President Bill Clinton has chosen one of the University's finest scholars-John Hope Franklin, James B. Duke professor emeritus of history-to play an integral part in his new initiative on race relations, naming him chair of his presidential advisory board.
Best known for writing the definitive text on slavery in America, "From Slavery to Freedom," Franklin, 82, will join Clinton and six other nationally renowned leaders in a year-long focus on issues of race.
The year's plans include a series of town-hall meetings and special events, including the 40th anniversary celebration of the Sept. 25, 1957, federal enforcement of the Brown v. Board of Education decision at Little Rock High School in Little Rock, Ark. The initiative will culminate with a June 1997 report from the president on race in America.
Clinton kicked off the initiative during a commencement address at the University of California at San Diego last Saturday. In addition to labeling America's racial problems "the unfinished work of our time," Clinton recounted a litany of injustices levied against minorities by the U.S. government.
"He said a lot of things that we've not heard coming from someone in that office," said Franklin, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, from Clinton in 1995. "It gives us reason to feel that, maybe, this is the person to make the difference."
The members of the advisory board accompanied the president at the commencement address. Aboard Air Force One, the president asked Franklin and other board members to help revise his speech-an act, Franklin said, that "indicated [his] willingness to take ideas from other people."
"He knows very well that we're not sycophants," Franklin said. "We're not here to express our approval of his administration."
Sylvia Matthews, deputy White House chief of staff, said in a statement that the panel was selected from an initial list of 250 candidates.
"What we tried to do," she said, "was get a balance of people that represented a number of different things so we could have a good mix of advice going in to the president."
The president's advisory board is composed of:
¥ Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook, senior pastor of the Bronx Christian Fellowship;
¥ Thomas Kean, former Republican governor of New Jersey;
¥ Angela Oh, past president of the Korean American Bar Association of Southern California;
¥ Robert Thomas, president and CEO of Nissan Motor Corp.;
¥ Linda Chavez Thompson, executive vice president of the AFL-CIO;
¥ William Winter, former Democratic governor of Mississippi.
Christopher Edley, a professor at Harvard Law School who has served previously as special counsel to the president, will be a consultant to the board.
Already, Clinton's initiative has been criticized by many as a political move that lacks substance. Franklin said he "has no respect" for such dissenters.
"These naysayers have powers of foresight which I do not have," Franklin said. "I take a much more humble stand. We've met once. How can I say what we will accomplish? I cannot say that we will contribute nothing, just as I cannot say that we will change the world."
Franklin also expressed concern about the public discourse on the topic thus far, much of which has focused on whether or not the government should issue an official national apology for slavery.
"People are thinking in terms of the burden of slavery, but if it was just that, it would have ended with the 13th Amendment," Franklin said. "The burden is the ideology of race that began in the 17th century, was perfected in the American Revolution and was elaborated through the 19th and 20th centuries.
"What I am talking about is a theory of racial superiority," he continued. "We have Thomas Jefferson saying that blacks were inferior in their reasoning, that they were not proper in their lovemaking. Take that and elaborate on it for two more centuries, and you reach the point we are at now."
Franklin said the advisory board has not set a complete schedule but plans to meet July 14 or 15. He added that he does not know what time commitment will be involved, although board membership is not a full-time position.
University officials said they were thrilled-and not at all surprised-with Franklin's appointment.
"I can think of no one better suited to help the president lead a national conversation on race in America today than John Hope Franklin," said John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs.
Alex Roland, chair of the history department, cited Franklin's "social and administrative skills" as assets that are rarely pointed out but crucial to his successes.
"[His] authority will be important in having [the advisory board's] recommendation taken seriously," he said.
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