Lead or Get Out of the Way

By DON ROLLINS

His was a rich but at points complicated existence, the white namesake of Howard University. A decorated career soldier, philanthropist and relentless advocate for black Americans, Major General Oliver Otis Howard was also a product of his time: following his service to the Union, he spent seven years waging war on the Nez Perce and other indigenous nations.

Yet this and other moral failures noted, much of Howard’s post-army life was dedicated to improving the lot of the marginalized: destitute former slaves; the hungry and homeless; disabled veterans and; African American women and men seeking educational opportunities.

It was this belief in education as the means out of oppression that drove Howard to join forces with nine others in creating an integrated seminary and college. Begun in 1872 and housed in a single building near the then outskirts of the capitol, Howard College quickly became the citadel for historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

Since those nascent days, Howard’s attendees and graduates have included nationally recognized artists, activists, politicians and judges: the (now university) has been a fixture in progressive circles in every age.

But these are not the heady days of yore on the venerable campus. As with many educational institutions, the university’s investments suffered mightily in 2008 as unregulated lending precipitated a near-global financial meltdown. The loss of millions in endowments and contributions led to austerity budgets, which led to layoffs and a still struggling Howard.

Further complicating Howard’s predicament is the increase in the recruiting of academically high-achieving black students by elite schools, breaking the near-monopoly HBCUs once enjoyed with that demographic.

And yet more insult to injury, the university is mired in controversy after the revelation of a nine-year-long, $369,000 misappropriation of scholarship funds by six former employees - funds dedicated to supplementing tuition for Howard’s poorest enrollees.

Once the incident went public, the response from hundreds of students was swift and intense. Protests and sit-ins were held in late March and early April, centered in the school’s main building where a coalition of students took up residence and disrupted normal operations.

Citing university president Wayne Frederick is documented as having discovered the misappropriation in December 2016, the group has been calling for Frederick’s and the Howard board’s resignation — a move both have dismissed.

And while the protests have since stopped, the situation has taken yet another twist as a student identified as receiving some of the misappropriated funds has filed a $10 million lawsuit against the university for not properly protecting his records.

If you’re having trouble following all this, you’re not alone. The beacon of a school Oliver Howard helped bring into being is in disarray — and who knows where things will stand by the time this issue reaches you.

But what’s at stake in this hot mess is the vitality of an educational institution sorely needed in the age of Trump, the self-described least racist person there is. For even in the face of recurring wrongful shootings; disproportionate incarceration; corporate exploitation and; Republican crowings about the lowest rate of unemployment in decades (it’s still double that for whites) there is clear, multiracial will to keep race at the progressive fore.

Needed in the resistance effort is the witness and voice of HBCUs — not just their activist student bodies, but a throwback, visionary leadership style that understands the unique role black academia has long played in social change. And still can.

Whatever the causes and cures for Howard’s very real woes, let’s hope the school’s leaders put on some haste. Or get out of the way.

Don Rollins is a Unitarian Universalist minister and substance abuse counselor living in Pittsburgh, Pa. Email donaldlrollins@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, May 15, 2018

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