Summers and Students Need To Feel Cultural Rhythm

A little over a week ago was the 17th annual Cultural Rhythms festival hosted by the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, and once again it was an incredible show. From the aerial acrobatics of the first group, Bhangra, to the class-pride of the last group, the ’05 Steppers, the performances were all of high quality. As this year’s host, Blair Underwood, said, “This is simply stunning. I’ve seen some people in Hollywood who you look at and say, ‘How did they get into Hollywood?’ But the performances here have been incredible. And to think you do this while taking classes too.” Underwood spoke eloquently and humorously between the acts and as the guest host. He was friendly towards students whether they were asking for autographs or serving him food in the Science Center.

It was because the show was so beautiful to watch that it was also so painful. Nearly every aspect of the performance was surrounded by some element of bad feelings or controversy. As always, tickets for the show sold out in two days, as students anxiously awaited their chance to meet the mystery guest. But with students dreaming of Lenny Kravitz and Salma Hayek, the announcement of Blair Underwood came as a disappointment to some. “Who?” was a common reaction to the news. While one can’t blame the students for being disappointed at not getting who they wanted as host—and things always come up last minute that cause people to sell their tickets over e-mail lists the day of the show—this year actually saw some scalpers prices outside the theatre fall below cost value.

Lost in all the anticipation of the big-name host, was the fact that the host isn’t the point of the day. The day is about the student performers, and the sharing of the diverse cultures of the groups represented. And while Blair Underwood may not be as well known or mainstream as Jackie Chan or Will Smith, he has been in television and movies since the 1980’s and is quite popular in African-American communities. He raises money for multiple sclerosis research and is more qualified to host a show about different cultures than, say, Matt Damon.

For those who could see past the glare of the host’s spotlight and did attend the nearly full first show, they got two shows for the price of one. S. Allen Counter, the director of the Foundation, had no idea what he was getting himself into when he called University President Lawrence H. Summers on stage. Standing next to Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68, Counter and Underwood, Summers would have looked out of place even if he were wearing a suit. Summers said a few words about the importance of diversity before commending Underwood on his long career as an actor and his humanitarian work. The problem was that Summers did all of this with his back to the other three men on stage, even while speaking directly to them. Then after he finished his words, Underwood moved in to shake his hand. Instead, Summers merely handed the microphone to Lewis and walked off stage, prompting at least one section of students to boo.

While it’s possible that Summers merely did not see Underwood’s offered hand, students seated from the front row to the balcony did. They also noticed the look of disgust on Summers’ face while he was on-stage and even while he was watching the acts perform—that is, the acts to which he paid any attention at all. It should not come as any surprise though, that Summers was uncomfortable on Saturday. With only a few exceptions, every performer was wearing a green ribbon in support of ethnic studies, and many other people were wearing larger green buttons. Meanwhile, the University has remained steadfast in its view that there is no need for an ethnic studies department because it is cross-disciplinary. (Of course, as any student knows, there is in actuality very little mentioned about ethnic studies in most any department.) While it is one thing to not be happy about attending the show, one would still expect the Summers to act professionally. It is his job to represent the University at official functions, and the image that Summers projected was disappointing.

Equally disappointing is that many students are more obsessed with big named performers than they are interested in the diversity of culture and arts on campus. And the actions of Summers put an air of contention around the day’s events as they were happening. The performers did not deserve to be slighted by spoiled students who only care about meeting someone who is rich and famous. Underwood did not deserve to have articles written about him calling him unworthy to be a host. And no Harvard student who has been working hard on planning the day for the past few months deserves to have Summers show such disrespect. Cultural Rhythms is supposed to be about more than just name-dropping, shoulder-rubbing and bad politics, but that’s how it was treated by many this year. What a shame.

Isaac J. Weiler ’02 is an Afro-American Studies concentrator affiliated with Pforzhiemer House. He is president of the Black Men’s Forum.