Clay Condemns Racist Incidents at UM-Columbia Campus, Expresses Solidarity With Concerned Student 1950 Protesters

Clay Condemns Racist Incidents at UM-Columbia Campus, 

Expresses Solidarity With Concerned Student 1950 Protestors

Presses University of Missouri System President Wolfe to 

Transform Atmosphere of Intolerance to Culture of Inclusion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 9, 2015                              

MEDIA CONTACT:

STEVEN ENGELHARDT (314) 504-4029 
 

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri issued this first-person statement after speaking with Mr. Timothy Wolfe, President of the University of Missouri System and former MU Deputy Chancellor Michael Middleton, regarding the repeated incidents of racial intolerance at Mizzou, the current student protests, and the ongoing hunger strike by Mr. Jonathan Butler, a graduate student at the MU-Columbia campus

“Over the last 24-hours, I have had urgent conversations with Mr. Timothy Wolfe, President of the University of Missouri System and former MU Deputy Chancellor Michael Middleton in which I expressed my grave concerns regarding the repeated incidents of racial and religious intolerance at Mizzou. 

I also expressed my solidarity with the Concerned Student 1950 protestors and my serious concern for the health and well-being of Mr. Jonathan Butler, a graduate student who is engaged in an on-going hunger strike.  My senior staff has also reached out to Mr. Butler’s family, and while I stand in solidarity with him and I applaud his personal courage, I implore him to not allow this protest to cause permanent damage to his health. 

I have been a champion for higher education and the University of Missouri System for more than three decades, first as a state legislator and then as a Member of Congress. I also authored Missouri’s landmark Hate Crimes statute which outlaws the hateful and outrageous acts of bigotry that have brought great pain to the UM-Columbia campus.

The fight for racial equality and real inclusion, including at our state’s flagship public university is a long-term struggle that will require the Board of Curators, university leadership, faculty and students to honestly address the painful history of racism at the UM-Columbia campus and take all necessary steps to make every student feel safe, welcome and appreciated. Mizzou belongs to all of us, and we need to work together to transform an atmosphere of intolerance into a culture of inclusion." 

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