Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2018)
February 21, 2018 The Skanner Page 9 News Former FBI Director Addresses Spying on Black Activists ‘I tried to make the FBI stare at that history,’ Comey tells Howard students By Alexa Imani Spencer and Kayla Irby Howard University News Service PHOTO BY KAYLA IRBY, HUNS WASHINGTON – Former FBI Director James Comey, speaking to Howard University students, professors and staff, this week dis- tanced himself from an FBI report that said “black identity extrem- ists” were responsible for “increased violence” Former FBI Director James Comey (right) and Justin Hansford, by African-Americans executive director of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center, against law enforce- discussed the FBI’s role in spying on AfricanAmerican organizations ment. and the ongoing tension between black communities and police. The report, entitled community members, Jews and Cath- “Black Extremists Likely Motivated to Target Law Enforcement Officers,” has olics for over a century, committing atrocities designed to induce a state raised concern among many, including of terror, no white supremacist the 49-member Congressional Black Caucus, which met with the current groups have ever been designated as a terrorist organization. FBI directly shortly after the report’s Comey, the Gwendolyn S. and Col- release last August. bert I. King Endowed Chair in Pub- Comey said he was not aware of it lic Policy at Howard, was joined in a while he was with the FBI. discussion on law enforcement and “The memo that generated all of the race by Justin Hansford, executive controversy was written after I was director of the newly-opened Thur- fired, so I don’t know exactly,” said Com- good Marshall Civil Rights Center in ey who was released May 2017 by Presi- dent Donald Trump following Comey’s the Howard University School of Law. Comey said his life had been affected refusal to drop an investigation into by issues of race when he was a student Russian tampering in U.S. elections. “I at College of William and Mary, the na- never heard the term ‘black identity ex- tion’s second oldest college. A friend- tremists’ while I was director.” ship with one of few Black students on Still, Comey offered his interpreta- campus had a major impact on his life, tion of what the report might have been he said. Comey said he had almost no trying to say. interaction with African Americans “I think what it is, is an effort in the early in his life. domestic terrorism part of the coun- “There was only one other Black fam- terterrorism division to understand ily that lived in my town on my street, the threat that might be coming from the Jacksons,” he said, “almost an en- people who by a distorted view of their tirely White high school. William and own race believe they have to engage in Mary just by accident puts me in a suite acts of violence,” Comey said. Ironically, the FBI’s counterterror- with another 18-year-old from inner city Philadelphia named Greg Samson, ism division assessment made news who’s African American, and our lives shortly before a 32-year-old woman was killed and 19 others were injured couldn’t have been more different,” he when a white supremacist rammed his said. Comey stated that his friendship with car into a group of counter-protesters Samson affected him tremendously. in August of last year during the “Unite “It lit a flame in me to understand dif- the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va. Despite terrorizing minorities, LGBTQ See COMEY on page 10 Rauch cont’d from pg 6 “The opportunity to move to New York to lead the Perelman Center is tremendously exciting,” Rauch said. “I’m honored to be able to create trans- formative art and culti- vate a community gath- ering space at a site that has such powerful emo- tional resonance for our country and the world.” “Bill’s time as OSF’s ar- tistic director has been and will continue to be extraordinary,” said OSF Board President Peter H. Koehler, Jr. “Thanks to his talent, vision, pas- sion and unflagging en- ergy, OSF is now at the center of the national theater conversation. We’ve been honored with the Festival’s first Tony Award for Best Play and first Pulitzer Prize, seen numerous world premieres go on to great success across the coun- try, begun a decade-long journey through Shake- speare’s entire canon, and become a leader in the field with our equity, diversity and inclusion efforts.” “I so look forward to the heights we will con- tinue to scale in our next 18 months together,” add- ed Koehler. “And I know that our future after Bill will be just as exciting, thanks in part to his phe- nomenal contribution to OSF for 13 years as our artistic director.” OSF Executive Director Cynthia Rider praised Rauch for his achieve- ments and is grateful to continue working together for 18 more months. “I’m so fortunate to have had the oppor- tunity to partner with Bill these last five years,” Rider said. “He is a truly remarkable artist, a pas- sionate leader and one of the kindest people you will ever meet. His tire- less work in producing a record number of plays written and directed by women and artists of col- or will be a huge part of his legacy. I’m so glad we have a year-and-a-half to keep this collaboration going.” Rauch became OSF’s fifth artistic director in 2007, after five seasons at the Festival as a guest director. He has directed seven world premieres— Off the Rails, Roe, Finger- smith, The Great Society, All the Way, Equivoca- tion and By the Waters of Babylon—and 17 other plays. In the 2018 season, he is directing Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Okla- homa! and Shakespeare’s Othello. Among his initiatives at OSF, Rauch, along with longtime collaborator Alison Carey, commit- ted to commissioning 37 new plays to dramatize moments of change in American history. Amer- ican Revolutions: the U.S. History Cycle has pre- miered nine plays at OSF to date, many of which have moved on to other theaters across the coun- try as well as Broadway, including a Tony-win- ning production of All the Way that was direct- ed by Rauch. Read the rest of this story at TheSkanner.com In Loving Memory of Willie Rutherford on his Birthday Known as George and G.W. Born February 22, 1941, Died August 5, 2016 Happy Birthday, Love Wish you were here to celebrate it with your wife and family. Your Sis and Bro wish you Happy Birthday. We miss you so much. It’s not the same without you. I love you. Your Wife, Ann Rutherford
