To the Editor:
The Herald’s editorial on the renaming of the J. Walter Wilson building to honor some of the earliest people of color at Brown and Pembroke was very thoughtful, respectful and encouraging. I appreciate the weight that your editorial can wield with members of Brown’s present community — from current students or alums and all others — to succinctly inform and influence what could be a flippant or callous response without that context. You had me at the second sentence, because that has been the challenge throughout the decades: to convince those who don’t get it that inclusiveness will enhance, not diminish, the education, experiences and success of the institution and its community. As a proud member of the Class of 1975 and active alum, I am very pleased with Brown’s move to help keep the contributions of Inman Page, class of 1877, and Ethel Robinson, class of 1905, from once again lapsing into lost history. Just as importantly, it is an example of Brown putting its actions where its rhetoric lies. And we were told that the beloved Professor James Walter Wilson’s memory will not be lost or erased with the honoring of Page-Robinson, which is also representative of the Brown community that I am glad to support and champion.
Denise Bledsoe Slaughter ’75 MA’77
