Jim Ryan and Dr. Lawrence Bacow, the presidents of the University of Virginia (UVA) and Harvard University, respectively, have been criticized for what some say are their weak responses to the death of George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis man who died in police custody last week.
Bacow’s message to the university community starts with a paragraph on the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on “the globe” and the U.S. The letter contains one mention of Floyd, in the second paragraph, in which Bacow calls Floyd’s death “the senseless killing of yet another black person … at the hands of those charged with protecting us.” The rest of the letter consists of Bacow’s memories of riots and assassinations in 1968, his views on the Constitution and “the American Dream.”
For critics, Bacow’s message was empty of meaning, lacked emotion and didn’t address the issue of racism or the inequities Black people face in colleges and in the country.
“… as a Black graduate student at Harvard, I really urge the President’s Office to consider how this message misses the mark for so many students of color, especially Black students. we deserve better than this litany of platitudes,” said a Harvard student on Twitter.
One critic referenced the denial of tenure to renowned Latinx scholar Dr. Lorgia García Peña in expressing the view that few sentiments Bacow expressed were sincere.
“I appreciate President Bacow’s @Harvard letter, but words are meaningless without action. Students and faculty at Harvard have pushed for a comprehensive ethnic studies program for years. Make it happen! What about the tenure for Prof Garcia-Peña? No explanation?” said the critic.
Another critic, Dr. Caitlin DeAngelis, a history and literature lecturer at Harvard, spoke of the university profiting from slavery.
