Controversial poet has right to speak

House Editorial

In a few weeks, poet Amiri Baraka will speak in Wilson Hall. Along with his appearance will come gripes and cries that his poetry is anti-Semitic, racist and unfavorable to the JMU audience.

Whether or not his work is truly as spiteful as his critics claim, professor Joanne Gabin was not wrong for inviting him to the Furious Flower Poetry Conference, for which she also also the organizer. Gabin was doing exactly what JMU strives to do — increase diversity.

Baraka brings a different perspective to JMU. Most students may gasp if they hear a poem about Sept. 11, 2001, that is not heroic or nationalistic. Yet Americans, not just students, need to understand that there are several takes on what happened that tragic day nearly three years ago, and it’s OK to have a view not parallel with the norm. It’s just a different view — and being different doesn’t necessarily make something wrong.

There will not be policemen forcing students into Wilson Hall to listen to Baraka, and it is doubtful that Baraka will be waving a golden pocket watch in front of his audience to hypnotize them into believing whatever he has to say.

Just as students have the right to attend, ignore or peacefully protest the conference, Baraka’s First Amendment rights allow him to speak up for what he believes in. Isn’t that what the patriotic, nationalistic objective is all about — our freedom and rights? Just as Consuming Fire Campus Ministries is allowed to parade the commons with Bibles every year, Baraka should be allowed to come bearing his poems and voice.

Diversity does not just mean a different color of skin or a different hometown — its definition revolves around respect for things that differ from the norm. Baraka’s poems, such as "Somebody blew up America," certainly have a different tone to them, but it’s unfair to criticize JMU for bringing him to campus to share his art.