me: Howdy, Jonathan Jonathan: Hi. Jonathan: You're up late. Jonathan: Or early. me: Yeah, I'm a druggie me: You might enjoy this me: http://trueslant.com/barrettbrown/2009/10/20/my-response-to-robert-stacy-mccain/ Jonathan: Okay, I'll read it now. me: also Jonathan: I can't promise I'll read what Robert Stacy McCain has written. These neo-Confederates actually make me physically sick. me: I've talked to David Neiwert, the investigate journalist who also runs the popular blog Crooks and Liars, and he'll be starting in on McCain tomorrow Jonathan: For years my heart rate would go up if I thought there might be another attack (and I'm no coward). me: All in all, McCain will be done for soon. Jonathan: Great: a victory at last. me: A couple of his former allies have already denounced him, and the rest have been silent Jonathan: 144 years later. me: well, we won the first war, too Jonathan: And then, like Obama, acted like we lost... me: Luckily, we need not depend on Obama and can do things ourselves me: Speaking of which me: I imagine you probably have a number of contacts with influence me: You might want to start sending some links around to make sure that this gets as much fuel as possible in the next two days Jonathan: I will do so. Jonathan: The reality is, I have or had a number of contacts with influence, by typically they do not want to use their influence in this way. me: This is pretty much just a matter of reaching critical mass, and we're about to do it Jonathan: African-Americans are typically deathly afraid of race-controversy. That's why no one stood up for Jeremiah Wright, Jonathan: even though you would be hard-pressed to find an African-American who disagreed with Wright---Obama included. me: I don't know if that describes the blacks around my neck of the woods Jonathan: And white Americans demand obeisance, even liberals, which is how Obama got elected, as remarkable and welcome as that was. Jonathan: Meaning the African-Americans in your area are Black Panthers or Thomas Sowells? me: By and large, perhaps; it's hard to get a sense of how a race collectively things me: Black Panthers me: not in a bad way me: I mean they're not the sort who would be phased by anything at all Jonathan: Well, I have a lot of experience with the real Black Panthers and the fake ones. I was at the me: But I live right smack between three projects Jonathan: Black Holocaust Conference in Harlem in 2002 and Jonathan: Mutulu Shabazz (or whatever his name is) was there. Jonathan: I told the gathering about how I was being attacked and needed help. Jonathan: The only "help" I got was one woman told me I should contact Al Sharpton. me: right me: but perhaps that's not simply a black thing Jonathan: My metric is, given how easy it was for me to get attacked, if a black person hasn't been attacked then they aren't saying much, or what they're saying isn't getting heard. me: I've had a hell of a time trying to get the largely white, ex-suburban youth around here to get organized me: right me: that certainly is something that any black American should be mindful of me: We discussed this briefly the other day; what would you say is causing this apathy or cowardice or whatever it is among blacks who should be getting involved? Jonathan: What I call "unnatural selection." me: ah, right, I remember now me: sort of Jonathan: When I was running for Congress in 2002, someone was helping me, but told me that when his wife saw the picture of me with Che Guevara, she said, "They're going to get him." Jonathan: (Maybe I should have written, "They gonna get him," to be read in a Gone-with-the-Wind "mammie" voice.) Jonathan: This was 2001 I guess. me: Well, when one puts up any symbol, one is going to run into opposition from those who see the symbol in a different light Jonathan: In 1960 there was something to fear, but today, there is danger only if everyone runs away. Jonathan: The irony is, I believe that if even three black students at Vanderbilt had gone to the chancellor, Gordon Gee, and told him not to attack me, and to defend me, then Vanderbilt would not have attacked me. Jonathan: Contrary to what the former Nashville NAACP officer wrote, I do not pester anyone, but I have written over 100 blacks. Jonathan: At one time I estimated that I'd received perhaps less than half a dozen responses. Jonathan: (Blacks connected with Vanderbilt that is.) Jonathan: And this was as a former advisor to multiple black student organizations. Jonathan: (And as someone who had won some sort of diversity award at Vanderbilt.) Jonathan: In Spring 2009, one officer of the Black Student Alliance---the "History Officer" I believe---accidentally wrote me, when she meant to write the organization president, saying, "What should I do?" Jonathan: They never did anything. Jonathan: In 2006, the acting president of the Black Student Alliance sent all of my emails---which I had marked confidential (she had not given me her telephone number and, while I did have her number, I did not want to call her out of respect for that) to the Vanderbilt administration. me: did she tell you this or were you informed by someone else? Jonathan: She sent me an email at 8 am or so saying she could no longer deal with the issue (I had waited patiently for virtually the entire academic year for the Vanderbilt Black Student Alliance to do something) Jonathan: and told me unless I had a problem with it, she would forward my emails to the administration (I forget who---one of the people quoted in the Tennessean article where the NAACP president says he is glad the dorm name would stay "Confederate Memorial Hall") Jonathan: Since I was on my computer when her email came in, I wrote her back immediately to tell her not to do that. Jonathan: She then wrote back to say she already had. Jonathan: (Even though she had said in her email she would wait a day.) Jonathan: I was somewhat inaccurate. Jonathan: It was March 16, 2007. Her name was Annmarie Janet Payne and she forwarded my emails to Frank Dobson, director of Vanderbilt's Black Cultural Center. Jonathan: I'd send you her email but, out of context, you might get the idea I had been impolite to her. Jonathan: Further, she said she would send my emails to Dobson "today" (but it was early in the morning, and I wrote her back immediately). Jonathan: Frank Dobson was quoted in The Tennessean as saying that he could see why some people were bothered by the name "Confederate Memorial Hall"---that's all he would say, that he could see why *some* people were bothered by the name. Jonathan: (This is 2005, after the UDC won the lawsuit. The irony being that it was Vanderbilt's official position that the name should be changed.) Jonathan: I can send you all the emails if you want, but you probably don't. Jonathan: And there was a similar situation (although this was the worst) each year I tried contacting the Vanderbilt Black Student Alliance. me: do send me anything you have that might indicate wrongdoing on the part of anyone directly affiliated with the university me: also me: perhaps you know some people I can interview who would help to confirm your mistreatment? me: not sure if you had many allies there who are brave enough to speak out Jonathan: This was a student, so she would not be a university employee; also, even Dobson's comment, while execrable, is not wrongdoing per se. me: right, I mean send me other stuff that is me: also Jonathan: I did have allies, but the problem is I don't want to give their names. In fact, I generally don't forward people's emails without their permission: I only did so in the case of the neo-Confederate attack not because I bend the rules for myself but because the behavior is so awful, the relevant people do not deserve to be treated in a civil fashion. Jonathan: (And in the case of the BSA acting president, she did not respect the confidentiality of my emails.) Jonathan: Okay, I'm just rationalizing, but I trust I'm still being consistent. Jonathan: So, yeah, I had supporters, like the white Republican girl from Athens, Tennessee who read the draft of my essay; or the girl Jonathan: who told me about what she read in the papers concerning the UDC's plans. Jonathan: There was a law professor at Vanderbilt who wrote Gordon Gee, describing me as afraid (I was not!) and asking him to help, and she showed me his email response: he said they would protect me and defend me. Jonathan: Later when I learned of Gee's attack on me, I saw that he had sent this professor a bold-faced lie. Jonathan: But when I contacted this professor in 2007, she said she couldn't remember this incident at all. Jonathan: But really I have no problem with your contacting even the current and former Vanderbilt administration about what they did. me: well, I've already talked to Richard me: and got him on tape Jonathan: Schoenfeld told the Princeton University professor they were concerned for my safety, so Vanderbilt should be able to provide some proof that they contacted police or asked me if I wanted protection, etc. me: and he's obviously very nervous Jonathan: And they can be asked if their statements attacking me put me in less or greater danger. Jonathan: The Vanderbilt math department chair, Mike Mihalik, can be asked if he forwarded the hate messages to the dean or not. Jonathan: The student newspaper editors and "reporters" can be asked if they support the Confederacy. Jonathan: I would love for the tables to be turned on the neo-Confederates (as you are doing with Robert Stacy McCain) and the quislings, both white and black. me: well, that provost is very nervous Jonathan: Just be aware that some people, like the one Nashville NAACP officer, seem to be willing to resort to libel, but it's easily refuted. Jonathan: Matt Gould made a positive statement about me to the Vanderbilt student newspaper, called The Hustler. He was a colleague in the Math Department. me: what did he say about you again, the Nashville NAACP fellow? Jonathan: Tim Wise also spoke in my defense at a forum at Vanderbilt on my essay, which I refused to attend. Jonathan: I hate to repeat libel...or emphasize it. I was just warning you. Tommie Morton-Young, who was the first or one of the first blacks to attend Peabody College (where Confederate Memorial Hall is), was mentioned in my article from the MIT student newspaper and BlackCommentator.com. Jonathan: http://www.blackcommentator.com/312/312_black_history_month_who_won_civil_wqr_farley_guest.html Jonathan: She said that I pestered a Charles Kimbrough, but this is easily refuted since Charles Kimbrough is the man who approached me to help. Jonathan: And called me in 2006 when I was on the cover of the NAACP magazine. Jonathan: I go through Tommie Morton-Young's letter sentence-by-sentence to show all the false statements; I sent you that long email. Jonathan: So, thanks to her, Charles Kimbrough's name is in the public domain, and his contact information is public; but I wouldn't want to annoy him by having it said that *I* put a reporter in touch with him. Jonathan: Another silly principle of mine. Jonathan: You could contact Nia Toomer, or Candace Chatham of the Vanderbilt Black Student Alliance, or any of the black faculty of the time or now, including Lucius Outlaw, mouthpiece for the administration. Jonathan: I never met Frank Dobson, but he could be asked if *he* is bothered by the name "Confederate Memorial Hall". Jonathan: I have no problem with enemies being interviewed, as long as their false statements are challenged and none of their libelous statements repeated. Jonathan: For example, Tennessean reporter Holly Edwards said she couldn't find anyone who supported me: she could be asked where she looked. Jonathan: But Michael Eric Dyson and Ray Winbush will give you good quotes about Vanderbilt's treatment of African-Americans, at least at the time. Jonathan: Both know me. Jonathan: I'm not saying not to contact Dr. Kimbrough---as I said, his name is now in the public domain---it's just that many people don't want to be in news stories so I don't want to "reward" my supporters by exposing them to the public. Lana Rajkumar was mentioned in one of Tim Chavez's articles, but then I never heard from her, despite sending her a couple of thank you notes. me: Understood Jonathan: Feel free to follow up on all the emails I forwarded to you, however. These would be messages sent to the newspaper, so the writers did not mind their names being made public. me: anyway, if you can dig up any other e-mails from those with the university who treated you poorly, let me know Jonathan: (The emails from people to The Tennessean that is.) Jonathan: I do not believe there are any emails from the university administration. Jonathan: In fact, that may have been part of the point: Vanderbilt never came to me to ask me about the essay. Jonathan: They just fired off their multiple responses to the media attacking me (this is all in the public domain) without ever speaking with me about it. Jonathan: I sent Vanderbilt several letters about the math chairman's statements to me. Jonathan: After I fled, I was trying not to read mail (I shut down my Vanderbilt email account and kept my MIT email address secret) from Vanderbilt. Jonathan: But McCarty's letter contains many statements that could be investigated. Zeppos's telling me that they "forgot" to conisder my tenure case in April 2003 could be investigated. (Of course, they will say it's all confidential; but maybe somewhere there's a memo---or maybe a disgruntled employee or ex-spouse will reveal---that they did explicitly consider the neo-Confederate attack on me. It would be silly to doubt that this was a consideration for Vanderbilt; I just have no proof.) Jonathan: I think you might get good quotes from Glenda Gilmore, who wrote about a black man named Manly who had to flee the South after writing a newspaper article---in the 1890's. But there are so many people whom I would like to see interviewed/interrogated, it would be bad for me to start making a list.