HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall University President Jerome Gilbert witnessed racism as a child growing up in Mississippi.
Gilbert, who appeared recently on MetroNews “Talkline,” said seeing segregation as a child seemed like a normal part of everyday life.
“You saw the oppression, you saw the discrimination, and you thought that was normal,” he said. “We had to go through a transformation, much like the transformation our country has gone through in the last several months. I think people have to have that realization that something needs to change, and I don’t think necessarily it’s an overnight thing. It’s a gradual thing.”
Marshall University, like other institutions across the country, is taking steps to address racial injustice, which was sparked by the protests over Geroge Floyd’s death. The institution announced on June 22 a long-term plan that includes implementing anti-racism training for employees and recruiting people of color for employment opportunities.
“I think a lot of the things that may need to be changed are things that we may not even be aware of,” Gilbert said. “I can tell you as a white person, I can’t look at things through the eyes of a black person. That’s why we have to listen to students on our campus and employees and hear what they tell us about things that may be invisible to us.”
Gilbert said student body president Anna Williams, leaders of the Black United Students Organization and the Marshall Black Alumni Student, and others are working with his office about what actions can happen at the university, which includes the Coalition of Anti-Racism which will identify ways to improve campus culture and address bias.
Gilbert added he remains supportive of changing the name of Jenkins Hall, which namesake is Confederate General Albert Jenkins. Gilbert is, however, against changing the name of buildings named after late U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, who was a member of the Ku Klux Klan for a period of his life.
“I’m not sure I see the reason that people are calling for the removal of Byrd’s name because he changed his ways,” Gilbert said. “Yes, he was a bad person back at one point in his life, but he admitted he was wrong. The NAACP said that he was one of their best allies in his later years.”
Bethany College President Tamara Rodenberg announced on June 17 the removal of Byrd’s name from the institution’s health center. West Virginia University President Gordon Gee said on the June 22 edition of “Talkline” he supports contextualizing the name over its removal from buildings.