Missouri’s black football players refusing to play until president ousted

An African-American student at a Missouri college two hours away from the epicenter of anti-police and anti-racism protests that erupted previous year launched a hunger strike following racist incidents that he says have gone mostly unaddressed by campus officials.

Wolfe’s apology comes on day five of graduate student Jonathan Butler’s hunger strike.

“(Butler’s) voice for social justice is important and powerful”, Wolfe said.

Wolfe ended the statement by addressing what happened last month when the Concerned Student 1950 group halted the Homecoming parade for about 15 minutes.

The message reads: “The athletes of color on the University of Missouri football team truly believe “Injustice Anywhere is a threat to Justice Everywhere” We will no longer participate in any football related activities until President Tim Wolfe resigns or is removed due to his negligence toward marginalized students’ experience”.

We, the faculty of the English Department, respectfully submit this vote of no confidence in the leadership of Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin.

Wolfe also apologized for not responding to protesting students who blocked his auto during the Missouri homecoming parade to speak to him about their concerns.

Concerned Student 1950, the group camping out in protest, similarly cited frustrations with how Wolfe has handled race issues, the Daily Tribune reported.

Loftin’s service, his twenty-one month tenure has been marked by dereliction of duty in maintaining the quality and reputation of graduate education, violations of the bedrock principle of shared governance, and failure to defend the University’s educational mission against outside political pressure. They were removed by police.

This is all stemming from what black students said is widespread racism on the campus.

Associate director of the University of Missouri News Bureau Christian Basi says Loftin has seen the letter and is willing to meet with the department. He told the Columbia Missourian it was the first time he’d “experienced in-your-face racism” on campus. He said he protested against similar issues when he was a student there in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and his daughter protested against them when she was an MU student in the 1980s.

“I have every confidence that Tim Wolfe will lead the board toward a position responsible to the current situation”.