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American Morning
Race Relations Past and Present
Aired May 02, 2001 - 10:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Two stories we're following this morning, both dealing with the issue of race relations both past and present. CNN's Martin Savidge is on the campus of Penn State University. That is where a town hall meeting has done little to ease the tensions ignited by racist death threats.
In Birmingham, Alabama, we'll be talking to former Mayor Richard Arrington. He'll be discussing last night's conviction of a former Klansmen accused of a 1963 church bombing that killed four black girls.
We're going to start at Penn State and Martin. Marty, good morning.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn. The state attorney general of Pennsylvania has now appointed a special investigator to look into the death threats that have been made against African-American students here on the campus of Penn State University.
Meanwhile, the protest by several hundred students is continuing inside of the student center. They are angered and in some cases frightened by a lesson in hatred that they say they never signed up for.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): On the campus of Penn State University, the flicker of candles chases away the darkness. This vigil it's hoped will help lift another darkness some students say has descended on campus, racial intolerance.
At the nearby student union, nearly 200 students are in their ninth day of sitting in and sleeping in to draw attention to racial problems on campus. A number of African-American students and athletes on this rural, sprawling university have received anonymous death threats.
Lakeisha Wolf, the president of the Student Black Caucus, has been threatened four times. She now has been given bodyguards while the FBI investigates.
LAKEISHA WOLF, PRESIDENT, STUDENT BLACK CAUCUS, PENN STATE UNIVERSITY: There is a lack -- a definite lack of communication between the athletic department, the president, and police. There is a definite cover-up that is going on here.
SAVIDGE: Two weeks ago, protesting students took to the field before a scrimmage football game, prompting 23 arrests. They claim university leaders are not doing enough to encourage diversity. Of the 41,000 students on campus, only four percent are minorities.
JEFF JOHNSON, NATIONAL YOUTH DIRECTOR, NAACP: In many cases, the university has allowed an environment of tolerance for racism and racist acts to fester on this campus and in this community.
SAVIDGE: Penn State officials deny the charges and say the problem begins with the students' home communities, not on campus.
GRAHAM SPANIER, PENN STATE PRESIDENT: I think we have racism in our society. It's all around us. It's in every community. And it plays out prominently on university campuses, I believe, because every year at a place like Penn State we have 14,000 new students who arrive on a campus like this, and we also have about 14,000 students who leave. They bring with them biases and prejudices and experiences from their communities.
SAVIDGE: The university is spending an additional $1 million on African-American studies. Still, at least one university official says the protesters may have some valid points but are expressing them in the wrong way.
TERREL JONES, PENN STATE UNIVERSITY VICE PRESIDENT: I am in complete agreement with their assessment of the university and what we need to do and the things we need to do to make progress. I think I disagree with tactics.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: University officials here at Penn state say that they are involved in discussions with the student protesters. And they also report that they believe they are very close to coming up with a resolution.
That sentiment, though, is not repeated by the student protesters inside the student union. They are nowhere near as optimistic. Classes on the campus here are scheduled to wrap up on Friday. The protests, though, could go on longer than that, Daryn.
KAGAN: Marty, it looks like you have a little bit of company behind you. And while they put their signs up and try to get some free air time, we'll ask you the question, with graduation around the corner, are there concerns about safety for those ceremonies?
SAVIDGE: There has been concern. And that concern, in fact, is growing. The NAACP arrived on campus yesterday. And they have been asking for tighter security measures. They would like to see metal detectors that would be brought in. And they would also like to see people physically frisked as they go into the ceremonies. They are slated to begin on May 11 and actually will go on for several days. I believe there are as many as 12 different ceremonies that will take place here on the campus, Daryn. KAGAN: Big school. Martin Savidge at Penn state, thank you.
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