Earlier this year, before we realized we were entering a pandemic, we celebrated the induction of Dr. Claud Evans into the OSU Hall of Fame, the highest honor given to an OSU alumnus. Dr. Evans graduated from OSU with a major in agricultural chemistry (now biochemistry and molecular biology) and went on to earn a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Tuskegee Institute. Dr. Evans has had a very productive and successful career as a veterinarian, and he’s also served as a leader in Oklahoma. His service includes two 8-year terms as a Regent for the Oklahoma Agricultural & Mechanical Colleges, OSU’s governing board. Dr. Evans is African American and has been a pioneer throughout his career.

 

I’ve been fortunate to hear Dr. Evans’ stories about coming to OSU at a time when he did not experience many of the privileges of white students. Yet he persevered and overcame subtle and blatant forms of racism – by individuals and by institutions. One story resurfaced in my memory over the past week as we’ve witnessed the tragedy of George Floyd in national news and the reaction to his murder.

 

As Dr. Evans was preparing to attend veterinary school one summer in the 1960s, he and his wife, Elayne, spent the summer in Georgia where he was selling books door-to-door and leading a group of other students doing the same. One day he was in a bad automobile accident in the outskirts of Atlanta and needed emergency medical care. At that time, all medical services in Atlanta were segregated. He had to wait for an ambulance that would transport African American patients and then be taken to a hospital on the far side of Atlanta.

 

It is important to me to learn about the realities that friends and colleagues have experienced that are so different from my perspective of privilege in American culture.  It’s shocking and distressing to think that someone I respect and admire has endured demeaning and life-threatening conditions for no reason other than his skin color.

 

I did not know George Floyd, but when I saw the callous and criminal way he was killed, it reminded me that many people in our society live under the constant fear that they may be treated in a similar way, either violently as in Mr. Floyd’s case, or in a more subtle, but just as threatening manner as when Dr. Evans’ health care was delayed.

 

We all need to be reminded that injustices like these in society will only go away by our diligent efforts to root out their causes and set a path forward built on respect for each other and appreciation for the gifts every person brings to their families, communities and nation.

 

Being reminded isn’t enough, however.  Change will come only through persistent challenges to ourselves and to our colleagues to ask tough questions.  Do our decisions and actions respect the humanity of all who are involved? Do our actions help to overcome the discrepancies in freedoms and rights that have plagued our nation? Ultimately, it’s what we do with our lives – how we assist and support others, how we extend our gifts and talents to feed, clothe, care for and support others – these are the actions that create legacies like Dr. Evans’ and help to counteract racism and injustice.

 

I respect and appreciate the thousands of individuals who have peacefully participated in demonstrations to express their sorrow, anger and frustration.  It is critical that we listen carefully to each other, to the many perspectives that people bring to their encounter with George Floyd’s murder, with Ahmaud Arbery’s murder and with the other recent examples of blatant hate and disrespect for fellow Americans. Those tragedies and Dr. Evans’ experiences remind me that we have a lot of work to do. But it’s work that gives our lives meaning.

 

 

Thomas G. Coon

Vice President and Dean, OSU Agriculture