Give Mansfield More Credit

To the editors:

Everybody likes to pick on Professor of Harvey C. Mansfield. His course, Government 1061: The History of Political Theory II (which he is not teaching this year), is one of the most difficult on political theory at Harvard, and his Monday night introduction of Ward Connerly at the ARCO forum generated another round of scowls. But does he deserve this kind of knee-jerk hostility?

In his remarks, Mansfield described Martin Luther King Jr. as a "most honored black," and, in a comment more critical of contemporary society than of Malcolm X, he labeled the Black Muslim leader as one of the "most fashionable." He wasn't talking about Malcolm X's clothes; he was describing the popularity of "X" hats and shirts in the early 1990s accompanying Spike Lee's powerful movie. One has to agree that most of Mansfield's comments on disagreements between past black leaders were historically accurate, if not insightful.

I think Professor Mansfield's remarks weren't as disagreeable as the fact that he uttered them. How would the public response have been different if Professor Cornel West made the same statements, or Professor Michael Sandel? One could almost feel the impending disapproval as Mansfield took the podium to introduce Connerly. Do we even try to listen what he has to say?

Why do we deny Mansfield the opportunity to say that Martin Luther King Jr. was an "honored black man" or to describe the separatist philosophy of Malcolm X? If the answer is because Mansfield is white and conservative, then perhaps we need to better follow the advice of Mr. Connerly and study more what people say as opposed to what they look like. JASON R. STEVENSON '00   April 7, 1998