Dear Bethune-Cookman 2017 Grads, Thank You For Telling Betsy Devos “Nah”
Everything is stupid and nothing makes sense. Betsy Devos was the commencement speaker at Bethune-Cookman University today. Bethune-Cookman, a Historically-Black College/University, chose the Education Secretary none of us wanted, Betsy “What are public schools?” DeVos, to send their graduates off. In return, the students met her with boos, jeers and backs turned. To them, I say thank you.
Dear Bethune-Cookman 2017 Graduates,
Y’all are the real MVPs. Really and truly. I am applauding you with the fervor I’d use during praise and worship right now. You know the kind of clapping that’s heavy-handed, and leaves your palms red and burning? The one your Grandma can keep going for 30 good minutes, and you wonder if she had an Apple Watch, how many steps it’d give her for that? That praise clap. You deserve the props, because today, you showed courage. You showed integrity. And you showed that you are more principled than the administration of people who are the ones supposed to show you what all those things are.
Before I can truly thank you, I need to apologize to you on behalf of people with sense, and people who saw what you’d have to be in presence with and scratched our heads. You were not supposed to be placed in the position to have to defy your school president and administration. You were not supposed to be asked to watch an idiot who would fail the curriculum you had to take, and applaud her. You were not supposed to have to cheer on the woman who is about to flush our kids’ futures down the river. NO YOU WERE NOT. But your GOOFASS administration decided that it was a good idea to have Betsy DeVos, in all her ignoramus glory, on your stage. The woman who always looks like in quiet moments, slow jazz plays in her head. The lady who probably still says “colored people” when she’s at High Tea with her girls, the other Miss Annes. It defied all logic but it must have been led by stupidity and greed.
UGH.
The disrespect shown to y’all in that choice was Kilimanjaro high, because it wasn’t a decision made based on what was best for you. Why would Miss Daisy be the special guest at this HBCU’s graduation, talkless of the fact she’s Darth Miss Daisy? WHAT SENSE DID IT MAKE?
Of all the Black people who are doing amazing shit in the world. They went with a white woman whose entire life of mediocrity has been made possible thanks to her affluent caucasoid privilege. FOR AN HBCU GRADUATION. THAT was the woman they thought would be great to come give you words of wisdom as you take on the real world? That was the woman they awarded and honorary doctorate. Chei! See me see wahala (trouble). I know y’all did a collective WTF when that was announced. The rest of us were doing it with you. Was Auntie Maxine Waters busy?? Couldn’t they have invited her?
So on today, when that useless nonentity took the stage, y’all showed out by drowning her words out in boos then turning your backs on her. Y’all Dikembe Mutombo’ed her by blocking her shot. And the ancestors smiled upon you, for your gesture of GTFOH. Harriet, Sojourner, and Mary McLeod Bethune herself, did a dance from the great beyond.
Because in these acts of defiance, you showed that you are more brave than the rubber-backed people who run your school and placed a stamp of approval on one of Cheeto Satan’s collaborators.
“If we accept and acquiesce in the face of discrimination, we accept the responsibility ourselves. We should, therefore, protest openly everything … that smacks of discrimination or slander.” – Mary McLeod Bethune
I’m so embarrassed for Bethune-Cookman’s president Edison Jackson, because he showed himself to be gutless. He fixed his mouth to tell y’all “If this behavior continues, your degrees will be mailed to you. Choose which way you want to go.” GET TO LICKING STAMPS, BRO. My address is 123 GimmeMyShit Lane. Willacoochee, GA. Send me my shit. Y’all paid too much money and ate too much shitty food for you to have to take this. MAIL MY DAMB DIPLOMA THEN! I already got pics of me smizing in my cap and gown for the Gram anyway. Talk about adding insult to injury. That threat had me even more heated.
THEY GAVE THIS WOMAN AN HONORARY DOCTORATE. I just… the fact that y’all didn’t bumrush the stage is a testament to your level of chill. Or that you didn’t pelt her with rotten tomatoes.
Anywho, I’m just here to tell y’all I’m proud of you for taking that stand.
Please keep this fight in you as you go out unto the world. Don’t let the Edison Jacksons of the world threaten it out of you. Keep calling bullshit on the things that require it. And know that many of us are giving your high fives from afar. We won’t let people call you “hecklers.” Y’all are gahtdamb patriots.
HAPPY GRADUATING, CLASS OF 2017! May the Republic not burn down before you get your first bonus.
XOXO,
Luvvie
P.S. I’ve been told that Bethune-Cookman doesn’t have doctorate programs. SOOOO they gave Betsy Devos an honorary Ph.D. in Air?? Nice. Very nice.
P.P.S. A group of Black professors wrote a love letter to the Bethune-Cookman grads too. Shoutout to Yaba Blay for #WeAllWeGot! 215 Black academics signed it. LOVE!
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61 Comments
The woman who always looks like in quiet moments, slow jazz plays in her head
AHHHHH! Call the fire department! And a funeral home, bc I am DAYED.
He told them their degrees would be mailed to them if the behavior continued…… but usually colleges and universities mail degrees ANYWAY! That’s how it works.
Yeah, the give you a blank “diploma” as you walk, then make certain you’re all paid up before they mail the sheepskin.
CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2017, Demonstrating Democracy to all. I will long remember your Graduation!
I cannot begin to imagine what possessed someone to think that inviting her to speak would be an acceptable idea, let alone a good one. I got nothing.
Those kids…. excuse me… college graduates made me so proud!!!
For real. I would have walked RIGHT THE FUCK OUT in that moment.
“I’m so embarrassed for Bethune-Cookman’s president Edison Jackson, because he showed himself to be gutless. He fixed his mouth to tell y’all “If this behavior continues, your degrees will be mailed to you. Choose which way you want to go.” GET TO LICKING STAMPS, BRO.”
I thought Chicken George died in the first series of “Roots.” Nah, he’s back. Edison Jackson — HCIC (Head Coon in Charge)
I’m a FAMU graduate and the rivalry is strong. However, today I’m so proud of those young Wildcats!! They give me hope for the future.
SN- A friend pointed out a very simple, yet important, fact: How can they give her an honorary doctorate when the institution has no doctoral programs?? #fakedegreeforafakeeducationsecretary
#wewoke
Point well taken! These young graduates, are a testament to the future! They stood their ground. It was one of a few occasions when we can turn our backs safely.
I’m so proud of the 2017 graduating class of Bethune Cookman College!
The inside scuttle was that she promised to give them money.
*from my husband, a Howard Alum and someone who used to be part of the Black Higher ed power people.
see that’s was one of my beefs.
“Promised”????
If you are gonna embarrass your school with that level of coonery in allowing her to speak the damn check has to clear first. FOH promises
Feel free to flood the president’s inbox with your disapproval and concerns: Dr. Edison Jackson- jacksone@cookman.edu
Thanks. Done.
Done! Here is the full text of my email:
Good Afternoon Dr. Edison,
I am a proud member of the HBCU family (Grambling State University) and of continuing education. HBCU’s are our life’s blood in the Black/African American community. We thrive together as we learn to find our way in a world that often bows to the needs and whims of those without melanin in their skin. HBCU’s get us ready for that. But they also allow us time to just be proud to be Black and Educated. We revel in our culture as we learn and seek out those role models already in the world who might enhance that culture. As the president of an HBCU, you are – or should be – aware of this.
So it was with extreme sadness and disgust that I saw you allowed the speaker for the 2017 Commencement ceremony to be Betsy Devos, one of the worst human beings and enemy to education that exists today. Never mind the evil administration of which she is a part, I am disgusted that she is a proven enemy of education. An enemy of progress. An enemy of decency. An enemy of ALL children with melanin in their skin. An enemy of public education. And, more importantly, a straight-up, unapologetic enemy of Historically Black Colleges and Universities!! You Know This! So I cannot understand, for even a moment, how you thought inviting her to speak would be a good idea. It Was Not. What could she teach them about perseverance? About working hard to gain success? What beyond, “Be white, marry rich and donate millions to republicans” could she tell them about her “struggle” to reach her current position as an uneducated, school hating Education Secretary?
Moreover, your threats and attempt to silence the graduating class’s protest was demeaning, out of place and wrong. My sincere hope is that you will apologize sincerely for inviting Ms. Devos in the first place, and for ruining the commencement ceremony of your own students who worked hard to gain a degree that Ms. Devos’ privilege didn’t force her to attain. Additionally, as to degrees, for a college that does not offer doctoral degrees, how is it that you gave this wretched woman an honorary doctorate? How did that seem right to you? While others are saying you should be removed as president of Bethune-Cookman, I do not agree. You simply need to remember WHY you are at an HBCU and what that means to all of us. We in the black diaspora do not celebrate mediocrity. We strive for greatness, we know we must be twice as good to get half as far. And we prepare to do that in HBCUs. I humbly ask that you remember that before inviting a subpar, ignorant enemy of progress to speak at our HBCU.
Thank you and I look forward to seeing word of your apology to those students whose graduation was ruined.
Ms. Lorna
Ms. Lorna, your email was beautiful, passionate, and right on the mark.
Thank you!
Nice letter but Jackson should resign. As others have said, to invite an enemy of public education and a deputy of an enemy (tRump) who loathes anyone who isn’t white, male and (appears to be) rich insults the graduates, their families and HBCUs. For this alone, Jackson is unfit for the job and should resign or be replaced.
Here is my take on it. Betsy wanted to show that she still cared about “the coloreds” by paying this dean to speak at the commencement. I think she figured she could kill two black birds with one stone. Get the black folks out her hair and than gain supporters. The fact that you have a white women sitting in front of black students after she made such a horrible reference to “choices” and her track record on charter schools etc. Its deplorable. Good for them. I can’t stand her no way. She looks like she wipes back to front.
LMAO “She looks like she wipes back to front.” You have mastered the shading!!! Love it!
“Wipes back to front” ????????????
Not back to front. You think she throws the toilet paper in the trash can too? Yep.
Back2front. Trash throw’n. No hand wash’n.
Horrible. If she were a garbage pail kid, she’d be Back2front Betsy.
Wow! A university president with the “Uncle Tom Mentality”. You and The entire Administration needs to fired.
So very proud of them! How dare the administration ruin these students’ graduation with such a disrespectful Choice! The woman is an idiot and clearly the president of B-C sold them out for something….Just pathetic
As a Proud Wildcat and Graduate in the Class of 2010, I salute you! Thank you for breaking down what we (the alumni and students) have been saying since we found out about Betsy’s invitation to BCU. I am proud of the Wildcats for standing ALL THE WAY UP in Mary’s legacy and will always be. For anyone trying to diss them for doing so please read Dr. Bethune’s Last Will and Testament and tell me which part they DIDNT fulfill yesterday! Peace!
Ok graduates, proud of the protest! Now let’s not forget to vote 2018 and beyond to get these right wing millionaries (NUTS) out of office!!!!!
Wow, what was this president thinking! Does he not have any backbone. A representative of a HBCU, you should be ashamed. You have however, taught these graduates a valuable lesson in “Uncle Tomming.” We are all ashamed of you. To the graduates, “You guys Rock” Congrstulations and good luck to you all!
Hail Wildcats! I’m so proud of them for standing up for what is right! Dr. Bethune would be turning in her grave!
Our future is in good hands when graduates of the HBCU Bethune Cookman take a stand on principles and call out hypocrisy.
Bravo Class of 2017! Well done.
I think it would make sense, and I hope this happens in some capacity, for all remaining students to to offer a petition of No Confidence and submit it to the BOT. It may not have a real impact, but will definitely send a message. And they they will hopefully make his life, and anyone else responsible, very uncomfortable in being accountable for poor decision making.
Is there a transcript of where they list her many accomplishments in helping African Americans or HBCUs that warrant her receiving the honorary degree?
Cause I really need to see that list.
TRUTH! #wewantreceipts
that’s not fair, T. Coop! She has plenty of accomplishments in helping Blacks and every last one of them can be written on a fortune cookie slip of paper.
Well, half the paper.
Okay maybe 1/3 of the…
dang, never mind. she ain’t do nuffin’ for Black folks.
my bad.
:o)
Last I checked, degrees are sent by mail anyway… he tried it lmao.
I have to profess to being completely baffled by this. Has Mr. College President been out of the country for several months in a remote location with no TV, no Internet and no cell service? No cabinet appointee was more universally condemned as an enemy of public education and none more vehemently opposed by the public than Betsy Devos. It’s hard to think of an more inappropriate speaker for ANY institution of higher learned let alone a HBCU. What mental acrobatics did he have to perform to come to the conclusion that this wasn’t the case?
Congresswoman Waters spoke at our annual women’s caucus luncheon here in Cleveland Saturday and I think the students would have really enjoyed her speech. I am sorry we didn’t have some magic to transport them here.
They are my (S)heros whilst I stare Bethunely!!!! As for whatshisname jackson, uh!! You have nooooooo idea what the power of the ancestors can do!!! Madam Bethune was in da house! Did you really believe this would all work out in your favour for real…..may all the food you eat for the rest of your life never settle well in your stomach!!! Olosi Oloriburuku!! You have no idea that the ancestors are working overtime right now!!! idiot!!! (I wouldn’t be Nigerian if I didn’t finish this with idiot IDIOT!!) and Luuvie…ku she jare!!!!! keep the funk funking my dear!!! Your voice is our voice!!!
That school president. Not enough nopes in the world. The Negro Community Frowns on his Shenanigans. New conductor on the Coon Train.
every SINGLE day another one gives away their black cards and showing us who cannot get on the boat when we blackit. I am disgraced by their president AND EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO APPROVED THIS POOR… PISS POOR DECISION. I am sad for those graduates.
Kudos to the students. Shame to the administration. A special place in hell for Betsy DeVos.
Their conduct was in direct violation of the honor code of Bethune-Cookman.
https://www.cookman.edu/documents/admiss_docs/honorcode.pdf
I’m ashamed and embarrassed.
If their behavior is any indication of what they learned during their time at Bethune-Cookman, their education is worth less than the paper their degrees were printed on.
I’m ashamed and embarrassed that the unqualified president would let an unqualified businessperson buy their way into the position of Secretary of Education. Our shame, embarrassment, and $4 will get us one small coffee at Starbucks. At least these young folks had the guts to stand up for themselves.
I’m not sure why you hit “reply” to my comment, as the first two sentences of your reply have nothing to do with my comment.
Only: “At least these young folks had the guts to stand up for themselves.”
How does breaking the honor code show “guts to stand up”?
Ignoring logic, reason, critical thinking, decorum, civility, etc. does not equate to showing courage.
What they did simply displayed their inability to listen and reason.
“If we accept and acquiesce in the face of discrimination, we accept the responsibility ourselves. We should, therefore, protest openly everything … that smacks of discrimination or slander.” – Mary McLeod Bethune
Perhaps you didn’t hear or read the speech by Betsy Devos, but there was NO discrimination or slander, so I’m not sure why you used the quote above.
See: http://time.com/4774574/betsy-devos-bethune-cookman-university-commencement-2017-speech-read/
Again, this was a commencement speech at a graduation ceremony, and many of the students in attendance breached the honor code that they all pledged to uphold.
Sad commentary on the outcome of their education.
The students didn’t want her there. They have a right to enjoy a commencement speech by someone who they like and respect. There are so many other distinguished individuals who could have been chosen to speak on such an important occasion.
She gave her speech. She was protested. That’s perfectly fine with me. I’m so glad that I went to Howard University where someone like Devos wouldn’t be considered as a commencement speaker. She is part of an administration led by a madman and a racist. Find someone else.
The University President who invited her should step down.
Read the first two sentences of your post above.
You contradict yourself.
“They have a right to enjoy a commencement speech…”
To be able to “enjoy it”, they need to be able to hear it, no?
“The students didn’t want her there.”
There were, in fact, students there who wanted to listen and “enjoy” the commencement speech, but were unable to do so due to the inconsiderate behavior of many of the students.
Which is it?
Does might make right?
Do you see the flaw in your point of view?
What if only one student did not “approve” and used a bullhorn to disrupt the commencement speech and spoiled it for the others?
Would that be OK?
What if only one student WANTED to hear the speech?
What then?
Doesn’t their pledge to uphold the honor code mean anything to you?
It is imperative for people to be able to respectfully listen to others with divergent ideas and views for constructive discourse to occur.
How else are we going to achieve enlightenment or a higher education that is worth a darn?
What of civility?
Shouting down others before hearing what they have to say, what is that apart from sad and ignorant?
There is a time and a place for everything. That, however, was neither.
There is a time to recognize that one is up against a challenge that was unfathomable when the rule was devised. I find your take on this akin to that of some of Europe’s Jewish communities in WW II who went to their deaths in the concentration camps because they believed that they were just work camps, and if they just followed the rules, they’d return home safely at the end of the war. When those in charge use the rules to enlist complicity in the compromise of one’s own right to exist in a climate of safety, respect, and growth ( in this case to claim and promote equal accessibility to a basic education) – when the Emporer has no clothes – then we must recognize that those “rules” no longer serve the situation. That demonstration of refusal to play along with an alternative that would have required those graduates to bow their heads, smiling and clapping in submission to an overt act of disrespect that began with DeVos’s appointment to the office, was truly a class act!
Are you saying the “honor code” needs to be revised?
If so, there are ways that it can be amended.
Until then, there is no excuse for such unruly behavior during their graduation ceremony.
Invoking holocaust comparisons, really? That is rich (you know better).
Are you trying to convince others that disregarding and ignoring “the rules” whenever the rules don’t suit is the way forward?
Again, there are legal, widely recognized and accepted, civilized ways to change the system, but by breaking the honor code and acting like uneducated infants, the students have drawn attention in a way that has shifted public sentiment against them.
If that was their goal, mission accomplished.
This? “GET TO LICKING STAMPS, BRO. My address is 123 GimmeMyShit Lane. Willacoochee, GA. ”
AAaaaaaand salad all over my computer with a good sized snort to match!! HOLLERED.
Awesomely Luvvie you are awesomely monikered. That is all.
Sad..and while I understand their frustrations further analysis will yield that the administrators had no choice. It was a political move because HBCUs are financially cash strapped and get 7 million dollars from the USDOE. So they invited her to the commencement to get inroads to her office. So before you start screaming about injustice ask yourself this; HOW else should the school make up for the funds in case the money does not come? Are there enough alumni dollars to fill that void? Perhaps if the alumni and the rest of us showed HBCUs some love with our wallets this will not be an issue. It was disrespectful to the Secretary and a black eye to the school. She comes from money and she will be okay, but what about the incoming first year students who might lose their aid IF this 7 millie funds go sideways? Unfortunately our people often think only short term without considering the long term consequences.
Sometimes it ain’t about money. And how long are you gonna stay worried about “consequences” from white folk?
I do not really get the angst towards Devos. I disagree with her but guess what? We are a democracy and if you do not like her moves, counter it by fighting for a good education for all. These young adults were immature in their actions and such heckling are analogous to what you find in sports stadiums or comedy clubs. Yes we could blame the leaders of the school but the greater portion of the blame lies with the students because their
actions lacked discipline and self control. This reminds me when we Black folks were up in arms when the Koch Brothers donated to the United Negro College Fund. We were upset that millions of dollars were donated by the Koch Brothers but we remain silent when several Black superstars ignore HBCUs? Koch Brothers stepped up and donated. You do not like it speak with your wallet. You cannot confuse emotional rhetoric and diatribes with political and economical capital. The former makes it easier for Black folks to be hypnotized with an illusion and the latter reflects the crux of collective power nowadays. The students were so confused by their emotions that they did not realize that they were diminishing the values of their degrees as well as for those who were yet to come. Their actions remind me of the riots in Baltimore, Charlotte, etc. Folks burning their neighborhoods down and when businesses are no longer there…they prey on each other. The school leaders were in a dilemma because they were systematically forced to bring this woman…however they also knew that Black folks were not going to fill the fundraising gap..not no 7 mil..so I await to hear who on this thread will be ready to write a check to Bethune Cookman if they come asking. Btw, I am wondering who would’ve been a better speaker? Remember we as a people are not running to HBCUs to contribute. A lot of their professors are not Black..especially in the hard sciences..accounting, computer science, etc. Programs. So rather than focus on real issues we are worried about a speaker? Who cares? Money talks…I was waiting for someone to make a financial pledge to the school in order to ensure that the likes of Devos do not engage in such speeches again..I will wait…I am still waiting…
manners are free
I have never been more ashamed of members of my race then I am of those who booed a guest speaker at Bethune-Cookman. Have you ever heard of the Golden Rule? This is why progressives and activists will be increasingly marginalized in the years ahead. For every boo, you probably turned the heart of a neutral white person into an active hater. Is that what you want? Because that’s what you are getting with your boorishness and lack of respect for common decency.
Ain’t you sick of bowing down to white folk?
What I’m sick of are fools who mock the values that Mary Bethune and people like her stood for.
I’m sure Mary Bethune Cookman would be fine with students protesting a commencement speech by Devos. Trump is a racist. No one associated with his administration should be allowed to speak to a HBCU.
I hope the students and parents force the Uncle Tom President to step the hell down and replace him with someone (hopefully a Black woman) who is woke.
I am very proud of those students as I would have booed so loud that Devos would have been drowned out completely. She should have been booed off the stage.
When I watched the video, I stood up in reverence….I was proud deed down inside. The only thing that could have made it more powerful was if they had all turned their backs silently and left the auditorium completely….silently….
We are no longer willing to sacrifice our own feelings for someone else’s. New Day…New Negros!
AMEN!!!
And if they want to see us bowing and begging, they need to get in a time machine and go back to the 1950s. We are not having it in 2017. Those days are gone.
Maybe it was a setup, that is the only way I can explain the invite.
She is all the way lucky they didn’t start singing “Irreplaceable”