by Dr. Boyce Watkins

A peculiar controversy has erupted at the University of Akron after campus officials sent out an email with a special message for its black male students. The email was sent in response to a rise in crime around the campus, apparently designed to give black male students specific instructions on how to conduct themselves in response to the crime wave. The email has upset many members of the University of Akron community, who argue that the email stinks of racial bias.

The email tells black male students to ensure that they “cooperate with police” when they are stopped. It then goes on to tell them not to use profanity, not to run and to be sure to show ID.

“As you may be aware, a series of robberies have occurred around campus over the last few weeks particularly on the south and east ends of campus. Although, most of these crimes have not been committed by University of Akron students, the primary suspects have been African American Males between the ages of 18-23.

Your safety as well as the safety of all UA students is of utmost concern. As a result of these robberies, The University of Akron Police Department is actively addressing this issue and working to make the campus and the surrounding areas safe for all students.

Furthermore, as African American Male students, it is critical to ensure you that you are not a target based on race and gender. However, to ensure your safety, I advise you to be aware of your surroundings at all times.

In the event that you are stopped by the police, here are a few tips to follow:

Cooperate fully with questions

Identify yourself as a UA student and please carry identification with you at all times

Even if you are angered, refrain from using profanity as you could be charged with disorderly conduct

Do not run from the police as you could be charged with a crime

However, in the event that you believe you have been treated unfairly or in an inappropriate manner, please call (330) 330-972-2911 tel:330-972-2911 to make a formal complaint or feel free to contact my office at (330) 972-8289.”

Apparently, Akron is an interesting place. It also happens to be the town where a black single mother, Kelley Williams Bolar, now has a felony record for life after using her father’s address to send her children to a better school. It appears that the racism doesn’t just stop with Kelley’s case, but is a pervasive issue in the Akron community. Kelley was recently denied clemency, so this hard-working mother seeking a better life will likely never be allowed to teach again in the state of Ohio.

THAT is what towns like Akron, as well as police and government officials, think about black people.

The email sent by University of Akron officials, allegedly designed for the “safety” of black students, is interesting because what it inadvertently does is give the police a license to racially profile African Americans on and around the campus area. The translation for the message would be the following: ”Make sure you clearly show us that you are not one of THOSE black people by identifying yourselves clearly and not behaving like one of THEM. We know there is a temptation for people like you to get belligerent when under the bright light of police persecution, but the best thing for you to do is to remain calm, quiet and polite as the officers seek to determine if you are one of the people we are allowed to abuse.”

They might as well have said, “All black men on campus, be ready to show your papers.”

This email sent out by a University of Akron official (reports aren’t specifying exactly who sent it) was not designed for the safety of black male students. It was written to maintain the safety of everyone else – why would black men need protection from the people (police) who are supposed to be protecting us? The email was also written to sort University of Akron students from the rest of the black male population of Akron as police seek to sniff out the bad guys. Just so you know, every black male in the city of Akron who doesn’t go to college is a potential bad guy in the eyes of the police.

What’s also interesting about this message and others like it is that they almost always fail to mention the rampant criminality and moral failings of many white college students. As quick as Akron authorities are to throw an innocent black mother like Kelley Williams-Bolar in jail for trying to get her kids into a better school (as they publicly chastise and humiliate her for not accepting the state-sanctioned failing school near her housing projects), they are typically hesitant to conduct raids on white male fraternity houses on the weekends. It’s ironic that the finger-wagging is usually reserved for people of color, while a slew of felonies, including drug abuse, sexual assaults and toxic levels of alcohol consumption by minors, are being committed every day on college campuses all across the country.

The University of Akron needs to issue an immediate apology to the entire campus community. Additionally, the students at the university should challenge the administration on this matter and confront the ignorance of this correspondence (as well as the thinking and culture that produced it). None of this behavior is acceptable and black males should not be the recipients of second-class citizenship. All of this makes the University of Akron and its city look very bad to the rest of the country.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary sent to your email, please click here.