Congressman spurs CLP on racial issues

On Wednesday, Oct. 8, students and professors alike gathered in Johns Hall 101 to spend their lunch at the "Race Matters (Or Not)" CLP discussion. Four panelists - professors Teresa Cosby of political science, Roger Sneed of religion, Brandon Inabinet and Sean O'Rourke of communication studies - spoke on race in the political climate. After their speeches, the floor was open for those in attendance to ask questions, comment and discuss ideas.

The debate was sparked by Congressman Joe Wilson's infamous shout, "You lie!" at President Barack Obama during his address on health care to Congress. Many politicians, including former President Jimmy Carter, have spoken out regarding the issue of race and whether it played a role in Wilson's behavior.

The organizer of the CLP, religion department professor Shelly Matthews, wanted to give Furman an opportunity to talk about whether racism has played a role in the politics today. She noticed faculty had been speaking about the controversy over lunches and e-mails and decided that it was time for the conversation to be brought out for discussion by the community.

Wilson's controversial outburst prompted many discussions, and his South Carolina connection may give Furman students and faculty a special interest in the matter.

"Recently, South Carolina has become the scapegoat," Sneed said. "We've been the brunt of a lot of jokes."

Sneed was referring to the recent scandal surrounding Governor Mark Sanford, as well as to Wilson's outburst.

"We cannot pin down the motivations of Wilson's actions," said Inabinet, noting the general consensus of those that attended. "We can't say that his intentions were racist."

Panelists discussed problems of race in America today and what can be done to change them.

"Some of the problems in the country are because of race, but not all the opposition is racially based. Race does not explain everything about Obama and [America's] controversies," said Cosby. "Issues of my generation concerning race are not issues for this generation. That shows change itself."

Students contributed to the discussions by asking questions for the panelists to answer. The talk focused on the issue on a national scale, including the role of racial profiles in this past election.

More than 25 students and teachers showed up for the discussion. A few brought up topics, like how media has affected the young voters. Many came to the conclusion that while the number of young voters are increasing, the 50-60 year old age group is still dominating the polls, which has an effect on how the younger generation views political issues.

"This is a hard conversation to have," said Matthews. "I hope we will be able to have more CLPs like this. Students should know that having these conversations is okay.