Exclusion of Whites Provokes Investigation of DuBois Speech

The exclusion of between 50 and 100 white persons from a public speech in Sanders Theatre last night is going to lead to an investigation by the Commission of Inquiry.

The people were turned away from a lecture given by Shirley Graham DuBois, widow of W.E.B. DuBois '88, and sponsored by the Afro-American Studies Department. Some of those excluded were told that the meeting was open only to Afro-American Society members and their guests; others were told it was only open to "Africans."

Professor Ewart Guinier, chairman of the Afro Studies Department, circulated an Afro Department memorandum (dated January 8) inviting "the Harvard-Radcliffe community" to DuBois' speech. There were announcements of the lecture in both the CRIMSON and the Cambridge Chronicle, and Guinier personally invited members of the press to cover DuBois' address.

But about 8 black students alternating at the entrances to Sanders Theatre denied the meeting was sponsored by the Afro Department, and said that it was a mistake for the meeting to have been publicized.

Guinier said he was unaware that people were being barred from entering. He pointed to a couple of white faces in the theater to show that whites had in fact been admitted. "No one was authorized to say whites were excluded. The only people who were not allowed in were those who wanted to distribute leaflets. They were asked to distribute their material outside the building," Guinier said.

He added, "I personally saw whites go in at 7:25 p.m., when I went into the theater."

Archie C. Epps III, dean of students, said last night he is "ready to receive descriptions" of the incident. "Should these prove that discrimination did occur I would plan to initiate a review of the practice of closed meetings," he said.

By late last night, both Epps and the CRIMSON had received several phone calls complaining of the incident at Sanders Theatre, and at least one written complaint was handed to Epps. Epps announced that he was referring the matter to the Commission of Inquiry for findings of fact and recommendations.

Previous Incidents

There have been at least two meetings in the past between students and administration officials to discuss similar incidents. One involved a colloquium course-AAS 95-required of all Afro Studies concentrators. In October 1969, Willie Ricks, a former SNCC coordinator, announced that he wanted all white students to leave the room. A meeting between white concentrators and Vic Glassberg, a tutor in Afro-American Studies, followed the incident.

The result was that Guinier, who said he was unaware of Ricks' announcement, said he would make sure that all speakers would be told ahead of time that they would be speaking to integrated audiences.

A second incident involved a colloquium on William Styron's Confessions of Nat Turner, where white Afro-American Studies concentrators again com-plained of exclusion. At the time, the sponsoring students were warned by Epps that "in principle" such meetings are public and attendance can-not be restricted to blacks.

The Commission of Inquiry was established after the publication of the Fainsod Report, and contains 5 members-including Epps; Roger Rosenblatt, acting Master of Dunster House; Doris Kearns, assistant professor of Government; Paul Masaracchio '71; and Marshall B. Strauss '72.

Professor Orlando Patterson, a member of the executive committee of the Afro Department, said last night, "I think that it's outrageous. It's happened before. My own position, and I've always been clear about this, is that if the department is going to sponsor this kind of thing, and use the University's facilities, then no white person should be excluded.

"The Afro Center exists for any meetings that might be limited to concentrators only, but it's an outrageous situation when people are excluded from a public meeting," he added.