A rocky moment with Julianne Malveaux
An otherwise good editorial board interview with Julianne Malveaux yesterday had one rocky moment:
When the new president of Bennett College refused to discuss her comments about the wrongly charged former Duke lacrosse players, then accused us of "mean-spiritedness" for publishing critical letters of her during Bennett's commencement weekend.
A week after N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper cleared the three men accused of sexual assault and other charges, concluding that there was no evidence a crime occurred, Malveaux lashed out at them during an NPR discussion. insisting "something happened" and declaring them "bad apples."
I wasn't at all surprised Malveaux declined to speak about those comments yesterday. In my opinion, they're indefensible. I was definitely taken aback by her attitude about the letters to the editor. Malveaux, a long-time columnist, should know better than to expect a newspaper not to print critical letters from its readers.
Well, how many letters are we talking about? Malveaux said seven. But counting Bennett's commencement weekend as Friday, May 4, through Sunday, May 6, the actual number was one -- this one on Saturday, May 5. And its publication was not timed to coincide with commencement.
I'm sorry we had this unpleasant moment in our interview, and I hope the balance of our meeting was more indicative of the relationship we'll have with Malveaux, who promises to be an interesting and influential newcomer to Greensboro.
We'll have extensive reporting of the interview in print, as well as audio and video on the Web site.
Comments (4)
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Since Dr. Malveaux seems to have possession of some insider knowledge of the Duke event, has anyone considered the possibility that Dr. Malveaux may have actually been there that night, perhaps moonlighting in either a professional advisory capacity or perhaps even as a fellow entertainer farther down on the bill?
Who knows? Maybe we shouldn't conclude that she's just conjecturing after all.
Posted on June 8, 2007 9:14 AM
I'm sorry we had this unpleasant moment in our interview, *Doug
Look on the bright side of the interview Doug! At least you didn't get slapped and toss down the stairs at the office by the good Doctor. I believe the good Doctor had every reason to suspect something was wrong at the start of the Duke investigation. Racial History in this state was on her side and it will take a long time to heal this bitter struggle in this nation that seeks to divide us. Move on! People are entitled to their opinions and she is not guilty of any major political correct answer.
Posted on June 8, 2007 12:02 PM
Once again, the ugly double standard for racism in this country rears its ugly head.
Props to the college though. Racially polarizing leaders are sure draw the best and brightest to a city tainted by a stinky racial fart cloud that Greensboro loves to smell. I'm sure they'll want to stick around when they're finished.
Maybe they should ask, what would Dr. King do? What would John Adams say?
Posted on June 8, 2007 9:10 PM
Once again, the ugly double standard for racism in this country rears its ugly head.
Props to the college though. Racially polarizing leaders are sure draw the best and brightest to a city tainted by a stinky racial fart cloud that Greensboro loves to smell. I'm sure they'll want to stick around when they're finished.
Maybe they should ask, what would Dr. King do? What would John Adams say?
Posted on June 8, 2007 9:11 PM