Black Emory Univ. staff fight back against slurs

Jet, Dec 22, 2003

Twenty-seven African-American faculty members and administrators at Emory University in Atlanta recently wrote the school's president a letter to request that action be taken following a controversial racial remark made by a White faculty member.

The letter to President James Wagner comes after a complaint had been flied with the university's Equal Opportunity Programs Office by assistant anthropology professor Tracy Rone against anthropology Professor Carol Worthman.

Rone said that in September Worthman, who is White, used a derogatory phrase in reference to Blacks during a panel discussion where she was the only Black among the audience of anthropology faculty and graduate students.

Excerpts from the letter written by the staff read, "We find it unconscionable that Professor [Carol] Worthman, a former chair of the Department of Anthropology, would make an offhand racial reference to 'niggers in a woodpile,' a phrase she casually used on Sept. 15 in response to a panel discussion observing the departments 25th anniversary," reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Worthman said she used the offending phrase to explain how the field of biological anthropology is viewed by cultural anthropologist outside of Emory. "I am distressed that I offended unintentionally," she said.

The office recommended Worthman be sanctioned and that Rone receive written and public verbal apologies from Worthman and department chair George Armelagos.

To assist in improving the recent tensions on the campus faculty members requested that action be taken promptly. The recommendations listed in the letter suggested an action plan to address systemic problems of racism at Emory be implemented; that an external review of the Office of Equal Opportunity Program's mission, policies, procedures and practices be initiated; and that the university support the hiring of a vice provost of Minority Affairs.