During the Civil Rights movement, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in a letter from his Birmingham County jail cell, "One day the South will recognize its real heroes," Randall Kennedy, author and Harvard Law professor said in a lecture Thursday evening. Kennedy identified these "real heroes" as "good white people," or "white anti-racist folk" like Dartmouth alumnus Thaddeus Stevens, Class of 1814, who fought for racial equality throughout the course of American history.
Kennedy said he saw his lecture as a way to share the research he has conducted for a future book that will chronicle the history of anti-racist action and profile well-known and more "obscure" individuals who contributed to the cause of racial equality in the United States. He noted that many of these individuals often braved criticism from their white counterparts and distrust from blacks in their efforts to heal the racial divide.
One of the main objectives of his new book, Kennedy explained, is to highlight the achievements of lesser-known activists like Miles Horton, a white Southerner who founded the Highlander School for political activism, which tutored such famous individuals as Rosa Parks.
Kennedy, who holds degrees from Princeton University, Oxford University and Yale Law School, used prominent Civil War U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania Thaddeus Stevens as the main case study for his lecture because of the activist's ties to Dartmouth, he said.
Stevens worked to promote the status of blacks by trying to pass an emancipation bill in 1861. In addition, he tried to persuade Abraham Lincoln to refocus the mission of the Civil War around the issue of emancipation, Kennedy said.
Kennedy emphasized, however, that Stevens never called himself an abolitionist -- a label, which at the time, would have marginalized him and jeopardized his reputation.
After explaining his ideas, Kennedy encouraged "comments, questions and suggestion" from audience members.
"One of the wonderful things about academia is that you get a lot of help from forums such as this one," Kennedy said.
Claiming that his book is "very much in its opening stages," Kennedy said he was considering altering the book's working title, "Good White People." He explained how some of his colleagues have suggested the title might initially seem demeaning.
"I've been very harshly criticized for my titles before," Kennedy said, apparently referring to one of his previous books, "Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troubling Word."
"But no one can say that I don't serve up a catchy title," he joked.
During his visit to Dartmouth, Kennedy also met with members of PoliTALK, a student discussion group, and explored the issue of race in child adoption with government professor Sonu Bedi's civil liberties class. Bedi, who originally suggested Kennedy come speak at Dartmouth, said Kennedy's discussions were very timely.
"Before I came to Dartmouth, there were several incidences [on campus] that occurred concerning race," Bedi said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "I think [race] is an issue that directly affects all Dartmouth students and is something that Dartmouth students think about. Also, in a more national context, Barack Obama's campaign has raised many race issues."
Following Thursday's lecture, Kennedy signed copies of his latest book, "Sell-Out: The Politics of Racial Betrayal."
Kennedy's visit was sponsored by the Roger S. Aaron '64 Lecture Fund, which brings speakers in the field of law, ethics and public policy to campus. The Dartmouth Legal Studies Faculty and the Dartmouth Lawyers Association also sponsored the event, which was held in the Rockefeller Center.
