Open Letter to the Graduating Students of Medgar Evers College

June 1, 2013 Dear Graduates, We, the Central Brooklyn Blacks Legislators Coalition, congratulate you today on the day of your graduation; a day on which you are recognized for having achieved an incredibly important milestone. Please know that we love you, and have done and will continue to do all in our power to facilitate your career goals, and preserve the institution of Medgar Evers College, which has made this graduation possible. However, we have made a collective decision not to attend today’s ceremonies and in our stead, to write this letter to openly and publicly laud your achievements. Please understand that our absence from your graduation ceremonies on June 1st does not diminish our love, pride and appreciation for you and your achievements. Rather, it is an indication of our will to preserve the true mission of Medgar Evers College, and honor the name of Medgar Evers Wiley, who made the ultimate sacrifice. In the early 1960s, when the Bedford-Stuyvesant community leaders demanded and eventually negotiated for the establishment of a City University college in central Brooklyn, they decided to name it after a Black hero, Medgar Wiley Evers, who died on June 12, 1963. Medgar Evers was assassinated because of his courageous efforts to empower Black people through promoting voter registration, and aggressively seeking equality and justice as he served as Field Secretary of the Mississippi NAACP. Medgar Evers fought for our future: yours, ours, and the generations that come after us. We are not only aware of the history of Medgar Evers College, we were a part of that history, and equally important, we understand the mission of the college the founders struggled to establish. Quite simply – Medgar Evers College will be a partner in the empowerment of its student body and in transforming them to whom and where they need to be. At the present time, however, we and many other community leaders, members of the clergy, faculty members and students are opposed to the Board of Trustees and the Chancellor of CUNY, who wish to change that mission. If they have their way, Medgar will no longer embody the dreams of a community. There are a number of ways the Board and Chancellor have demonstrated their disinterest in Medgar’s unique vision and mission among CUNY Institutions. Most recently, they have shown disrespect to the elected officials who represent practically all of the Black people in Brooklyn. Despite our unanimous request of them to effect healing and change at Medgar, the Board of Trustees and CUNY’s Chancellor have refused to: 1) Accept Dr. William Pollard’s resignation immediately; 2) Immediately appoint an Interim Acting President of Medgar Evers College; and 3) Cease and desist the false national search for a permanent president, which in reality is hardly any search at all, departs from CUNY’s own regulations and processes, would be considered completely insufficient at any other institution of higher education, and is a calculated act of disrespect to the Black community of Brooklyn, and particularly to our students; our future, you. We are not physically here with you today on this joyous occasion, your day to celebrate your achievement. However, we are with you in spirit, as is everyone who took part in the Civil Rights Movement and the fight to end segregation, bring about racial equality, and equality of economic opportunity. We are with you, and we have been you. Our absence today is not a sign of disrespect to you. Rather, it is a sign of our utmost respect for you and your achievement, and for the institution that helped bring you to this moment of your triumph. Our absence is also the beginning of a collective strategy to confront the City University from the federal, state, and city levels in order to gain fairness and justice for those who are coming after you, and indeed for our entire community. Yours in Partnership, Congressmember Yvette D. Clarke Councilmember Albert Vann Assemblymember Annette M. Robinson Assemblymember Walter T. Mosley Councilmember Charles Barron Senator Kevin Parker Senator Eric Adams Assemblymember Inez Barron Councilmember Letitia James Councilmember Jumanne Williams