Annmarie Payne email #9

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jonathan Farley <lattice.theory@gmail.com>
Date: 2007/2/7
Subject: Re: Vanderbilt Chancellor's defense of Klan founder
To: "Payne, Annmarie Janet" <annmarie.j.payne@vanderbilt.edu>

Thanks for the reply. Williams is an enemy. He completely served the administration when the legal case began, when there should have been no legal case whatsoever. Williams is there so Vanderbilt can claim it is not racist because it has a high-ranking African-American. Moreover, he is not about to risk his (probably) $200,000/year job to help you, me, or the BSA. The same goes for Lucius Outlaw. Regrettably, Vanderbilt is also exploiting the high-profile appointment of James Lawson, but, if you were to go to anyone, given that I have already ascertained that Outlaw is on the administration's side (despite his excellent rhetoric---Outlaw gives talks as if he had the politics of Paul Robeson), Lawson may be worth a try.

I have to insist that I did not blast you or recommend blasting anyone---nor did I imply this. I write very carefully (including the November 20, 2002 essay). (I'm not against your blasting Gee or Schoenfeld should you choose to do so, of course.)

Vanderbilt is employing the delaying tactic practiced by the Romans in the Second Punic War. If they wait long enough, they know you and all your classmates will graduate---leaving them alone. This is why there was a resolution in 1989 (or so) to change the name of Confederate Memorial Hall, but nothing happened for over a decade.

(I also must emphasize that my essay was not about Confederate Memorial Hall and had nothing to do with my job at Vanderbilt, so it was completely out of bounds for Gee and Schoenfeld to even discuss my essay at all, or for the chairman of the mathematics department to attempt to use it in my tenure decision. My essay had to do with the statue of the founder of the KKK that is miles away from campus.)

I am not aware of a single message I have sent through the listserve. I wrote the officers of the BSA whose email addresses are on the web---once. Presumably their email addresses are on the web so that people may email them.

I also have to draw on my years of experience and disagree: Sending messages to a listserve is the best way to get action. As you'll read in the Tennessean from December 2002, over 1,000 email messages were sent after my essay was published, leading to the coordinated assault against me by neo-Confederate groups. I wish our side acted with the same alacrity and resolve.

Regards,

Jonathan Farley

876 446 3184 (cell)

On 2/7/07, Payne, Annmarie Janet <annmarie.j.payne@vanderbilt.edu> wrote:

Hello to you again,

Thank you for your options although, as I have said before things are
being handled as they are brought to me. As soon as I can get the majority
of the BSA behind me I will gladly take action. These oprions you have
presented are feasbile, yes, however things have to be done in a way that
will correspond to what we are trying to accomplish for this semester. Of
course, the administration here has decided to try and "shut us up" with
new things they have provided however, we have not been stagnant to the
important issues that are taking place. Although your issue is important
we are still fighting for the African American students on campus. As of
this moment, which I forgot to put in my last email, I have had a meeting
with Vice Chancellor Willams and have spoken with him about you and what
has happened. I have gone to the Tennessean archives and have gotten the
news for those series of days. I am still finding the materials to make a
sound arguement to the adminstration. Once again thank you for your input
and please be patient. Lastly, I did not mean to use the word "blast" as
if you had said it directly but this is what can be inferred from the
emails you have sent. And I would like to ask a favor from you, please do
not send emails through our listserve because openning a pandoras box on
campus causes servere chaos and limits us as an organization to implement
changes.

Thank you,
Annmarie