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Last month “J. Lane, W&L, Class of 1974” placed a commentary in this paper about two recent events at W&L under the title above.
One was a talk by Rodney Cook, Jr. (W&L ’78), son of a longtime Atlanta civic leader, Rodney Cook, Sr. (W&L ’48).
Wikipedia notes, “in 1962 Rodney Cook, Sr, gave a speech in the Georgia State Capitol to take down the ‘Peyton Wall,’ a barrier built to stop black citizens from moving into a white section of Atlanta. His speech incited the K.K.K. to burn a cross on the lawn of his home.”
He also “contested systems that discriminated against minorities, particularly in regard to housing rules.”
Cook, Sr. “was one of five white representatives (out of 205) who voted to seat the duly elected African-American candidate Julian Bond in the state legislature in 1966.”
The Spectator reported that Cook, Jr. had brought a replica of a bronze statue of Martin Luther King that was to be installed at Atlanta’s Rodney Cook, Sr. Peace Park in April, the 55th anniversary of [King’s] assassination.
“The 16-acre park opened ‘as a monument to harmony in Atlanta,’ intending to recognize 300 years of Georgia peacemakers including Dr. King, Rep. John Lewis, Andrew Young, and Cook’s father, Rodney Cook, Sr.”
Cook, Jr. was introduced by Alveda King, a niece of Dr. King, concluding, “I am hopeful my words and Rodney’s will help bring your community and our American community back together again.”
The Ring-tum Phi reported, “Roughly 50 attendees … quietly seated themselves in University Chapel at 7:15 p.m., 15 minutes before Rodney Cook, Jr., was scheduled to speak,” adding that a protesting group of “over 100 law and undergraduate students gathered outside.” They entered shortly after.
The Ring-tum Phi quoted Cook, Jr, as saying, “Lee’s decision to lead Washington and Lee after the Civil War inspired Cook, Sr. to pursue this career.
“My father was convinced that Lincoln won the war, but Lee won the peace. Many would have perpetuated guerilla warfare if [Lee] had given the word. He did the opposite, and that compelled my father to continue Lee’s legacy of rebuilding the south.”
This divide between those who vilify Lee because he was himself a slave owner and led the Army of Northern Virginia and those who burnish his reputation for surrendering his army, ordering them to peacefully return home, and taking the modest position of president at a small college in rural Virginia is what fueled the protest.
When Cook, Jr. began to speak the student protestors silently and peacefully got up and walked out.
Those who want to look back, instead of forward, can always find a disqualifying imperfection.
Considering there were very few white politicians supporting desegregation in the South in the 1960s, Rodney Cook, Sr., a white, Southern politician, was a rare hero of the civil rights movement.
There should be no litmus test for an ally who shares a common goal but gets there by a different route. Respect for Robert E. Lee motivated, and should not diminish, the Cooks’ efforts for racial reconciliation.
The second event was a scheduled talk at W&L by Matt Walsh. It was protested by students and faculty with a petition calling on him to be banned garnering over 600 signatures.
It became a non-event when Walsh canceled because of death threats at home in Tennessee.
Walsh is quoted as having said, “I didn’t go to college and that has proven to be one of the smartest decisions I have ever made.”
After reading some of the things he has decided on, I’d have to say that’s a low bar to brag on.
He labels himself a “theocratic fascist” in his Twitter biography. The only “theocratic fascists” I know of are the government of Iran and the Islamic State.
Walsh is a professional provocateur. He thrives in a world that feeds on the fear and hatred that dystopia gives birth to, promoting conspiracy theories and far-right scare topics.
However, like the Cook controversy, these are ideas that should be allowed into the public discourse.
It’s not up to a college president or a student group to censor anyone.
A friend of mine once pointed out that freedom of speech is a great thing. It gives us all a chance to learn what people are thinking.
The L.G.B.T.Q. community and those supporting women’s rights should be giving people like Walsh every opportunity to speak.
Who better to out them than they themselves?
I imagine the outrage Mr. Lane expressed is dwarfed by the outrage he must share with me over the January 6th, 2021 insurrection, not an instance of a university president rightfully upholding freedom of speech, but an instance of a president of the United States trying to overturn an election he knew he lost. A president exhorting supporters to march on the Capitol and “fight like hell” for an autogolpe that would keep him in power.
Real windows were broken, police officers were attacked with some dying, a gallows was erected for a dissenting vice president, and elected officials were sought to assault.
One never knows what route brings likeminded allies together.
