United Methodist commission calls professor’s remarks ‘insulting’

By United Methodist News Service

A speech given by a professor at a United Methodist-related school was “insulting and denigrating to our African American and Latino brothers and sisters,” said the Rev. Chester Jones, top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race.

Richard Lamm, a professor at the University of Denver and former governor of Colorado, spoke during an immigration overpopulation conference in Washington last week. He also made some of the same remarks during an earlier speech on multiculturalism at the Vail Symposium.

In a statement released by the commission, Jones said Lamm argues that African American and Latino “cultures” are the reasons for the “underperformance” of these communities.

“It is appalling to hear or read that a professor in one of our church related institutions believes that the secret to destroy America is through the promotion of an American society that is bilingual-bicultural, multicultural, diverse, and open to differences,” Jones said.

“Reading his speech, I was not sure if Mr. Lamm was being profoundly sarcastic or plain nativist, or simply racist. Clearly he is all of the above, his speech was written in a deeply sarcastic style, in order to show how his nativist and racist perspectives are part of America’s mainstream.”

In the statement, the Commission on Religion and Race calls for the University of Denver to develop a strategy “that counters the racist and nativist views” expressed by Lamm and to “diligently promote with professors and students the real values of a diverse and culturally sensitive society.”

Jim Berscheidt, a university spokesman, said Lamm “has the right to express his point of view, he is a tenured faculty member.” Berscheidt pointed out Lamm’s book, Two Wands, One Nation, was published outside the university.