Although most of us would like to think otherwise, deals done with the devil are not made in the dark.

We are known not only for our achievements; we are also recognized for our compromises.

Thus, the compromises by some of the leaders for women’s suffrage are very evident to those of us who have engaged in struggles for universal suffrage, for access to education, economic opportunity, and for human empowerment in the last two generations.

At every turn, our experiences document that those compromises during the early part of this century and the latter part of the l9th century presaged and made necessary the bloody events in the 1950s and 1960s that finally gave birth to universal suffrage, the foundation for empowerment in all areas of ordinary, everyday human achievement.

And so Allan Nosworthy and the September 29th Movement call us to look at the past and help build a future at Iowa State that includes those who are insulted and outraged by the naming of a building for a person who compromised too much.

They are insisting that we go no further in the very near future without making a decision to resolve the issue of naming Old Botany through a mediated settlement as described in Allan Nosworthy’s letter and in the Movement’s Issues for Resolution.

As a member of the ISU Black Faculty and Staff, I vote in the affirmative and pledge to support efforts to bring this settlement about.

Thus, on Monday, Sept. 22, I decided I spend way too much money for food. I have embarked upon a greatly reduced consumption of food until a decision is made to form the committee and move activities forward to approve or disapprove the renaming of Old Botany.

My modified fast consists of consuming liquids all day long and warm soup at night for 5-6 days each week. (This will save me $50 to $75 per week from my purchases at Hy-Vee, Fareway, Cub Foods, the Memorial Union Food Court, the Hub concessions and various restaurants in Ames.)

In addition, I recommend that the ISU Black Faculty and Staff Association and other ISU faculty and staff read those documents, exchange ideas/strategies, and become support groups to move this effort forward at break-neck speed. Since we impact students’ lives in such profound ways, we are responsible for helping to provide a future for them at ISU.

When we were working with Fannie Lou Hamer and others in the Mississippi Delta in the early and mid 1960s, we used to sing a song:

“Which side are you on, John? Which side are you on? When they turn the hoses on strong, Which side are you on? Which side are you on, John? Which side are you on? When the FBI has come and gone, Which side are you on? Which side are you on, John, Which side are you on? When the road at night is dark and long, Which side are you on? Which side are you on, John, Which side are you on?”

Mariama Hodari

Student Support Services