At the beginning of this month, Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber, penned a letter to the Princeton community which claimed that racism is “embedded” in structures of the university.
The Department of Education took this claim seriously and has launched an investigation. If schools are going to make these claims, it’s about time that we take them at their word.
Here’s an excerpt from Esigruber’s September 2nd letter, via the Princeton website (emphasis is mine):
Letter from President Eisgruber on the University’s efforts to combat systemic racismDear members of the Princeton community,In June, I wrote to you as America entered a profound national reckoning with racism. That reckoning is at once painful, because the harms done by systemic racism have been exposed so starkly, and promising, because we are seeing widespread and urgent desire to take action to achieve a more just society.With that goal in mind, I charged my Cabinet in June to develop plans to combat systemic racism at Princeton and beyond. In my letter, I invited suggestions from all of you, and many individuals and groups responded. I am grateful for your input, and I write now with an update about our progress.My Cabinet colleagues and I began our work early in the summer as people throughout America and around the world protested the cruel and unjust killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Rayshard Brooks. As the Cabinet gathered last week to discuss preliminary recommendations, the nation reeled once more after a Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back…Racist assumptions from the past also remain embedded in structures of the University itself. For example, Princeton inherits from earlier generations at least nine departments and programs organized around European languages and culture, but only a single, relatively small program in African studies.
That sounds just awful, doesn’t it? The school obviously needs to be investigated.
Tiana Lowe reports at the Washington Examiner:
EXCLUSIVE: Education Department opens investigation into Princeton University after president deems racism ’embedded’ in the schoolThe Department of Education has informed Princeton University that it is under investigation following the school president’s declaration that racism was “embedded” in the institution.President Christopher Eisgruber published an open letter earlier this month claiming that “racism and the damage it does to people of color persist at Princeton” and that “racist assumptions” are “embedded in structures of the University itself.”According to a letter the Department of Education sent to Princeton that was obtained by the Washington Examiner, such an admission from Eisgruber raises concerns that Princeton has been receiving tens of millions of dollars of federal funds in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which declares that “no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
Judging by the reaction on Twitter, this was the right thing to do:
This standard should be applied to all colleges and universities which self-identify as racist institutions.
Featured image via YouTube.
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