[Extemporaneous Board of Trust Meeting Remarks by Bishop Joseph A. Johnson]

[Extemporaneous Board of Trust Meeting Remarks by Bishop Joseph A. Johnson]
October 27, 1978
RG 300 Chancellor’s Records
Vanderbilt University Archives

Arguably, one of the more controversial documents in this exhibit, this excerpt reveals Johnson’s posture against affirmative action, or ‘quotas’. Some might find Johnson’s reasoning specious, as he gives equal weight to American histories of ‘blackness’ and ‘whiteness’. At other points in his remarks, though, Johnson argues that Vanderbilt’s real challenge will be recruiting the brightest Black minds, which he appraises to be in high demand across the nation, and which Vanderbilt may not be prepared to foster.