Editor’s Note: The following letter excedes the word length normally accepted in letters to the editor. Given the pressing nature of the issue and campus response, the decision was made to run the letter in full.
Wildermuth Center must be renamed immediately
Last week, as I began my routine day in a life that I have tried to universally devote to fair play, some disturbing, disappointing and unsettling news came to my attention. I learned that a man who I had held in high esteem had a very low regard for me. Undoubtedly, he was not a man I thought he was. His private thoughts and impressions have recently become public thoughts of bigotry, Hitlerism and the superiority of the white race. Ora L. Wildermuth, a judge, lawyer, civic leader, longtime IU trustee and Garyite has been unmasked.
No, it’s not necessarily shocking that he possessed feelings of inequality and thought the black race had little to no hope of a future in America. Those were perhaps the predominant views of those times. However, I would imagine that most persons having those views did not have the pulpit that Judge Wildermuth had to espouse such disparaging, hurtful and uncompromising remarks. He took a position at the head of the table and stood for all those who could see, and he let his feeling be known in no mistakable words: Black people were not his equal; there was no hope for them; and socially intermingling with them was taboo.
Personally, I’m hurt, disgusted and deeply disappointed. I’m a lawyer, just as he. I’m from Gary, just as he. My law degree was obtained from IU, just as his. And although I’m no trustee, my position as president of the Neal-Marshall Alumni Club thrusts me into a leadership position in connection with the University, where I encourage and prod those who may have feelings of doubt and ambiguity. I had hoped that, being a proud and well-respected leader of IU, he would have felt likewise. But apparently not – at least for those who did not look like him.
After getting over the initial disappointment, I then had to think, should this man’s legacy remain glorified and displayed for all those to see and admire? The answer is an unequivocal no – not only for my beloved University, but also at the public library building in Gary that adorns his name. As I drive past that library building every day, I’m now constantly reminded about what he thought about a whole race of human beings. It’s no different as I trek to Bloomington four or five times a year. I’ll again be reminded of that when I encounter the Wildermuth Intramural Center. A highly respected institution that is as advanced, progressive and pioneering as IU should not and cannot hold aloft, for public display, the name of a person who espoused views that fly in the face of human dignity and respect. It’s an oxymoron. Lest we forget, this University introduced Bill Garrett, the first person of color to play basketball at a Big Ten university and perhaps most universities nationwide. The irony of this is that the building which carries Judge Wildermuth’s name is the very same building in which Bill Garrett played while at IU.
IU can boast proudly of the exploits of a true pioneer – former IU President Herman B Wells, who personally confronted the racism of those times. He chose not to stand back as others and to tolerate the degradation of the past. He made the unpopular choice to include, rather than exclude. How conceivable is it that the names and legacies of these two individuals can be equally glorified with monuments of respect and honor? It can’t be done. The two of them didn’t stand for the very same leadership principles of duty and righteousness.
I have not arrived at my position without careful thought and consideration. I know that many others in those days shared the views of Judge Wildermuth, but again, most did not have the pulpit that he had. Additionally, many of those haven’t had buildings dedicated to their memories. Judge Wildermuth did, and since we now know the story behind the story, his name must now be stricken from any and every public building that graces the campus of IU – not later, but now.
Robert L. Lewis
President, Neal-Marshall Alumni Club
