Student challenges Asbury’s actions against racism

The Asbury Collegian·
Opinion
··3 min read
By Isaac Moore, Contributing Writer

Black American citizens are overlooked in society. For centuries, advancement towards the rights of black citizens only occurred in response to a substantial outrage from blacks which garnered a legislative response to pacify the disgruntled citizens. Thousands of lives were lost in the Civil War to end slavery, thousands of men and women sacrificed a variety of luxuries to end segregation and thousands across our nation today are protesting to end injustice against people of color in America.

When evaluating history, it is easy to provide a moral pass to ourselves; surely Asbury’s Christian community would not have accepted segregation or the evils of slavery if they were relevant today.

As uncomfortable as it may make us feel, Asbury College did not take a stand against the racism of Jim Crow. Asbury College was not a beacon of integration prior to (or after) the Civil Rights movement. Asbury University is not a radical advocate for people of color today.

The year 1960 marked the first time that American-born black citizens were allowed into Asbury College. Admission into the school had its own parameters if a student was black. Black students had to be married coming in so that the school could avoid the “issues” with interracial dating and integrating dormitories. Asbury College had the opportunity to take a stance against racism and failed to do so.

In recent news, Colin Kaepernick’s protest against American injustice towards people of color has spread across the NFL and other professional (and youth) sports. President Trump articulated his disapproval for the ways that these athletes are protesting. A large portion of Asbury’s campus sympathizes with President Trump’s notion that these black athletes should find another avenue to spread their message. As I personally inquired of people on campus if I should take a knee during the anthem this season, I was met with tremendous opposition.

America has undergone a war, and blacks are still not pacified. America has undergone desegregation, and blacks are still not pacified. Many who have not invested major time in their personal life living in black communities are confused as to why blacks are still upset. Millionaire athletes protesting against injustice makes little sense to the outsider.

Michael Bennett’s account is the best illustration of the reason that many are protesting. When Bennett was in Las Vegas, a cop pinned him to the ground for no apparent reason. Bennett was taken down and was abruptly allowed to leave custody when it was confirmed that he was an NFL player.

Bennett is not protesting because of what happened to him, he is protesting for what would have happened to him if he was not an NFL player. Each and every professional athlete that is protesting is not upset about the lot that they are dealt, but the situations that thousands of black Americans are forced to live under every day.

If the Asbury community wants to change its narrative as to how it deals with listening and advocating for the black community, it will start by listening to the voices of people of color on campus and in the culture. Asbury has tolerated various forms of racial injustice since its conception in 1890: Jim Crow, segregation, educational neglect and police brutality just to name a few.

When racial tensions begin to rise, Asbury says little to nothing about them. Indifference and silence in times of injustice benefits the oppressor. If you listen to Cloyd Rivers and Tomi Lahren while scoffing at Kaepernick, you are continuing Asbury’s legacy of racism.

Dear Asbury, be humble, or be quiet. Do not continue a racially insensitive legacy of a mostly white campus that cares more about articulating its opinion than hearing the perspective of the outcasts in society. Dear Asbury, we are not culturally competent. We have a jaded view of the reality that many people in America face every single day. Dear Asbury, if we are to provide our gift of holiness unto the Lord, we must first make restitution to our brothers and sisters who we have wronged. (Matthew 5:23-24). Dear Asbury, it is time to take a position of humility and advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. Dear Asbury, it is time to love thy neighbor as yourself.

The Asbury Collegian

13 Comments

  1. I wrote a piece for the Collegian around 2001-2003 about this very thing. Asbury’s history points to where it is now.

    Reply

  4. First off I would like to say I appreciate your willingness to write this. As we all know, slavery was a role in the Civil War, but it wasn’t the main role. With the North quickly industrializing and the South depending on its crops. The south wanted to detach themselves from the union for many reasons. Those reasons consist of Lincolns elections and the views he had, military protection for certain states, the scare of the North industrializing the South and dominating the Federal Government, and also States Rights as an independent.
    Like you I believe that slavery played an important role in the Civil War, but I know that Slavery also did not cause the Civil War.

    On another note I noticed that you talked about Michael Bennett, a NFL player currently on the roster of the Seahawks. If you were to watch the video you would see that as the gun fire was going on and officers made their way into the casino asking people to remain calm and hit the floor, Mr. Bennett took off running. Now in a hostile environment, I believe that if you are asking everyone to get down and you see someone suspiciously running away. That raises some red flags. Once officers caught Michael, they asked him why he ran and he stated that he needed to go home to his kids. Which is totally fine, but when bullets are flying and everyone is asked to drop to the ground and stay where they are, do not run away. (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5J6EwKq8izc)

    I understand that you have rights and a voice which I think is great. But Asbury as it states in the handbook, you have rights, but they are not acceptable when putting other students views in jeopardy as well as hurting other students feeling as I’ve heard about the Trump Chalking. And it is very sad that you would call them out, even though they have given you an education most people would die for.

    With slavery still happening around the world, Indian (14 million), China (3 million), Russia (1 million), and the U.S ( does not exist anymore since 1865). It is hard for me to wrap my head around this. With the statue conflict decreasing, now starting on kneeling on the flag which people have lost their lives for, we can only imagine what platform which arise next.

    Reply

    1. I beg to differ. The main reason for secession was based on slavery. Alexander Stephens, the Vice President of the Confederacy stated, “Our new government is founded upon exactly [this] idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests upon the great truth, that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery — subordination to the superior race — is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.” (His “Cornerstone” speech)

      Many people like to whitewash (pun intended) history to make it more palatable. Don’t do that. We have a tragic history and we need to make it right for our black neighbors.

      Reply

  5. Echoing Anthony Palmer’s comment, I would implore you to check the facts about the Michael Bennett scenario that you mentioned. He complained that he was racially profiled and brutally taken down by police officers when in fact he fled the scene of a crime against the commands of law enforcement and was detained by two minority officers. It was confirmed that he had been untruthful and lied about the situation that happened and there was no racial injustice whatsoever. Until my dying days I will defend your right to freedom of speech and expression, but please be sure to use facts instead of twisting stories to fit your narrative.

    Reply

  6. First, thank you, Isaac, for your willingness to discuss this sensitive topic. Progress is rarely made in any environment where there is homogeneity of thought, so kudos to you for challenging us to come to terms with the diversity of opinions on this subject.

    Secondly, I believe it is important for Asbury students, faculty, staff, and alumni to be able to engage in self-examination…as individuals and as an institution. It is quite true that our society has a long history of dismissing the experiences of people of color. Therefore, I am pleased you are asking such tough questions. I sincerely hope it brings about a deeper understanding of the issues involved and challenges us to listen, to learn, and to love.

    Reply

  7. Former Asburian here. I have wonderful Asbury memories. Despite the fact that I graduated with a degree I don’t use, and the one I could use was not available, I have said repeatedly I would still choose Asbury because of the community I experienced there. Yet, I am continually saddened as I hear from more and more Asburians for whom this is not the whole experience.
    I am white, straight, and male, but I came from a part of the U.S. that is far more integrated in all ways. I remember my first experience of the Asbury campus being, “Man, there are a lot of white people here.” It should have been more obvious to me that my Asbury experience was not what others experienced. I’m ashamed it wasn’t. I hope that, even if the administration doesn’t change, the students will find ways to make their fellow students feel thr community that Asbury is known for. I hope that if my child one day chooses to attend Asbury, they will do so among a class of students who welcome and appreciate the different experiences of all of their classmates.

    Reply

  8. While Asbury can be faulted for not allowing black students to attend classes until 1960, it is wrong to portray Asbury as the only university to limit the enrollment of black students. Asbury would be the rule rather than the exception for their policies pre-1960. Should they have taken a stand and voiced the wrongs being enacted on the black community? Sure. But to fault a University today for actions taken 55 years ago is unfair. There are many people/companies/institutions who regret their decisions from years past and are now seeking to remedy those actions.

    Using Michael Bennett to support your article shows a lack in verifying your facts before drawing conclusions. As Anthony mentioned, Michael Bennett lied about what happened in Las Vegas. To promote him as a martyr is what is wrong with so many protests today. He disobeyed orders from those with authority, but thought that he could use it as a time to make a stand for social injustice. His actions just further add to the divide.

    I appreciate that you are using this platform to express your opinion. But it seems that you are attacking Asbury just to garner attention rather than post a logical argument. After all, you chose to attend Asbury and get a great education. You are likely receiving financial aid in some sort to attend Asbury. Why disrespect the University that is trying to help you propel you to a life of success. Yes, more could be done to advocate for social injustice at Asbury. But you also make social injustice into a black vs. white debate, while there are many people groups facing oppression every day. From my experience at Asbury, they do a better job than most at promoting inclusion for all of it’s students.

    Lastly, I don’t appreciate that the Collegian is filtering the comments thread and deleting posts. The post written by “Fact Checker” was well written and promoted a very valid argument. If the purpose of an opinion article is to promote discussion, comments being deleted defies this purpose.

    Reply

    1. I apologize that you feel that your comment wasn’t approved in a timely manner. We have filters in place as we get many spam comments. Thank you for sharing your opinion!

      Reply

  9. Thanks, Isaac. Your words are valued and needed. I’m an alumn of Asbury who now works at another predominantly white CCCU institution… and so your words resonate at multiple levels. Appreciate ya.

    Reply

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