In 2002, Dr. Jerome D. Williams, a leading expert in the area of multicultural advertising, accepted the Anheuser Busch/John E. Jacob Endowed Chair in Marketing at Howard University. But the job offer was rescinded, Williams says, because he’d written articles critical of minority-targeted alcohol marketing.
Now, he’s asking the courts to determine whether the job offer withdrawal represents a violation of his right of free speech and academic freedom.
Howard University officials are not commenting, but an internal panel said the university violated its own rules that ensure faculty academic freedom.
Williams says the problem started in 2003 when, at the request of Howard President Patrick H. Swygert, he traveled to St. Louis to visit Anheuser Busch to discuss his role in the endowed chair. A few weeks later, Williams received a request from Swygert’s office for copies of two articles he had written in 1993 and 1995 dealing with target marketing of alcohol products to minority consumers. A short time later, Williams says he received a letter from Swygert rescinding the offer”
“The articles go back 10 years ago when we were on the forefront of drawing attention to this issue,” Williams says. “It was not vilifying the industry, but it raised issues and looked at statistics such as whether the marketing efforts were proportionate to the size of the community. It was not demonizing by any means. I’ve worked with the industry in the past. I’m all for working in partnership to solve the problems.”
