Selma event is a welcomed focus on diversity

In partnership with the Black Student Union and the Student Government Association,  Hopkins sponsored a free screening of Ava duVernay’s critically acclaimed civil rights film Selma on Wednesday at the Charles Theatre. The screening was followed by a panel discussion with a question and answer session. The panel, led by Provost Robert Lieberman, included prominent civil rights scholars: Taylor Branch, a 2014 Hopkins honorary degree recipient and the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning trilogy on the civil rights movement, America in the King Years, and Nathan Connolly, the director of the University’s Program on Racism, Immigration and Citizenship and an assistant professor of history at Hopkins, whose work focuses on the connection between property rights and civil rights.

The Editorial Board applauds this prominent display of the University’s commitment to diversity and encourages the University to continue this effort.

Student outrage over the grand jury’s decision in the Michael Brown shooting last November demonstrated a campus-wide willingness to dive into issues of race and equality. The Black Student Union hosted two protests last semester, one of which was a die-in at the Brody Learning Commons, mimicking the way Brown’s body had laid in the street for over four hours after the shooting.

Yet despite this clear desire for an extended discussion on these important racial topics, the Editorial Board as a whole cannot remember the last time the University has sponsored such a prominent event focused on race relations and diversity.  The administration made a big deal out of this event — a free, private screening of a current film, dedicated transportation to the theater, a panel discussion hosted by the Provost and attended by the University President — and we were frankly surprised by the effort.

And this is essentially why we believe that this screening was so important; it seemed to represent a public effort by the University to become a catalyst for discussions on race, diversity and equality. According to its own website, the University believes creating a “climate for diversity, inclusion and excellence” is “critical.” We couldn’t agree more.

Editor’s Note: Editor-in-Chief Jack Bartholet was not a member of the Editorial Board this week.