It has been my honor to serve Washington University as the Margaret Bush Wilson Professor in Arts & Sciences and Director of African and African American Studies. Washington University graduates of the class of 2006 began this academic year as witnesses to global racial conflicts and controversies in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, riots in the suburbs of Paris, and the horrific enormity of the on-going suffering and dislocation in Darfur, Sudan. These are sobering subjects for such a celebratory occasion, but I would like to take this opportunity to issue a call for justice and peace, as well as a reminder of the work that remains to be done in the world you are entering today.
We who live in St. Louis know well that racial strife and disparities in wealth, education, and health care also reflect local concerns. Washington University Graduates of the class of 2006 may recall hearing Margaret Bush Wilson pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King as people of action who did more than merely “dream.” You may also recall the inspirational words of Robert Moses, Cornell West, Lanie Guinere, and Marion Wright Edleman, among others.
I have come to know many wonderful students here at Washington University who have devoted themselves to advancing racial reconciliation locally, nationally, and internationally. Many of you traveled to New Orleans to help rebuild houses and reestablish necessary services. Others have traveled to Mother Africa to teach, learn, and serve others who, by accident of birth, are much less fortunate than ourselves.
Margaret Bush Wilson reminded us all that African Americans must never forget the importance of the 13, 14, and 15 amendments. Prior to their passage, America was not truly the land of liberty that all U.S. immigrants cherish. Whereas the vast majority of U.S. immigrants have come to this country in poverty, speaking a language other than English, they did so of their own volition. Those of us who trace our ancestry to Africans who were once enslaved in America know well that our ancestors were prevented from profiting from their labor, or speaking their native languages, or stopping the daily atrocities they were forced to endure. Those who would diminish or denigrate the essential contributions that slave labor provided to the primordial U.S. economy are sorely misguided, as are those who would deny the enormous contributions to this great nation that African Americans have made since slavery, despite formidable odds.
Washington University graduates of the Class of 2006 have witnessed the growth of the African Students Association, and a remarkable African Film Festival that showed vivid portraits of African life and culture. You witnessed the Association of Black Students call for ethnic unity in the quest to extend the Voting Rights Amendment, including a panel discussion where Washington University students from diverse backgrounds were united in the call to increase access to voting for all eligible voters, regardless of their background. Their example, of embracing others in the quest for racial reconciliation, is consistent with the quest for freedom and racial dignity for which St. Louis is historically well known.
Graduates of the Class of 2006 depart of the eve of the 150th anniversary of the Dred Scott Supreme Court ruling, a ruling that shows St. Louisians of a bygone era in a most favorable light. The citizens of St. Louis who served as jurists during the Dred Scott trial voted to give Dred and Harriet Scott their liberty. It was the U.S. Supreme Court that reversed the decision, setting back the course of justice for many generations.
Despite this history of long-standing racial suffering, Washington University graduates of the Class of 2006 give us great hope for the future. I have come to know my own students most well, and they represent a remarkable array of future leaders from different parts of the country and the world. Many of them have produced important scholarship that will advance racial reconciliation in various ways. Some of you are devoted to teaching in inner-city schools, others strive to devote your professional lives to health professions in service to medical maladies throughout the African Diaspora, while others are devoted to political, economic, legal, and environmental justice and human rights for people at home and abroad. It has been my pleasure to observe the hard work and dedication of Washington University students who challenge the evils of racism in their vigilant quest to advance the human condition through innovative academic excellence.
I serve Washington University today because African American students on this campus in 1968 called for the creation of “Black Studies.” Their inspiration has given rise to a program that seeks to advance distinguished scholarship of and by people of African descent and to advance human rights and justice regardless of race. It is in this spirit of racial harmony, in honor of the lessons that we have learned from Margaret Bush Wilson and others who have championed the quest for true equality in America, that I pray for your health, happiness, and peace on earth. Congratulations on your achievement.