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One of the first things that I must address is the fact that
Dr. Kaye [Patten Wallace] told me to be brief in my remarks
about Dr. Thompson. While I appreciate her request, the more
research I did the less likely it became that I could honor
it.
If you know
anything about Dr. Thompson you know that telling his entire
story would require a couple of hours. But to do it real
justice, a lengthy movie would be better. Dr. Thompson
suggested Denzel Washington as the leading man portraying
him.
It is no
coincidence that we are celebrating this occasion in
February as a cornerstone of UT’s
Black History Month
celebration. I understand that over 28 events were planned
throughout
February, but there
has been a spotlight, an emphasis and anticipation for this
event for quite
some time.
Dr. Thompson has
dedicated over 50 years to the University of Toledo and,
along the way, blazed trails for many to follow. In the
words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Dr. Thompson made a way out
of no way.
UT saw fit to admit
its first black student in 1922; it had not seen fit to hire
its first black professor until 1958. I think it goes
without saying – there is no Dr. [Joseph] Sommerville, no
Dr. Kaye [Patten
Wallace], no Dr. [Willie] McKether, and no Dr. [Anthony]
Quinn, and there would not be countless others without there
having been the first – Dr. Thompson.
But equally as
important as the professors and administrators I just
mentioned, thousands of
students would have
been robbed of an exquisite and unique educational
experience at UT
without Dr.
Thompson. As his reputation developed from 1958 into the
early 60s, not only was
he an award-winning
professor, but his classes were the first to fill. Keep in
mind, we are talking
about chemistry
classes – neither the subject matter nor the professor was
easy.
Being the first in
this context came with obvious challenges. Dr. Thompson
carried upon those
shoulders his
reputation and his family’s well-being.
But more than that
– he carried the hope that there would be a second and third
black professor or administrator. He carried the weight of
the chemistry department, the chemistry department dean and
the president of the university’s reputations.
He carried the
hopes and dreams of little black boys and little black girls
as they now had a role model who looked familiar. And he
carried the aspirations of whites who were sick and tired of
seeing the nation split along racial lines.
Whether he assumed
the burden of the Civil Rights Movement was immaterial, he
carried it, too. And he carried the hopes of blacks in all
of Toledo – I can only imagine the discussions in the barber
shops, beauty salons, and churches about the black chemistry
professor on campus.
If you have
occasion to talk to Dr. Thompson about students – he will
simply tell you that he
wanted to teach. He
was not concerned about whether the students were black or
white. He
simply wanted to
teach.
In order to truly
appreciate the accomplishment of being the first black
professor at UT, we need to take a step back in time to
appreciate the United States in the 1950s.
- On May 17,
1954, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Brown
v. Board of
Education,
the case that overruled separate but equal and forced
integration in education. While the United States
struggled with the idea of integration, the Jim Crow South
did the best it could to retard it.
- In 1955, a
young man from Chicago named Emmitt Till was brutally beaten
to death in Mississippi because he committed the ultimate
crime of flirting with a white woman. This situation was
particularly significant in our history because Emmitt’s
mother demanded that he have an open casket so all the world
could see how the Jim Crow South barbarically treated one of
this country’s own citizens.
- Later in
1955, as the intolerance for second class citizenship grew,
Ms. Rosa Parks refused to get up, and started the Montgomery
Bus Boycott.
- In
September, 1957, the Little Rock 9 sought to integrate
Little Rock High School in Arkansas. They were only allowed
entrance after President Eisenhower was forced to intervene
and escort them into the school with the aid of the U.S.
Army.
- And to bring
it home, 1958 was three years before the first black
president of the U.S. was born, on August 4, 1961.
So in 1958, the
country refused to integrate, blacks could not ride buses in
the front, Emmitt Till was beaten to death, and President
Eisenhower needed help to integrate schools in Arkansas –
YET Dr. Thompson
had the audacity to believe that he could teach chemistry,
that he would
teach chemistry,
and that UT would entrust him with thousands of students
over his career.
If you know Dr. Thompson, you expected
nothing less.
The president of UT
in 1958 was Dr. Asa Knowles. While it does not appear that
President
Knowles was overtly
involved in Dr. Thompson’s hiring, he was clearly
responsible for it. Dr.
Thompson had little
interaction with President Knowles, excepting the time he
was hired when
President Knowles
commented to Dr. Thompson “You’re either a very good person,
or you paid
a lot of money for
these recommendations.”
Conspicuously,
President Knowles left UT in late 1958 or early 1959. I
jokingly asked Dr.
Thompson if hiring
the first black professor at UT led to President Knowles’
departure. Dr.
Thompson smiled at
my suggestion…..but never answered the question.
In 1960, Dr.
Thompson was hired as the track coach for UT. This must have
been significant
because it was
reported in Jet Magazine.
In addition to
being the first black faulty member, Dr. Thompson is:
- The first black
faculty member to receive tenure;
- First black vice
president campus-wide;
- First black vice
president of student affairs;
- One of first four
faculty members to receive the inaugural “Outstanding
Teacher
Award” in 1964.
Dr. Thompson was
not, however, the first black employee at UT. He was second.
The first was
not “Joe the
Plumber,” but “Jim the Painter.” I probed Dr. Thompson for
more information
about Jim the
Painter and Dr. Thompson shared that he was excited to see
another black
employee on campus.
And let’s not
forget Jamaica. We believe Dr. Thompson is the first and
only Jamaican to
compete
internationally in three sports: track, cricket and soccer.
While we tend to focus on Dr. Thompson’s academic and
scholastic successes, we should also acknowledge that he
competed in the Pan-American games in track and field in
1946 and 1950, and declined an invitation to compete in the
1952 Olympics.
All these things
illustrate Dr. Thompson’s success and commitment to UT,
clearly worthy of
having a room named
after him. His devotion to UT, his family, and his students
is amazing. I
mentioned the
social turmoil of the 1950s. I did not mention that Dr.
Thompson’s first house
was stoned
regularly for the six months he lived there. One rock hit
the crib his second daughter was laying in.
Despite that, when
rumors spread across UT’s campus in the 60s that protestors
planned to burn down the Field House, Dr. Thompson led
student leaders to stay all night at the Field House to
prevent anyone from getting on the roof. The roof was
important because that was the only part of the structure
that would burn. Needless to say, Dr. Thompson was again
successful.
I need to thank a
few people for the roles they played in making today
possible.
- Mrs. Thompson
- thank you for your patience and trust in Dr. Thompson.
Without your support in him and trust in Toledo, this never
would have happened.
- Thompson
children – thank you for sharing your father with us.
Without your sacrifice, so many things here would not have
happened and thousands of students would have been robbed of
a wonderful experience.
- Dr. Kaye -
Thank you for having the courage and dogged determination to
do the right thing, right now. Dr. Thompson has been a giant
at UT for a long time and worthy of this commemoration and
immortality. Under your leadership and advocacy, this day,
this event, and this commemoration became possible.
- And Dr.
Thompson - Thank you for your hunger, thank you for your
desire, thank you for your courage and intolerance. Having
the audacity to think you could teach here and should teach
here opened a door for many professors and administrators to
follow, opened a door for many students to walk through and
served as a shining example of what good can happen when we
rid ourselves of the ignorances associated with prejudice.
Whether you chose to carry the burdens you bore is
immaterial, you carried them and carried them well.
Thank you and congratulations.
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