Whose History?

A recent lecture at Bowdoin College has roiled the Maine campus. On February 22 the Bowdoin College Republicans hosted Vernon Robinson [pictured], a North Carolina conservative activist and former candidate for the House of Representatives.

Robinson, who is African-American, is a controversial figure—even outside the confines of academe. The archconservative garnered endorsements from figures such as Alan Keyes, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), and Bob Barr during his primary run. Robinson finished first in a multi-candidate primary for the House seat vacated by Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC). He later lost a run-off.

Robinson gained national prominence as the “black Jesse Helms.” After his hometown newspaper criticized him in a column titled “Jesse Helms is Back. This time, He’s Black,” Robinson championed the characterization. He would use it in a radio ad which also stated Robinson shared only “a good tan” with Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

The Bowdoin College Republicans sought Robinson because “we wanted him to address his use of catchy advertising to advance ideals of conservatism, while also mentioning his experience in life as a black conservative,” according to Chris Averill, Executive Director of the Maine State College Republicans and Co-Chairman of the Bowdoin College Republicans. The College Republicans also benefited from propitious scheduling.

“We made the obvious connection that, since all of the other speakers [and] events for Black History Month were liberal or left-leaning, this could be our contribution to the month.”

Criticism of Robinson came from the left and right. William Gilchrist, a junior, wrote to the Bowdoin Orient that “Bowdoin College Republicans displayed their lack of openness by inviting an outright ‘Uncle Tom’ to speak during Black History Month.”

Gilchrist later continued, “To have Robinson speak at this school as a representative of Black History Month destroys the racial peace movement that has been formulating on this campus.”

The College Democrats wrote in the Orient, “Of course, we respect differing points of view and especially the right to speak one’s mind. However, we do not respect the efforts of organizations like the College Republicans in attempting to turn the opportunity of Black History Month into a political war by inciting division rather than national unity in solving this country’s problems.”

Other students found Robinson shrill and intellectually insulting. “I did not find anything intellectually provocative or intriguing about Robinson’s positions or overarching ideology,” wrote Conor Williams, who did not attend the lecture. “His rhetoric is so excessive as to render him uninteresting.”

Adam Baber, who described himself as conservative, shared Williams’ sentiments. Baber attended the lecture and concluded, “Campus conservatives ought to be exploiting this opportunity to inject and [sic] dose of serious conservative thought into academia—not passing it up for some hothead.”

“Instead of offering substantive, intellectually-grounded arguments for conservative policies (which do, by the way, exist), he repeated platitude after platitude,” he wrote.

Other students lauded the College Republicans for their decision to host Robinson. “I applaud the decision to bring a speaker with a different point of view during Black History month,” wrote Dave Noland, a senior.

Benjamin Peisch chastised students who criticized Robinson’s views prior to his lecture. “It has been the unofficial policy of many students on this campus to get offended first, write angry emails and letters, boycott and/or protest, and then wonder what exactly happened afterwards,” he wrote. “The clearest example of this action was that Robinson was labeled an ‘Uncle Tom’ by one student as soon as his advertisements came out.”

Peisch later summed up the sentiments of political correctness foes on campus. “Unfortunately, many on this campus who preach open-mindedness are only open-minded when they agree with the person,” he wrote.

Faculty response to the event—which Bowdoin funded—and the ensuing controversy have been muted. The chairman of the Africana Studies Department did criticize Robinson in class. According to Averill, the professor “went on a rant the day before or the day of the lecture in class, demeaning Vernon and calling him names.”

The Bowdoin College Republicans invited the Africana Studies department to cosponsor the lecture, but the department declined. “As it was Black History Month, we were looking for the recognition from the Africana Studies Chair that conservative blacks are blacks as well,” Averill explained. “Yet, we did not get that—instead, we got a slap in the face.”

Larry Scholer is a staff writer at Accuracy in Academia.