Imagine, if you will, that right after the Herald first reported that a spokesman for Harvard had, in 1996, identified Elizabeth Warren as Native American, she had released a statement along the following lines:
Like many kids who were born and raised in Oklahoma, I grew up thinking that I was part Native American. I can’t prove it the way I would prove a case in court, but my mother and grandmother told me that it was true. I believed them then, and I believe them now. It has been part of my family’s story for as long as I can remember.
It never occurred to me that my heritage might translate into some sort of “advantage” for me. For example, I did not note my heritage on my applications to college or law school, nor have I ever portrayed myself as Native American when applying for jobs. I believe that I have always been employed based on the quality of my work, and the record fully supports my belief. With respect to my employment at Harvard, the subject of my heritage simply never came up during the many employment-related conversations I had over several years with various members of the Harvard Law School faculty, student body, and administration. I never raised it, nor did any of them.
In 1986, while I was teaching at the University of Texas Law School, I began to self-identify as part Native American in a directory of legal academics known as the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) desk book. I did so because (a) I believed it to be true, based on what my family had told me, and (b) I thought that students and other faculty members might find the information to be of interest. A number of years later, however, as I learned more about the issues surrounding minority women on law school faculties, I stopped doing so. I concluded that, as my own Native American heritage was fairly distant and was based on family lore, my AALS listing seemed out of place with those of women (and men) whose lives had been more directly affected by discrimination and other contemporary issues relating to minority communities.
Of course, I have no control over what spokespeople for Harvard say, and questions about statements by them should be directed to the appropriate offices at Harvard. I would simply note that, at the time I was offered tenure at Harvard but rejected it in 1993, and at the time I accepted it in 1995, there is no record of Harvard or anyone else referring to my heritage. Especially given the intense scrutiny Harvard Law School was under at that time regarding the lack of minority women on its faculty, it is inconceivable that, had I been thought to be a “minority woman,” there would have been no public statement to that effect at the time I became a tenured member of the faculty. Yet the earliest such statement of which I am aware – the one reported by the Boston Herald – dates from October of 1996, over a year later.
Would that have ended the story? Probably, I’d say – in any event, it strikes me as a near certainty that there would have been nothing like the media frenzy we’ve seen over the last few weeks. If that’s the case, then this whole sorry episode says a great deal more about the peculiar relationship between campaign operations and the media than it does about anything else.
liveandletlive says
What exactly is Elizabeth Warren’s official statement on this anyway? I’m sure it was posted here. I need to read it again.
David says
there was no single official statement (at least, not that I know of). That’s been part of the problem, IMHO … they’ve never gotten out in front of this issue. They’ve been playing defense for weeks.
liveandletlive says
We need a brief official statement to tell people if we get asked about it. I am supporting Marisa DeFranco, but I am also saying that Elizabeth Warren is a great candidate too, because I do like Elizabeth Warren and obviously either one is far better than Scott Brown. I may not get asked about this at all, but if I do, I want to be able explain it at least a little bit. Maybe you could call EW’s campaign and ask them to make your summary their official statement. I think it would work.
David says
the campaign put out a statement within the last day or two. See Christopher’s comment downthread.
whosmindingdemint says
This crap sells papers. But it also says something about these universities. We could also assume that the schools are playing it fast and loose with affirmative action. Would anyone be shocked by such machinations at the administrative level? And it is more than plausible that the faculty would be unaware of such things because – let’s face it – no love lost there.
bluhooey says
From Boston.com “But Ray, now president of Elmhurst College in Illinois, said in a statement that he “did not encourage the Law School to list any faculty member as one particular race or ethnicity, including Professor Warren.’’ He further said through a spokeswoman that he “never encouraged any faculty member to list himself or herself in a particular way.’’ Ray added that Harvard “always accepted whatever identification a faculty member wanted to provide,’’ a characterization another highly placed former Harvard administrator backed up.”
David says
nt
whosmindingdemint says
Are you suggesting every minority faculty member isn’t really a minority?
bluhooey says
the previous poster’s statements that “we could also assume that the schools are playing it fast and loose with affirmative action” and the attempt of this articles author to place the blame on Harvard administrators is not valid.
David says
There’s no dispute that Warren listed herself as a “minority” in the AALS directory for several years – she’s confirmed that. But I believe the quotes from your previous comment are in relation to federally-mandated diversity-related documents that Harvard filed with the federal government. I cannot imagine that Warren or any other faculty member ever sees those documents – why would they? It would not surprise me in the slightest if the information about Warren went straight from the AALS directory into those documents without Warren ever seeing it or being asked about it.
In other words, I don’t see how those documents, or your comments, add to what is already widely known about this issue.
whosmindingdemint says
Thought experiment
Christopher says
Liveandletlive, David, et alia, as they say in the House of Commons, “I refer my honourable friends to the reply I gave some moments ago.”
David says
though it’s odd that I didn’t get it – I thought I was on every email list they’ve got. But my principal point is that a statement should have been issued weeks ago, right after the first Herald story, not within the last couple of days. Also, it should have come from the candidate herself, not from a flack.
lynne says
Maybe you did what I normally do and click “delete delete delete” because we’re always inundated by a million of these things…case in point, I still get emails from Al Franken. LOL
Anyway, she HAS said pretty much all of that (otherwise, where did you get all that info?) at various times. Who knew at the time this “came out” that it would need some sort of official statement at a podium in front of Very Serious Journalists (TM)?? I certainly didn’t.
I’ll give Eric F one bit of credit…he does know how to play the media for morons.
David says
All the info in my statement (except for my hypothesis about why she stopped listing herself in the AALS directory) is exactly what she’s said over the last several weeks, supplemented by my research into the Harvard Crimson’s archives. So it’s funny that, if she had put all of that on the table from the get-go, the issue would have died a quick death. Like I said, that says a lot about the media.
liveandletlive says
It left too much out. This part of David’s proposed official statement is something I could use that not only identifies the issue, but explains why she did what she did.
I like this and this is what I’m going to use. Thanks David!
David says
don’t use it as if it’s something that Warren has actually said, because it isn’t. To my knowledge, Warren has not spoken directly to why she stopped listing herself as a minority in the AALS directory, and my imagined statement is only speculation.
liveandletlive says
that though and I will portray it as maybe that was her evolution of thought about the whole thing. I think people could relate to that. It would be far better if she published a statement about this. I’m sure there will be a few who will call me on the “maybe” part and ask me exactly what her official statement is. Ugh, Oh well.
dont-get-cute says
I remember those years, I was in college myself, and it was very common for white female professors to wear flowing African robes and decorate their offices and classrooms with African and Native American trinkets and try and exude diversity and cultural coolness. Remember the leather Africa pendants? It was a fashion that lasted about as long as Warren listed herself as Native American, and then I think people suddenly realized how silly they were and tried to forget it.
lynne says
God, you really just can’t contribute anything of use around here, can you?
This is a pretty stupid comment. Damn, where are those comment ratings?
Christopher says
I’ve been around enough campaigns to be comfortable assuming that when an email goes out using campaign “letterhead” and over the “signature” of the campaign manager that such a statement is for all intents and purposes the candidate talking. Warren herself, IMO, should stick to discussing the issues that affect people and let her staff and surrogates handle this.
liveandletlive says
then the whole thing can be put to rest. I’m pretty sure I’ve read that she did it to connect with other Native Americans and share stories and learn more. I have to find where she said that and make it a part of what I can say to people when asked.
michaelhoran says
I’d have tried, “Know what? I’m not sure WHAT I was thinking when I self-identified as a minority, but I sure as heck wasn’t thinking straight.” And etc.
People don’t want long winded (take it from me…) explanations. They want to see you humbled–then they’ll happily raise you back up.
Admit culpability–even where you don’t believe you did a damn thing wrong. Once you do, there isn’t much left for your denigrators left to say. They can hammer you, but you’ll have some degree of sympathy; most important, for the press, it will be a dead issue. Then YOU don’t have to play a part in an ongoing comedy of errors, coming back with head-scratchers like, “Scott Brown is attacking my family!”