Here's what led to the Mizzou student protests and the president's resignation
University of Missouri system president Tim Wolfe resigned Monday amid growing protests that he didn't adequately address a series of race-related incidents on campus. In recent days, the protests gained support from more than 30 football players, the student government, and a group of faculty members that had called for a walkout. Students, professors, and alumni say the recent protests are part of a much longer history of systemic racism at Mizzou:
Many black students have stories about being called the n-word by their white peers and other instances of racial discrimination inside and outside of the classroom, The Los Angeles Times reports. Junior Andrea Fulgiam told the Times that a professor once told her she was only attending Mizzou due to the university's affirmative action policy.
It was the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, that motivated campus activists to take action, according to Ayanna Poole, a founding member of the black student activist group Concerned Student 1950 (named for the year the school first admitted black students), which has spearheaded the calls for Wolfe's removal. The Ferguson shooting sparked waves of protests, which some Mizzou students drove two hours to attend in Ferguson. The student government's letter Monday specifically noted Ferguson as an issue the university was "silent" on.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Missourian, a student newspaper, outlined a "key escalation" of racial tension in recent months. In September and October, black students garnered attention for publicly describing different incidents of race-related harassment on campus. The movement started gaining ground quickly:
- Oct. 10: Concerned Student 1950 protests the homecoming parade by blocking Wolfe's car. Ten days later, they issued a list of demands, which included a call for the president's removal. A meeting between the activists and Wolfe didn't go anywhere.
- Nov 2: Graduate student Jonathan Butler begins a hunger strike: "Tim Wolfe is removed from office or my internal organs fail and my life is lost," he wrote in a letter to Mizzou system directors.
- Nov. 6: Wolfe apologizes for not acknowledging protesters during the parade and vows to help combat racism on campus.
- Nov. 7: More than 30 members of the football team announce their boycott of all games and practices until Wolfe leaves office, with their coaching staff and teammates later expressing their support.
- Nov. 8: Gov. Jay Nixon (D) calls on the university to address race-related concerns.
- Nov. 9: Wolfe resigns at an emergency meeting of the school's Board of Curators.
"Use my resignation to heal and start talking again," Wolfe said.
Head over to the Missourian for the full timeline of campus protests.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
-
4 ways to give back this holiday season
The Explainer If your budget is feeling squeezed, remember that money is not the only way you can be generous around the holidays
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
4 tips for hosting an ecofriendly Thanksgiving
The Week Recommends Coming together for the holidays typically produces a ton of waste, but with proper preparation, you can have an environmentally friendly gathering.
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appeal
Speed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Global court issues arrest warrant for Netanyahu
Speed Read The International Criminal Court issued warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who stand accused of war crimes
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz bows out, Trump pivots to Pam Bondi
Speed Read Gaetz withdrew from attorney generation consideration, making way for longtime Trump loyalist Pam Bondi
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
GOP's Mace seeks federal anti-trans bathroom ban
Speed Read Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has introduced legislation to ban transgender people from using federal facilities
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine fires ATACMS, Russia ups hybrid war
Speed Read Ukraine shot U.S.-provided long-range missiles and Russia threatened retaliation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freeze
Speed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bans
Speed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler group
Speed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emerge
Speed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published