BU President Denounces Racism, Calls for Civility
In the wake of violent demonstrations by white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend and ahead of a “free speech” rally planned for this weekend on Boston Common, Boston University President Robert A. Brown issued a statement to the BU community on August 17, 2017 denouncing racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric and promoting civility.
In the statement, President Brown denounced the white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups associated with the violence in Charlottesville, and urged members of the Boston University community to set a standard of civility and generosity of spirit in discourse to serve as a counterpoint to hate speech and racism.
From the statement:
As has happened too often in recent years and months, our nation has been shaken by an act of violence—this time the fatal motor vehicle attack on counter-protesters at the demonstration in Charlottesville. We mourn the tragic loss of life and deplore the attack and the hateful, explicitly racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric that created the environment in which it was perpetrated.
As we seek in our democracy—and our academic community—to appreciate and understand difference, we speak of tolerance and the fundamental importance of free speech and respect for diverse points of view. But tolerance doesn’t necessarily imply or entail acceptance or approval. Palpably evil acts, such as occurred in Charlottesville, invite the challenging question about what is and is not tolerable or morally acceptable in speech and accompanying deeds. It is clear to me, and I believe it a view that is broadly shared in our community, that a claim of inherent racial or ethnic superiority is abhorrent. We must, I believe, explicitly denounce white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups that make such claims.
The obligation of our community must be to hold fast to the values that are in our Boston University DNA. As we participate in broader conversations in our society, we should seek to set a standard of civility and generosity of spirit in discourse that perhaps over time will be an illuminating counterpoint to the hate speech that threatens the very fabric of our republic.
You can read President Brown’s entire statement on BU Today.
Reacting to the statement, Pardee School Dean Adil Najam said “I believe President Browns statement captures the intensely felt feelings of the entire BU community. I feel proud to be part of an institution that unequivocally stands for the values of tolerance and civility, but will not compromise on the duty to challenge that which is manifestly intolerable and morally unacceptable.”
Najam added that these are amongst the most important values we teach our students at the Pardee School, and at all of Boston University, and that “it is in times of gravest challenge that there is the greatest need to be seen and heard to stand up for the values we care most greatly about.”