Jackson Free Press

An article in today's New York Times deviates a bit from the standard narrative on Ole Miss and the debate. It provides some counterpoint to the several versions of "Look how far they've come!" I've seen in the mainstream media thus far, in the Washington Post (twice), the Wall Street Journal and on NPR.

I'm sure that many people associated with Ole Miss see the debate as the school's redemptive moment. But that kind of thinking can also let Ole Miss, Mississippi and the rest of the country off the hook for the future. Race issues don't end when Obama and the debate come to Oxford.

So it's good to see the Times add a little nuance to the Ole Miss racial progress story. I admit I didn't know some of this:

On the administration's part, the approach to redemption has been pragmatic. Mr. Khayat said that when he became chancellor, marketing studies showed that the university's reputation as a racist bastion was driving down enrollment. So he ousted Confederate flags from the football stadium by banning the sticks to which the flags were affixed, sparking a controversy that earned him death threats.

But he did not forbid the playing of "Dixie," saying that students who did not like the song would simply have to tolerate it. "It's a balance challenge, as far as I'm concerned," said Mr. Khayat, who spent months lobbying the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates to get the university named as a host.

The chancellor, who describes the events of 1962 as "unpleasant" and "inappropriate," also overruled the jury that chose a design for the civil rights memorial that was to be engraved with the statements "Learn in fear no more" and "Unite in fear no more." The chancellor said he thought "fear" was too negative a word and replaced the phrases with "courage," "perseverance," "opportunity" and "knowledge." The memorial praises Mr. Meredith as a civil rights pioneer, but makes no mention of the violence that accompanied his efforts.

Previous Commentsshow

That's the Dewan story I linked already. You're right, it does have some context to it, which is good. Frankly, I want the media to notice that MIssissippi has changed a lot, but I can't help but cringe at the surface ways they follow the narratives. The whole statue debate over the word "fear" was something else. Khayat definitely maintains a delicate balance up there, but at least he's trying to help the place evolve. I wonder if we're going to see any stories about the division (income and otherwise) between blacks and whites in Oxford. Of course if we don't, they will probably be written as if the reporter has just fallend own a southern rabbit hole instead of flying in from a city with similar divisions if not the same chilling past.

DonnaLadd

Sep 24 2008