Race and rumors of race

The modern civil rights movement abolished state-sanctioned racism. This racism was socially tolerated; overt; explicit; discernible by sight, and existed for more than 300 years. When Rosa Parks stood up by sitting down, the law was on her side. The Supreme Court had telegraphed that it now supported efforts to desegregate in Brown v. Board. A 26-year-old graduate student became the voice of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. His leadership in Montgomery propelled Martin Luther King Jr. to the leadership of the modern civil rights movement and his status as an American icon. Park's and King's leadership made Adam Herbert's presidency possible.\nWhen the argument is made that race is a factor in the Herbert controversy, no one is saying a group of individuals sat down and consciously decided they were going to criticize Herbert because he was an African American. On the contrary, many of his detractors might have been reticent to criticize him because of his race because of the fear of being perceived as discriminating on the basis of race. The argument for the role of race in the Herbert case focuses on implicit bias, those unconscious assumptions and behavioral patterns that are often disguised by our conscious mind. \nRace is raised as a factor since neither critical thinking nor custom provides a rational reason for this unprecedented reaction to Herbert's leadership. Academic politics is fraught with conflict. A college president has the job of "herding cats," faculty who have a strong sense of esteem and a strong sense of what is best for the University. Thus, faculty governance is virtually always in conflict with the presidential vision for a university. Yet, the norm is that these conflicts are resolved within the campus political and social structures and out of the newspaper a lá the Ehrlich and Brand administrations. \nHerbert is accused of being inaccessible, yet he is accused of not giving enough speeches which require him to be away. He is accused of not honing relationships with donors while unprecedented gifts have been garnered under his watch. His leadership has been questioned in part because he is unwilling to follow the wishes of the faculty. While realizing that good leaders garner support for their vision, if leaders simply follow the dictates of faculty, they become managers rather than leaders. Finally, many have asserted that President Herbert is responsible for healing the breach that has been created, yet, he needs the commitment and good faith of faculty who purportedly earn their living by being rational and objective. Moreover, the major question becomes why were these criticisms not raised within the internal apparatus of University governance? Does widening the scope of conflict to a national, if not international level, serve the best interest of our University? While reasonable persons are destined to differ, a strong case can be made that the public assault on the Herbert administration serves our University and our state poorly.\nDeracialization is a pragmatic, expedient and viable social, political and personal strategy. Yet, if one wants an honest discourse with integrity, the impact of race in human affairs must be examined. Assuming responsibility for one's action, operating on good faith that race is not a factor and resorting to the racial variable as the last resort to explain the unexplainable is an effective social and political strategy. Yet under these circumstances, Caucasians must realize raising the possibility of implicit bias is not "playing the race card"; they must also consider that the silent unconscious implicit bias is the unarticulated passive version of "playing the race card." In other words, the white race card, though never articulated, is always being played. When people of color explore race as the final option for personal and professional conundrums, and Caucasians acknowledge the existence of white privilege and the possibility of having an implicit unconscious racial bias, perhaps then we will be closer to King's beloved community where race, a social construction, does not matter.