Abridged Malcolm X quote sparked a 1992 building takeover by Black student leaders, who said it misrepresented the fuller meaning of the civil rights leader鈥檚 message; 溏心vlog免费B站 President Marc Parlange acknowledged those now-alumni for their 鈥渃ourage to stand up and speak out鈥�
KINGSTON, R.I.鈥� March 10, 2023 鈥揥ork began this week to remove a truncated quote from the granite fa莽ade of the 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Robert L. Carothers Library and Learning Commons. The quote, intended to be a tribute to Malcom X when it was installed in 1992, angered many students, including leaders of the Black Student Leadership Group, who said the shortened version misrepresented the fuller meaning of the civil rights leader鈥檚 message.
The inscription reads, 鈥淢y alma mater was books, a good library 鈥� I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.鈥� That version, however, omits parts of the broader statement as it appears in The Autobiography of Malcolm X: 鈥淚 told the Englishman that my alma mater was books, a good library. Every time I catch a plane, I have with me a book that I want to read鈥攁nd that’s a lot of books these days. If I weren’t out here every day battling the white man, I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity鈥攂ecause you can hardly mention anything I’m not curious about.鈥�
The library engraving sparked student activism, including a takeover of the University鈥檚 Taft Hall in November of 1992 led by members of the Black Student Leadership Group. That takeover was the subject of a 30-year reunion in November on the Kingston Campus and a recently released documentary.
鈥淭he removal of this inscription started 30 years ago, when a group of 溏心vlog免费B站 students had the courage to stand up and speak out against injustices happening at that time,鈥� said 溏心vlog免费B站 President Marc Parlange, who arrived at 溏心vlog免费B站 in 2021 and pledged during the November reunion to have the quote removed. 鈥淥ur University is grateful to those students for their courage, and I am grateful to today鈥檚 generation of student leaders who, advocating in that same spirit, continue to inspire our ongoing work to foster a truly inclusive and equitable community.鈥�
Temporary fencing was installed Monday around the southeast corner of the library in preparation for the fa莽ade work, which also began this week. The project involves removing 18 granite veneer panels, along with stone anchors, and replacing them with matching blank granite panels. The current phase of work is expected to be completed within four to six weeks.
The removal of the quote is one of several outcomes of the 1992 student protest, along with the formation of an Africana Studies major and the creation of the Multicultural Student Services Center located in the heart of campus, among others.
鈥淚 know that the removal of this quote will mean so much to other members of the Black Student Leadership Group,鈥� said Michelle Fontes, who was a member of BSLG in 1992 and now serves as interim assistant vice president for community, equity, and diversity at the University. 鈥淚 am happy to have been part of the activism that took place in 1992 and this quote finally being removed is proof that our new administration is listening and striving to do better.鈥�
Fontes said the group expects to plan an event that helps educate the community about the significance of the quote and its removal.
The abridged quote was part of the public art installation 鈥淣ine Inscriptions,鈥� commissioned in 1992. The University worked cooperatively with the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts to deaccession a portion of the installation to allow for its removal.