Clearly Offensive

To the Editors of The Crimson:

I am writting in response to students' request for clear statements from members of the administration regarding the language used in Peninsula's advertisement of an event they first called "Spade Kicks: the Negro as a Paradigm of Sexual Liberation."

I would like to point out the issues that students have brought to my office in order that the nature and extent of the offense is understood.

It should be known to everyone that the content of the flyer, specifically the use of the words "spade" and "Negro," are regarded as highly offensive and unacceptable to members of the Black community, the general Harvard-Radcliffe community and the Office of Race Relations and Minority Affairs.

In addition to the derogatory terms used in reference to African Americans, students have noted that the title's assertion of the "Negro as a Paradigm of Sexual Liberation" invokes negative and hurtful stereotypes to Black sexuality.

Black sexuality has been consistently exploited in Literature and the media to reinforce negative perceptions of Black males and devalue the intellectual and other human capacities of Blacks in general. All in all, the imagery, language and perceptions presented in this flyer perpetuate the most stereotypically derogatory ideas projected about Black people.

After these concerns were raised, the Peninsula retracted the original flyers and posted new ones. The altered flyer renames the event, "The Sexual Revolution Among Blacks: How the White Left Poisoned the Civil Rights Movement, How the Sexual Revolution Decimated the Black Family, How the Civil Rights Movement Let it Happen."

We uphold the Peninsula's right to publicize and hold the event; we also affirm the value of exchanging a broad spectrum of race-related perspectives. However, we feel it is important that the members of the Peninsula and the community understand that the second flyer suggests the same unfair stereotypes presented in the first.

We hope everyone recognizes the nature of the pain and anger this publicity campaign has ignited among fellow community members. Hilda Hernandez-Gravelle   Assistant Dean   Race Relations and Minority Affairs