Strange Fruit #145: Latino UofL Students Met with More Disrespect at Meeting with Ramsey

Summary: The fallout continues from Halloween, when UofL President Dr. James Ramsey and his staff dressed up in stereotypical "Mexican" costumes for a luncheon. The photo went viral, and a few written apologies were issued, but they've been lacking. This week, an open letter was sent to Dr. Ramsey and the Board of Trustees, signed by 78 faculty members, and co-authored by one of our guests this week, Dr. David Owen, Chair of the Philosophy Department. Meanwhile, a group of students spent thirty hours coming up with a plan of action, and a list of demands to present to Dr. Ramsey and the school. This week, Ramsey granted them a meeting, but would only allow eight students in (and none of their faculty advisers) and would only give them half an hour. Tania Avalos was one of those eight students, and she joins us to talk about what happened at the meeting. She says Ramsey didn't seem to want to listen to them, but to talk more. When they interrupted and asked him to hear them out, Ramsey reportedly questioned their level of education and the way their mothers raised them. "He just insulted us," Avalos said, "and he didn't allow us to talk." "We were trying to explain to him from the beginning how Mexicans have been oppressed in this country," Avalos said, "and he interrupted and said, 'You know what? You think you know everything.'" "He actually said, 'If my god forgave me, I'm sure that you guys can too,'" she reported. We'll keep you posted on this story as it continues to develop. The Board of Trustees has yet to publicly comment on the letter from faculty. Also this week, Kentucky Public Radio's Capitol Bureau Chief Ryland Barton joins us to help us interpret the results of this week's general election. Governor Elect Matt Bevin has promised to repeal the expansion of Medicaid in Kentucky, causeing 400,000 low income citizens to lose health care, but no one seems to know yet whether he can do that through Executive Order, or whether he'll need to go through the legislature. And in our feature interview this week, we speak to Dr. Carol Anderson. She's an associate professor of African American Studies and history at Emory University, and was in town to deliver the 9th Annual Anne Braden Memorial Lecture. Dr. Anderson's speech focuses on what she calls "white rage" - essentially a fear and loathing of people of color. We talk about the different manifestations of racism in our society, including one of the most incisive takedowns of voter ID laws we've ever heard.