Rutgers–again–betrays the legacy of Paul Robeson. For $11 million.
Paul Robeson was nothing less than a “force of nature,” according to the cover article in the most recent Rutgers Magazine, an alumni publication. He lived a “remarkable life” that “stirred the world.” He left behind “an extraordinary legacy in athletics, the arts, and…the fight for human rights.”
But, no matter how powerful a force of nature–no matter how remarkable his life–no matter how he shook the world–no matter how extraordinary his legacy to athletics, arts and activism–
Rutgers simply cannot admit to its role in the destruction of the man’s reputation and his claim to honor in American history. Cannot, even now, admit its efforts to nullify that “extraordinary legacy.”
And cannot, while it continues to sell–or, more accurately, rent–the university’s own legacy to the highest bidders, concede the university’s leadership has never properly honored Paul Robeson.
Just days after Rutgers Magazine published its tribute–entitled “A Pioneer Like No Other”–the university’s leadership decided to rename Rutgers Stadium, not after its most famous football player and an internationally renowned actor and singer, but–almost comically–after an IT firm named SHI International. The rent for use of the Rutgers’ name for business purposes is something less than $11 million over the next seven years.
The adolescent jokes about the name of SHI stadium–where university CONTINUE READING: Rutgers–again–betrays the legacy of Paul Robeson. For $11 million. |
