Until recently the University has not been among the leaders in this struggle. Back in the 18th century from Harvard, to Pennsylvania to South Carolina the University provided leadership in the construction of a rationale promoting racist practice. Yet we have no history of a forthright campaign against racism in our time. Our resistance to it, when that occurs, is usually piecemeal and tentative. Racist practice is a debilitating drain on our social and, therefore, other economies.
Racist practice brings with it a legacy of be-fouled social relations.
It makes barren the area in which trust between people needs to be cultivated . . . It stunts personal growth and curtails the potentials to which we may aspire as a species . . . We do not know what genius we lose or have no chance to enjoy, as racist practice debars blacks, Latinos, Native Americans from making full contributions to the social enterprise. We do know that racist practice coddles, promotes, and protects, incompetence and mediocrity among the privileged, as well as among those who have been subjected to racist discrimination. We define ourselves against Others, and are not likely to stop doing so any time soon.