Statement on Addressing Racism on Campus – 27 March 2020

March 27, 2020

Dear Community Members,

I have heard, and continue to hear, from a large number of students and alumni, with a wide range of perspectives on how we should move forward in addressing the problem of racial prejudice and hateful expression on campus. I am doing my best to listen and reflect, knowing how important it is that we can move forward as a community.

I was asked by the editors of The Amherst Student for my response to the letters from alumni and BSU. Here is the statement I shared with them. I want to be sure everyone has the chance to see it.

I hope you and your loved ones are safe and well.

Sincerely,

Biddy

Statement that appeared in The Amherst Student today:

I have been asked by the editors of The Student for my response to the letters from alumni and BSU about the problem of racial prejudice and hateful expression on campus. The statements and demands identify the gap between our goals for Amherst and the realities that too many students still face. The documents point out that we have not yet done all we can to create an environment that is truly inclusive and free from the harm of racism. We have had success in increasing educational opportunity and enrolling a student body that more nearly reflects the richness of difference in the world. We have focused on the work of inclusion, but we are not where we need to be. We know that it is not enough to bring talented students from many backgrounds together if the educational environment is not supportive of the success and flourishing of them all. Recent incidents and accounts of student and alumni experiences give abundant evidence of that fact. As you would expect, I am hearing from a large number of students and alumni, with a wide range of perspectives on how we should move forward. I am doing my best to listen and reflect, knowing how important it is that we can move forward as a community.

I share the belief articulated by BSU signatories that change requires attention to systemic matters that go beyond reactions to specific incidents. Reacting to troubling incidents is certainly important, but falls far short of what we actually want—to be part of an Amherst that is created and enjoyed equally by everyone who has come here, that is defined by mutual appreciation and respect.

The documents we have received emphasize a number of needed changes. There are three areas, in particular, that seem critical to more systemic change and have also been in discussion at the College. All of them involve a great deal of complexity, particularly in an academic environment. They include: 1) a robust policy and set of procedures for dealing with identity-based discrimination and/or harassment; 2) a bias-reporting protocol, which has been the focus of the Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion and, when implemented, will include features of the best available models; and 3) the development and use of restorative practices, where they are appropriate, to deal with conflict and violations. As to the first, we know from Title IX standards and procedures for gender-based discrimination that it is possible to develop policies and procedures aimed at preventing harm and holding those responsible to account. Experiences with Title IX also teach us that it is extremely important and difficult to get the policies and procedures right.

Student and alumni advocacy for restorative practices in the case of race-based offenses converges with work that is underway on training and eventual implementation of such practices. That work will be accelerated. I have asked Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Norm Jones and Chief Student Affairs Officer Karu Kozuma to take the lead in moving these three identity-based policies and/or practices forward from their current state to implementation, in consultation with appropriate administrative offices and with relevant faculty, staff, and student groups. I will ask Provost and Dean of the Faculty Catherine Epstein and the Committee of Six to organize meaningful discussions between students and faculty about the relationship between our commitment to “respect for persons,“ on the one hand, and “freedom of expression,“ on the other.

I suspect there will not always be agreement on the specifics of such policy and programmatic changes. Yet, there should be no disagreement about the need to ensure that Amherst is a truly open, welcoming, and inclusive community for everyone. One of Amherst’s great strengths is careful, critical thinking and vigorous exchange about important matters. The challenges that BSU and others have put to us are good evidence of that strength. The BSU petitioners demand that we “integrate Amherst.“ That will take us all, working together. We can take a number of necessary steps during this very difficult period so that more of what we need is in place in the fall. I am committed to ensuring that we take those steps for the benefit of the entire Amherst community.

Biddy Martin
President

See related:

• Taking Action Against Racism | News & Events | Amherst College
• Anti-Racism Plan | Taking Action Against Racism | Amherst College
• Amherst’s Anti-Racism Plan
• A Racial History of Amherst College | Taking Action Against Racism | Amherst College

Biography | Our President | Amherst College

Biddy Martin was elected the 19th president of Amherst College in June 2011.

She had served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 2008 and as Cornell University’s provost from 2000 to 2008.

Martin was raised outside of Lynchburg, Va., in rural Campbell County, and graduated as valedictorian from Brookville High School. A graduate of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., where she majored in English literature and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Martin earned an M.A. in German literature from Middlebury College’s program in Mainz, Germany, and her Ph.D. in German literature, in 1985, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A distinguished scholar of German studies and the author of numerous articles and two books—one on a literary and cultural figure in the Freud circle, Lou Andreas-Salomé, and a second on gender theory—Martin served on the faculty of Cornell University for more than two decades. She began as an assistant professor of German studies and women’s studies, earned tenure in 1991, and eventually served as chair of the German studies department, senior associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and provost from 2000 to 2008. In the latter position, Martin was the president’s first deputy officer and reported to the president as Cornell’s chief educational officer and chief operating officer.

Martin was Cornell’s longest-serving provost, and accomplishments during her term included overseeing the development of a $150 million life sciences building, increasing the stature of humanities research and education, implementing a sweeping financial aid initiative that replaced need-based loans with grants for all undergraduate students from families with incomes under $75,000 and developing the university’s fundraising priorities for its $4 billion capital campaign.

As chancellor at UW-Madison, Martin led successful initiatives to increase need-based financial aid, improve undergraduate education and enhance research. The Madison Initiative for Undergraduates promoted student advising, innovations in undergraduate programs and faculty diversity. Martin also spearheaded an effort to gain greater operating flexibility and increased autonomy for Wisconsin’s flagship campus.

Martin is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and holds honorary degrees from the College of William & Mary, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Doshisha University. In 2018, she was elected to the Harvard Corporation, a governing board of Harvard University.

William Julius Wilson Named Kluge Chair in American Law and Governance | Library of Congress

February 11, 2015

William Julius Wilson Named Kluge Chair in American Law and Governance

Press Contact: Donna Urschel (202) 703-1639
Public Contact: Jason Steinhauer (202) 707-0213

William Julius Wilson, a distinguished sociologist and African-American scholar, will be a scholar-in-residence at the Library of Congress John W. Kluge Center through May 2015. Librarian of Congress James H. Billington appointed Wilson to the Kluge Chair in American Law and Governance.

Wilson is the Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor at Harvard University. He is one of 24 University Professors, the highest professional distinction for a Harvard faculty member.

Regarded as a top thinker on issues of urban poverty, race and class relations, Wilson wrote the 1987 book, “The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, The Underclass and Public Policy,” which is a staple in many college courses. Former President Bill Clinton praised the book as a “stunning volume” on how “the inner cities of our country have crumbled as work has disappeared.”

Wilson will spend four months at the Kluge Center revisiting research on race and inequality found in his earlier works through the lens of recent events. In particular, Wilson will continue to refine theories laid out in his work “The Declining Significance of Race” (1978), where he suggested that economic class was more critical than race in determining future life outcomes.

Toward the end of his tenure, Wilson will deliver a public lecture on the topic of his research.

Wilson also is the author of “More than Just Race” (2009), “The Bridge over the Racial Divide” (1999) and “When Work Disappears” (1996). He was a MacArthur Fellow from 1987 to 1992. He was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1998 and was selected by Time magazine in June 1996 as one of America’s 25 Most Influential People. He serves on the Kluge Center’s Scholars Council.

The Kluge Chair in American Law and Governance, who is appointed by the Librarian of Congress, is a distinguished senior research position in residence at the Library. Using research facilities and services at the Library of Congress, the scholar conducts research that focuses on the development of government in the United States, and on domestic matters of and among the three different branches of government.

Through a generous endowment from John W. Kluge, the Library of Congress established the Kluge Center in 2000 to bring together the world’s best thinkers to stimulate and energize one another, to distill wisdom from the Library’s rich resources, and to interact with policymakers in Washington. For more information about the Kluge Center visit www.loc.gov/kluge/.

The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, holds more than 158 million items in various languages, disciplines and formats. The Library serves the U.S. Congress and the nation both on-site in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill and through its award-winning website at www.loc.gov.

###

PR 15-025
2015-02-11
ISSN 0731-3527

See related:

William Julius Wilson

Kluge Chair in American Law and Governance, 2012, Harvard University
Kluge Center Project: “A Cultural Analysis of Life in Poverty.”
Lecture: “Reflections on Issues of Race and Class in 21st Century America: Revisiting Arguments Advanced in The Declining Significance of Race (1978)” (May 21, 2015)
Book: “The Declining Significance of Race”
Book: “When Work Disappears”
Book: “The Bridge Over the Racial Divide”
Book: “More Than Just Race”
Appointment: Wilson Named Kluge Chair in American Law and Governance
Blogpost: William Julius Wilson Arrives at the Kluge Center

Invited Paricipant, 2015, Harvard University
Kluge Center Project: “ScholarFest – Freedom of Expression & Why it Matters”
Webcast: ScholarFest – Freedom of Expression & Why it Matters

From Harvard Kennedy School Faculty Profile:

William Julius Wilson, Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor, Emeritus

“After receiving the Ph.D. from Washington State University in 1966, Wilson taught sociology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, before joining the University of Chicago faculty in 1972.”

See related:

William Julius Wilson

Ruth T. Plimpton, Operation Crossroads Africa (1962)

OPERATION CROSSROADS AFRICA
by Ruth T. Plimpton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 6, 1962

Some years before the inception of the Peace Corps, the Rev. James A. Robinson, a Harlem minister, set out to prove that a few hundred Americans and Canadians could reduce the ignorance Africans and North Americans have of one another’s social, economic and political customs. “”Crossroads”” makes it possible for undergraduates who supply half their own expenses to spend a summer in small groups in one of several locations in East or West Africa, performing specific work projects. The author has toured representative sites and her report is a lively one. The special bearing it has on young people is obvious.

OPERATION CROSSROADS AFRICA

by Ruth T. Plimpton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 6, 1962

How much can a handful of students – a few hundred Americans and Canadians each year do to reduce the great ignorance Africans and North Americans have of one another’s social, economic and political customs? Some years before the inception of the Peace Corps, the Rev. James A. Robinson, a Hariem minister, set out to prove that such students could accomplish a great deal that would be meaningful.

Dr. Robinson’s great leadership qualities sprang, in part, from having identified in his own life the proper role of an African heritage for an American, an he apparently has been able to provide the Negroes who take part in Operation Crossroads Africa with much the same outlook. Crossroads makes it possible for undergraduates who supply roughly half their own expenses to spend a summer in small groups in one of several locations in East or West Africa, performing specific work projects (building a school, clinic, irrigation system, or similar physical labor).

Africans in each local area are encouraged to participate, and the two groups usually live and work side by side with the informality and benefits of shared endeavor. Mrs. Plimpton has toured representative sites, and her report is a lively one. In addition to her own observations on the greater flexibility of a small-scale private effort over some vast, elaborate government aid program, she quotes from letters and journals of Crossroaders to whom the very personal nature of the scheme is its greatest asset. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson’s preface underscores the way in which Operation Crossroads Africa dovetails into America’s foreign policy goals.

[Ruth Talbot Plimpton was the influential wife of Calvin Plimpton, Medical Doctor, American Educator and President of Amherst College for eleven years 1960 to 1971.  In 1967 he was responsible for recruiting Amherst’s first Dean of Faculty, Professor Prosser Gifford, Yale’s first Professor of African History and the founding Director or Yale’s 5-Year B.A. Program.   During their years together in Amherst, President Plimpton and Dean Gifford were known for appointing a commission in 1970 whose findings resulted in the admission of women to Amherst in 1975.  In addition, Dean Gifford played a pivotal role in establishing the importance of Black Studies and African Studies at Amherst College and, in addition, he expanded the College’s commitment to the 5-College Consortium in the Amherst area. ]

See related:

• This Black History Month, we will be honoring The Reverend James H. Robinson – Morningside Area Alliance
• Cato, John David. “James Herman Robinson: Crossroads Africa and American Idealism, 1958-1972.” American Presbyterians, vol. 68, no. 2, Presbyterian Historical Society, 1990, pp. 99–107.
• James Herman Robinson and Operation Crossroads Africa | Presbyterian Historical Society
• New Exhibition: Operation Crossroads Africa
• James Herman Robinson

The World Inequality Report 2022 presents the most up-to-date & complete data on inequality worldwide

Reliable inequality data as a global public good

We live in a data-abundant world and yet we lack basic information about inequality. Economic growth numbers are published every year by governments across the globe, but they do not tell us about how growth is distributed across the population – about who gains and who loses from economic policies. Accessing such data is critical for democracy. Beyond income and wealth, it is also critical to improve our collective capability to measure and monitor other dimensions of socio- economic disparities, including gender and environmental inequalities. Open-access, transparent, reliable inequality information is a global public good.

This report presents the most up-to-date synthesis of international research efforts to track global inequalities. The data and analysis presented here are based on the work of more than 100 researchers over four years, located on all continents, contributing to the World Inequality Database (WID.world), maintained by the World Inequality Lab. This vast network collaborates with statistical institutions, tax authorities, universities and international organizations, to harmonize, analyze and disseminate comparable international inequality data.

Contemporary income and wealth inequalities are very large

An average adult individual earns PPP €16,700 (PPP USD23,380) per year in 2021, and the average adult owns €72,900 (USD102,600).1 These averages mask wide disparities both between and within countries. The richest 10% of the global population currently takes 52% of global income, whereas the poorest half of the population earns 8.5% of it. On average, an individual from the top 10% of the global income distribution earns €87,200 (USD122,100) per year, whereas an individual from the poorest half of the global income distribution makes €2,800 (USD3,920) per year (Figure 1).

Global wealth inequalities are even more pronounced than income inequalities. The poorest half of the global population barely owns any wealth at all, possessing just 2% of the total. In contrast, the richest 10% of the global population own 76% of all wealth. On average, the poorest half of the population owns PPP €2,900 per adult, i.e. USD4,100 and the top 10% own €550,900 (or USD771,300) on average.

…(read more)

See related:

• World Inequality Report 2022 – Introduction
• World Inequality Report 2022 – WID – World Inequality Database
• Wolff Responds: World Inequality Report 2022

World Inequality Report 2022 – Introduction

World Inequality Lab– Dec 3, 2021

The World Inequality Report 2022, to be published on December 7th, 2021, presents the most up-to-date and complete data on the various facets of inequality worldwide as of 2021: global wealth, income, gender and ecological inequality. The data and analysis are based on several years’ work by more than one hundred researchers from around the world, and will be published by the World Inequality Lab. In 2021, after three decades of trade and financial globalization, global inequalities remain extremely pronounced: they are about as great today as they were at the peak of Western imperialism in the early 20th century. For more information:

Visit the companion website: http://wir2022.wid.world

World Inequality Lab: https://inequalitylab.world/en/

See related:

• World Inequality Report 2022 – WID – World Inequality Database
• Wolff Responds: World Inequality Report 2022
• The World Inequality Report 2022 presents the most up-to-date & complete data on inequality worldwide

World Inequality Report 2022 – WID – World Inequality Database

December 7th, 2021. The World Inequality Report 2022 presents the most up-to-date and complete data on the various facets of inequality worldwide as of 2021: global wealth, income, gender and ecological inequality. The analysis is based on several years’ work by more than one hundred researchers from around the world, and will be published by the World Inequality Lab. The data is available in the most complete database on economic inequality, the World Inequality Database. The report includes a foreword by 2019 economic Nobel prize laureates Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo.

The World Inequality Report 2022, the figures and datasets are available on the companion website of the report: https://wir2022.wid.world/

In a nutshell

In 2021, after three decades of trade and financial globalization, global inequalities remain extremely pronounced: they are about as great today as they were at the peak of Western imperialism in the early 20th century. In addition, the Covid pandemic has exacerbated even more global inequalities. Our data shows that the top 1% took 38% of all additional wealth accumulated since the mid-1990s, with an acceleration since 2020. More generally speaking, wealth inequality remains at extreme levels in all regions (see figure 1.1)

“The COVID crisis has exacerbated inequalities between the very wealthy and the rest of the population. Yet, in rich countries, government intervention prevented a massive rise in poverty, this was not the case in poor countries. This shows the importance of social states in the fight against poverty.”, explains Lucas Chancel, lead author of the report.

Gabriel Zucman states: “The World Inequality Reports addresses a critical democratic need: rigorously documenting what is happening to inequality in all its dimensions. It is an invaluable resource for students, journalists, policymakers, and civil society all over the world.” Lucas Chancel adds “If there is one lesson to be learnt from the global investigation carried out in this report, it is that inequality is always political choice.”

Key messages

• MENA is the most unequal region in the world, Europe has the lowest inequality levels.
• Nations have become richer, but governments have become poor, when we take a look at the gap between the net wealth of governments and net wealth of the private and public sectors.
• Wealth inequalities have increased at the very top of the distribution. The rise in private wealth has also been unequal within countries and at the world level. Global multimillionaires have captured a disproportionate share of global wealth growth over the past several decades: the top 1% took 38% of all additional wealth accumulated since the mid-1990s, whereas the bottom 50% captured just 2% of it.
• Gender inequalities remain considerable at the global level, and progress within countries is too slow
• Ecological inequality: our data shows that these inequalities are not just a rich vs. poor country issue, but rather a high emitters vs low emitters issue within all countries.

As explains Lucas Chancel “Global economic inequality fuels the ecological crisis and makes it much harder to address it. It’s hard to see how we can accelerate efforts to tackle climate change without more redistribution of income and wealth”.

…(read more).

See related:

• Wolff Responds: World Inequality Report 2022
• World Inequality Report 2022 – Introduction
• The World Inequality Report 2022 presents the most up-to-date & complete data on inequality worldwide

Wolff Responds: World Inequality Report 2022

RichardDWolff – Dec 18, 2021

In this Wolff Responds, Prof. Wolff shares his key takeaways from the 2022 World Inequality Report—a document detailing the most up-to-date data on global inequality. Prof. Wolff argues that this report further confirms that our capitalist system is the driver behind the stunning and ever-worsening inequality in our world today. Wolff Responds is a @Democracy At Work production.

[Read the World Inequality Report 2022]

We provide these videos free of ads. Please consider supporting our work. Visit our website democracyatwork.info/donate or join our growing Patreon community and support Global Capitalism Live Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff at https://www.patreon.com/gcleu.

Check out the NEW 2021 Hardcover edition of “Understanding Marxism,” with a new, lengthy introduction by Richard Wolff!

Go to: https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/richa… “Marxism always was the critical shadow of capitalism. Their interactions changed them both. Now Marxism is once again stepping into the light as capitalism shakes from its own excesses and confronts decline.”

Check out all of d@w’s books: “The Sickness is the System,” “Understanding Socialism,” by Richard D. Wolff, and “Stuck Nation” by Bob Hennelly at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/democra…

See related:

• World Inequality Report 2022 – Introduction
  
• World Inequality Report 2022 – WID – World Inequality Database
• The World Inequality Report 2022 presents the most up-to-date & complete data on inequality worldwide

Kwame Anthony Appiah: “The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity”

Eagleton Institute of Politics – Apr 5, 2019

For more information please visit: www.eagleton.rutgers.edu

New York University Professor and New York Times Ethicist Kwame Anthony Appiah discusses his book: “The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity”

VIDEO SECTIONS (click on time code to advance video):
0:00:15 Introduction by John Weingart
0:04:35 Kwame Anthony Appiah speaks
0:41:24 Q + A session with audience

March 14, 2019 at the Eagleton Institute of Politics
presented by: The Louis J. Gambaccini Civic Engagement Series
and the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this video are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the Eagleton Institute of Politics or Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

©2019 Eagleton Institute of Politics,
Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Identity and Cosmopolitanism with Kwame Anthony Appiah – Conversations with History

University of California Television (UCTV) – Feb 26, 2015

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Kwame Anthony Appiah, Professor of Philosophy and Law, New York University, for a discussion of his intellectual journey. Appiah reminisces about his early years in Ghana and Great Britain focusing on the influence of his parents. After outlining his formal education, he discusses the philosophical problems that have interested him. The discussion then turns to his analysis of identity and cosmopolitanism and the interface between them and concludes with a discussion of the importance of conversation in building a cooperative world. Recorded on 02/06/2015. [4/2015] [Show ID: 29334]

More from: Conversations with History (https://www.uctv.tv/cwh)
Explore More Humanities on UCTV (https://www.uctv.tv/humanities)

The humanities encourage us to think creatively and explore questions about our world. UCTV explores human culture through literature, history, ethics, philosophy, cinema and religion so we can better understand the human experience. UCTV is the broadcast and online media platform of the University of California, featuring programming from its ten campuses, three national labs and affiliated research institutions. UCTV explores a broad spectrum of subjects for a general audience, including science, health and medicine, public affairs, humanities, arts and music, business, education, and agriculture. Launched in January 2000, UCTV embraces the core missions of the University of California — teaching, research, and public service – by providing quality, in-depth television far beyond the campus borders to inquisitive viewers around the world. (https://www.uctv.tv)