Someday mural won't distract

In recent weeks, the controversy about the Thomas Hart Benton mural has had a major impact on the campus and on diversity at Indiana University.\nSome have argued that the presence of the mural is the antithesis of IU's commitment to diversity. But one cannot embrace diversity while denying freedom of expression, a core value not just for our students and faculty, but also for artists like Thomas Hart Benton.\nIt was Benton's insistence that the whole history of Indiana be told that is central to why the complete set of murals is considered one of the great examples of 20th century American art. Yet one cannot say that freedom of expression is so important for an artist that it damages another core value of Indiana University. \nGrowing up in the Delta Region of the South, an area defined by racism, poverty and segregation, I have had first-hand experience with the Ku Klux Klan. Painful as those memories are, and real as the presence of the KKK in Indiana was until not so long ago, both are undeniable aspects of American history. To take away the mural would be to pretend that that painful era never existed. We must acknowledge it, address it and use our knowledge of it to make sure that it never happens again.\nThe thing that brought me back to IU was the commitment to making the Bloomington campus a more inclusive and better place, not only for students of color, but for all people; not only for residents of the campus, but for everyone in the town, indeed, in the state. I came here to help IU use its power for educating students, faculty, staff and citizens, and to educating itself as an institution. I am not interested in diversity for diversity's sake.\nI applaud the leaders of the Black Student Union for their advocacy and their agitation about the mural. I am encouraged by Chancellor Brehm's decision, and especially by all the thoughtful interactions and comments which have accompanied it. The process of the Benton mural controversy has allowed people of all backgrounds to get a lot of different ideas on the table and to hear each other. But this is only a starting point.\nSo far, this process has allowed the chancellor to lay out in detail her stance on diversity. At the heart of what she said is accountability -- that we cannot delegate diversity to a few people, or to the diversity office. There has to be a greater sense of accountability overall. Each of us must learn to hold ourselves and our colleagues accountable for progress, and to be held accountable for our shortcomings.\nIn the coming weeks and months, each academic and administrative unit must carefully review its staffing patterns and hiring practices, from work-study students to executive directors and deans. We must embark on a deliberate strategy to make each unit and the campus as a whole more inclusive, more welcoming, more diverse. Failure to do so means that we will have squandered the opportunity to exercise leadership and to demonstrate to students that diversity is more than a rhetorical concept espoused for political purposes. \nWhen IU becomes a truly diverse place, the Benton mural will no longer be a distraction, but instead just one component of a campus that is enveloped in diversity. Then, not only will the student body be more representative of the state of Indiana; our offices will also be more diverse; our faculty more representative; and our institution stronger.\nLet us go forward together, with respect for each other and for this learning environment.