Letter to the Editor: Black History Month Coverage

To the Editor:

I picked up the issue of the Davidsonian that appeared after the visit by Dr. Angela Davis and, frankly, was surprised about the very poor and minimal coverage of the events involving her or Black History Month in general. The College has, undoubtedly, an ugly history in terms of "race" relations. Throughout the twentieth century, (a significant number of) its students (and yes, some faculty) have embraced stunningly vibrant racist traditions. Just leaf through some yearbooks from the early 1920s. The recent racist incident involving Kappa Alpha only demonstrates that these traditions have hardly fully disappeared. The Common Hour panel on racism and civil rights, the Davis talks, the Larry Little presentation, the event with African-American army veterans  who fought racism in Nazi Germany and the U.S. South all provided ample opportunities for the paper to reflect on these highly pertinent questions. To do so would have also meant to give those students a voice who helped organize and participate in Black History Month events and the many others who came and attended them. It is very regrettable that the paper missed yet another all too obvious opportunity.


In the six years I have been at the college, the Davidsonian  has , unfortunately, never been a strong publication (all the way down to copy-editing problems). I remain hopeful, however, that it can catch up to the standards set by many successful student newspapers on US college and university campuses. Davidson students should certainly be able to do so.


Thank you for your efforts!

Best,

TPK