SOC SCI 5--1

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

It is disingenuous of Jeffrey Howard, ex-President of the Afro-American Association, to turn my effort to identify the nature of some Negro students' criticism of Social Sciences 5 into an endeavor to exacerbate these students' relationships to the course. I remain of the opinion that racial bigotry and anti-intellectualism motivate their criticism, and if to state this inflames the black critics of Social Sciences 5 then they ought to grow up.

Only last evening one of the Negro critics of the course, having earlier informed me that he was not among that segment of the course's critics who simply reject a white scholar teaching "black history," unwittingly contradicted himself. This occurred during a panel discussion between the novelist Ralph Ellison and Alvin Poussaint, a Negro phychiatrist, at Brandeis University. Dr. Poussaint argued the ridiculious line I attacked in my letter in Tuesday's Crimson, namely, that no white scholar could or should teach a so-called black curriculum, and the Social Sciences 5 critic with me at the panel turned excitedly toward me to register his agreement with Dr. Poussaint. Now I admit that men are free in our mad society to be racist bigots. But they ought to have enough guts to admit that this is what they are and not yell foul when someone points it out.

With regard to Mr. Howard's charge that I am a "pawn" of some reactionary forces at Harvard, he really doesn't know what he's talking about and ought to hold his peace. And Mr. Howard's additional charge that my views have "undue weight" and are "accepted as authoritative on black issues at Harvard" is sheer figment of his imagination.

I have never sought nor posssesed any special influence on these matters in the Harvard Establishment, do not seek nor possess such influence now, and have no intention of doing so in the future. I have always related to racial matters here as an individual who happens to have a scholarly, intellectual, and personal interest in them. I have always been open and honest in relating to these matters and, if I may say so, have been most liberal with my time, energy and small income in doing so.

Whether all this adds up to a favorable or unfavourable "racial image" (whatever on earth that may be) I don't know. Frankly, I couldn't care less. I can say, however, that Jeffrey Howard is perfectly correct in remarking that "Kilson's views are not particularly black," if by this he means I resist anti-intellectualism and racial bigotry. Indeed, he could have said more: I despise racial bigots and the know-nothing mentality, and am rather proud of it. Martin Kilson   Assistant Professor of Government