Dear University of Missouri—dear black students and football players, thank you.
Thank you for giving the rest of us hope for a change in racial relations. Thank you for striking the football games this weekend. You put it all on the line. Thank you, Jonathan Butler, for striking even your personal nourishment for the sake of your kinfolk.
The slurs and taunts jabbed you, repeatedly, and you could not take it any longer. You have been fighting. I know you did not only start to fight with the strikes this weekend. You have been fighting for justice, and now, in the ultimate battle centered at the American field of glory, you have won.
Friends, I was impressed when I read that you were striking until your former president, Tim Wolfe, resigned. The battle was set against you, yet you were bold. You were brave.
And you were not brave in vain. This morning, on Monday, November 9, 2015, Wolfe resigned.
I admit I was surprised. I can’t say I have ever seen such swift, radical change. But I rejoice with you! I just found out the news on a Facebook page for the black student union at my college, and I could not keep it in. I hastened to tell my friends in the Office of Multicultural Development and in the Office of International Student Programs, and now I am writing this note so that many more people can hear of your victory. Congratulations!
Dear black students at Mizzou, your past attempts for justice are being rewarded. I respect you, and I thank you. Thank you for giving us hope for victory.
Sincerely,
Katelyn Skye Bennett
A Christian, a white ally and an activist for racial reconciliation
katelyn skye bennett 