimidation against journalists and a crackdown against press freedoms in general.
Hossam Bahgat is very well known both in Egypt and internationally. He founded the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, which is Egypt’s probably leading human rights group. And then, a couple of years ago, he turned to investigative journalism and quickly established himself as arguably the premier investigative journalist, both locally and internationally, in Egypt and penned a series of exposés, painstakingly researched, very well written and very well reported. And the latest one was looking at this secret military trial of 26 army officers who were convicted of plotting a coup in coordination with the Muslim Brotherhood. He got a hold of the indictment sheet. He spoke to relatives of the officers. No one had reported on this except for a very brief piece in BBC, and he really delved into it, investigated the allegations of torture, that these officers were tortured, as well.
And following this, he was questioned. After his arrest, he was summoned to military intelligence, and he was questioned for hours and hours, much of it—some of it without lawyers or allowed to make a phone call—about this one article. He was held then for about a day and a half. No one knew where he was. He was held at military intelligence and was only released this morning.
So, you know, this is really an excellent reporter. And if Hossam Bahgat is guilty of publishing false news, that makes every journalist in Egypt a damned liar, and we’re all guilty along with him.
AMY GOODMAN: Hossam Bahgat was a regular guest on Democracy Now! I want to turn to comments he made on the show in October of 2013 suggesting the U.S. and other countries should suspend aid to Egypt.
HOSSAM BAHGAT: In Egypt, especially after the massacres, of course, our position was that there should be investigations, there should be an independent fact finding, and there should be accountability. And until that takes place and until the government also accepts responsibility for these killings, there should be a suspension of the provision of any arms or tools of repression from any country in the world. We’re not just talking about the U.S. military assistance. And any resumption of the sale of weapons or the provision of weapons or tools of repression to the Egyptian government must be conditioned on accepting the retraining and provision of, you know, new tools for riot control, but that business should not continue just as usual when it comes to Egypt.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Hossam Bahgat on Democracy Now! two years ago. Sharif, as we wrap up, where you left off—what message this sends to you and to other journalists, to Egyptian society? Yes, Hossam Bahgat has been released, but he was also held, and that is a strong message.
SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: He was held. He’s been intimidated. We don’t know yet if he’s going to be facing a military trial. That’s been made unclear. And we have to remember, there’s many other journalists that are in prison. There’s three that have been sentenced to life who were at the Rabaa protest. There’s Mahmoud Abou Zied, known as Shawkan, who’s been held for over two years without trial, which is in violation of Egypt’s own penal code. And Sisi has become increasingly hostile towards the media, recently condemning the media for the criticism of the government’s lack of response for floods in Alexandria. A TV state anchor was recently suspended for calling for people to be held accountable. We’ve seen the owner of one of Egypt’s biggest newspapers be arrested on corruption charges, though some speculate it’s because of the newspaper’s increasing criticism. And so, this is the environment that journalists are operating in, one of intimidation, of censorship and of arbitrary arrest. So, it’s become one of the most dangerous places in the world to work as a journalist. But people like Hossam Bahgat really give us hope, because he continues this kind of important work and speaking truth to power.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Sharif, thanks so much for being with us, Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Democracy Now! correspondent in Egypt, just back from Yemen.
A happy birthday to Pedro Rodríguez. Democracy Now! is hiring a development director to lead our fundraising efforts. Go to our website at democracynow.org. We also have internships available. a ... Read More →Headlines:
U. of Missouri President Resigns amid Protests over Campus Racism
University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe has resigned after mass protests over his handling of racism on campus. For weeks, African-American students staged demonstrations over what they called a lax response to racial slurs and vandalism. Graduate student Jonathan Butler went on hunger strike last week. In a key moment Saturday, African-American football players joined the protest, vowing to boycott games and other team activities until Wolfe resigned. Faculty members staged a walkout, and the Missouri Students Association, representing 27,000 undergraduates, called for Wolfe’s resignation. He announced his departure at a news conference Monday.
Tim Wolfe: "I’d ask everybody, from students to faculty to staff, to my friends, everybody, use my resignation to heal and start talking again, to make the changes necessary, and let’s focus on changing what we can change today and in the future."
Columbia campus Chancellor Bowen Loftin also said he will step down.
1,000 Yale Students Protest Racism on Campus
The protests at the University of Missouri come as a similar dynamic plays out at one of the nation’s top Ivy League schools. On Monday, more than 1,000 students at Yale University in Connecticut held a march over racism on campus. We’ll have more after headlines with a student and professor at University of Missouri, Nation columnist Dave Zirin, and the president of Yale’s Black Student Alliance.
Fast-Food Workers Walk Out in Hundreds of Cities
Fast-food workers say they are walking off the job in a record 270 cities today in what organizers call the largest action of its kind to date. One year ahead of the 2016 presidential elections, the workers are ramping up their call for a $15-an-hour minimum wage and union rights. Protests by low-wage workers, including home care aides and child care workers, are expected in 500 cities today.
D.C. Rally Unites Youth on Immigration, Racial Justice & Climate
Nearly 1,000 youth activists converged in Washington, D.C., Monday, shutting down parts of the city to demand action on climate change, racial justice and immigration. Under the banner of "Our Generation, Our Choice," the protest brought together youth from the environmental, immigrant rights and Black Lives Matter movements. It came as the World Meteorological Organization said greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere reached a record high last year. Talks aimed at reaching a global climate deal open in Paris November 30. Democracy Now! will be there for the full two weeks of the talks.
9 Arrested Protesting AIM Pipeline in Westchester County, NY
Following the defeat of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, environmentalists continue to oppose other oil and gas pipelines across the country. Here in New York, nine people were arrested when protesters blocked the entrance to a wareyard in Montrose in protest of a Spectra Energy pipeline. The protesters say the AIM pipeline would run within 100 feet of the Indian Point nuclear plant and expose local communities to toxic emissions.
Egypt: Journalist Hossam Bahgat Released from Detention
In Egypt, a leading journalist and human rights activist has been released following his controversial detention this weekend. Hossam Bahgat was detained after publishing a report on the secret convictions of 26 military officers accused of plotting a coup against the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. His detention sparked international condemnation. We’ll go to Egypt for more on his case later in the broadcast.
Jordan: 2 U.S. Contractors Among 5 Killed by Cop at Training Center
President Obama has promised a full investigation after a Jordanian police officer killed two American contractors, two Jordanians and a South African at a U.S.-funded police training center near Amman. The gunman was killed in a shootout. Four others, including two Americans, were wounded. The slain Americans were reportedly contractors with the military firm DynCorp, working for a State Department program to train Palestinian security forces. Obama denounced the shooting Monday.
President Obama: "The fact that someone dressed in military uniform carried out an attack at a training facility in which it appears that there may have been two or three U.S. citizens killed and a number of other individuals injured. Obviously, a full investigation is taking place. We take this very seriously, and we’ll be working closely with the Jordanians to determine exactly what happened."
U.N. Warns of Looming "Catastrophe" in Burundi
The United Nations has warned the East African nation of Burundi is on the verge of "catastrophe" amid fears of a potential genocide. The violence erupted earlier this year when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced what many say was an unconstitutional bid for a third term, winning re-election in July. The ensuing violence has killed at least 240 people, and more than 200,000 have fled the country.
Spain: Catalan Parliament Votes in Favor of Independence
Parliament members in Spain’s Catalonia region have voted in favor of independence, approving a plan that would see them secede within 18 months. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy vowed to oppose the measure in court, saying, "Catalonia is not going anywhere."
Peña Nieto Agrees to Debate on Marijuana Legalization
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has agreed to a debate on marijuana after the Mexican Supreme Court paved the way for legalization. In a rebuke of the U.S.-backed war on drugs, the court ruled last week that four people who want to grow marijuana for personal use can do so. On Monday, President Peña Nieto said he was open to a debate.
President Enrique Peña Nieto: "For me, it would not be desirable, nor am I in favor of the eventual legalization of marijuana consumption. But my personal conviction does not keep me from opening up debate, a debate which scientifically and with solid arguments could allow us to arrive at another position."
Drug-related violence has killed well over 100,000 people in Mexico since the war on drugs began under President Felipe Calderón in 2006.
Judge Deals Another Blow to Obama’s Immigration Actions
President Obama’s executive actions on immigration have suffered another setback in court. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld an earlier injunction blocking the plan to protect up to 5 million people from deportation. The challenge was brought by states with Republican governors who oppose programs to protect parents of U.S. citizens and undocumented people who came here as children. The administration may appeal to the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Accepts Challenge to Obamacare Birth Control Mandate
The Supreme Court has accepted another challenge to the Obama administration’s initiative to require birth control coverage in employee health plans. Already, employers who object to providing birth control on religious grounds can claim an exemption, shifting the burden to insurers and the federal government. All they have to do is notify the government of their beliefs, generally by filling out a short form. But some groups say even that step violates their beliefs. The Supreme Court will consider several cases brought by groups including the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and the Little Sisters of the Poor, which runs homes for the elderly.
Court OKs 3rd Trial for Angola 3 Member Albert Woodfox
A federal appeals court has ruled Louisiana can continue to imprison Angola 3 member Albert Woodfox and proceed with plans to try him a third time for murder, after his two previous convictions for the crime were overturned. Woodfox has spent more than 40 years in solitary confinement. He was convicted of the 1972 murder of a prison guard, a crime for which he and late, fellow Angola 3 member Herman Wallace say they were framed because of their political activism. The slain guard’s widow is among those to call for Woodfox’s release. Herman Wallace was released in October 2013 and died of liver cancer three days later. Woodfox will remain in prison.
Nigerian Activist Ken Saro-Wiwa Remembered 20 Years After Execution
And today marks the 20th anniversary of the execution of Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. Saro-Wiwa led the movement against Shell’s oil practices in the Ogoni region. Oil pipelines crisscrossed Ogoni land, and gas flares the size of apartment buildings lit up the night sky. Despite widespread international protests, Saro-Wiwa was hanged under the Nigerian dictatorship after a sham trial along with eight other Ogoni rights activists. The anniversary of Saro-Wiwa’s death comes as Amnesty International says areas of the Niger Delta remain heavily polluted by oil spills, years after Shell claims to have cleaned them up.
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