There are two things I would note about the protests at the University of Missouri which led to the resignation of the President and the Chancellor. The first issue is the power of racial protests and demonstrations. Many of the rights and privileges African Americans gained through the years were substantially the result of protests or some kind of public raising of the issue(s). Such serious campaigns have been relatively few and non-sustained in the last generation or so; however, a lot of today’s African American youth are keenly aware of the continued existence of racism in the American Society. And apparently they understand the essential need for protests.
The Black Lives Matter and other current movements are long-awaited activities, which have influenced–if only indirectly–other protests like the one at the University of Missouri. In a radio interview one of the black Missouri student leaders was asked why the protests were only occurring now if the issues have been prevalent so long on campus….and whether the national protests led by the Black Lives Matter movement influenced what happened on the University of Missouri’s campus. The student answered, “Yes, most definitely. The Black Lives Matter movement showed us what to do and what could be done.”
Another issue to note about the University of Missouri situation is the power of protests and demonstrations by athletes. The protest and planned boycott of a game by the football players may be the strongest stand of black college athletes since the 1968 boycott of the Olympics by college basketball players. Led by the Olympic Committee for Human Rights and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lou Alcindor) black star college basketball players refused to participate in the Olympics. Protesting against the racism of the United States Olympic Committee in particular and societal racism in general, established black basketball stars at major colleges declined to participate.
Perhaps black football players are beginning to understand their power. The University administration did not seem to take seriously the hunger strike by a black male graduate student; however when the football coach publicly supported his players’ boycott stance, something had to give. So the President and Chancellor were forced out by the board of trustees. A few years ago, when the Ohio State football program was embroiled in a set of scandals, Ohio State president Gordon Gee was asked whether he would fire the football coach. President Gee replied, “I am concerned that he doesn’t fire me,” indicating in jest but a real fact—college football is a serious business and the football coaches of big-time programs are more important than university presidents.