A few years ago I was a student taking Constitutional Law with University of Miami Professor D. Marvin Jones. I was one of three white students in a room of about 50 students. There were class presentations by small groups of students, although nearly all of these groups were made up entirely of African American students. One such group did a presentation on how terrible the FCAT is. I must admit that I agree with them that the FCAT is terrible, however, I was deeply offended by some of their comments and the actions of Professor Jones.
One of the students in the group making the presentation loudly proclaimed early on, “The FCAT is the white man’s plan to keep the black man down.” Most of the classroom errupted in cheers and clapping, which was loudly punctuated by Professor Jones’ clapping and ear-to-ear smile. I was deeply offended, and I’m sure other students were offended as well, as evidenced by the line I had to wait in to speak to the dean after class. I could not believe that Professor Jones, someone who publicly pretends to fight for racial equality, would allow such racist comments, and even applaud them, behind the closed doors of his classroom. To me, the student’s comment indicated that there is some kind of conspiracy among all white people to keep black people down. I felt as if the girl was implying that simply because I am white that I am part of that conspiracy. Now, I’m as much a fan of conspiracy theories as the next person, and there very well might be a conspiracy to keep minority groups powerless and at a lower socioeconomic status than the majority, however, I believe in seeking equality. I don’t appreciate that this student lumped all white people into one category.
At the end of the presentation a white student raised his hand and said he would like to make a comment. Instantly Professor Jones was on the offensive and began yelling at the student that there were no experts in this class. I didn’t think you could get any more left-wing than Professor Jones, and because of that I was shocked that he would try to stifle free speech in a law school classroom. After all, he didn’t censor any of the group presentations, despite what might have been the expression of inappropriate views. Jones seems to only be in favor of free speech for himself and others he considers to be like him, either politically or racially. I think his behavior shows that his views are that way regarding racial equality. I would hate to imagine what would have happened if the three white students formed a group and made a presentation where they made a general statement about the intent of all blacks, similar to the coment actually made in class regarding the intent of all whites.
Despite Jones’ attempt to stop him, the student persisted in trying to make a comment, so Professor Jones yelled at him to leave the class. Jones followed the kid outside, and we could hear screaming on the part of Jones. The student, now bright red, returned to the class silently a few minutes later. Then Jones gruffly asked what the student wanted to say. The student’s comment was a minor correction to the presentation regarding when it is that the students are first subjected to the FCAT.
I went to two deans to complain that this professor was racist against white students. The deans dismissed my allegations quickly. Even when I pointed out that the professor rarely showed up for class on time, they seemed unconcerned about his behavior. One of the deans told me that they had a similar problem where he simply stopped teaching when he was running for a political office, and they’d speak to him about teaching class and being on time again. That was when I realized that UM was not going to do anything about this rogue professor.
I write about this experience because it left a lasting impression on me. This was my first real experience facing racial discrimination. I could never put my finger on it when I was called on all semester and the other two white students were constantly called upon, while black students were not required to participate in class. When I spoke to the deans, they suggested that Jones was just calling on all of the white students constantly because the white students were interested and contributed to interesting class discussions. However, on the day of the FCAT presentation, I suddenly saw everything for what it was. I think everyone can agree that Jones doesn’t outright hate whites, he just holds blacks as superior to whites. As I thought back to all of the times that Jones had lectured that separate is not equal, I realized that Jones had separate policies for black students and white students. If white students had made a general statement about the intent of blacks, I think it’s safe to say Jones wouldn’t have been clapping or smiling. Perhaps I was oversensitive at the time, but I was horrified to have to report such a thing to the deans. I was disappointed that the professor could not be neutral in teaching the class, and I was disappointed that UM knew of some of the problems regarding this individual and yet did not weed this individual out, or at least impose sanctions to try to correct the behavior.
Today I learned of this article (via Above the Law) detailing how Professor D. Marvin Jones was arrested on the charge of soliciting an undercover police officer for sex. The best part of this was where I read that he was offering $20 as he approached in his Mercedes sports car. I can’t wait to see the defense on this one. I will say that I firmly believe in our Constitution, and I firmly believe in the presumption of innocence. However, as a criminal defense lawyer, I do know that cases involving undercover law enforcement agents are more difficult to defend than cases not involving law enforcment. Honestly, I don’t believe that soliciting prostitution is the most terrible crime, but I think it’s inappropriate, if Professor Jones is found guilty, for the deans to just ignore such a finding of guilt. If Professor Jones is found guilty, I hold out hope that the deans at UM will do something besides just rubber stamp Jones’ outrageous and unacceptable behvior. When I spoke to the deans regarding the incident that happened in my class, I got the impression that they did not want to take action against Jones, despite admitted problems regarding his behavior, because he was one of the few African American professors at UM. All I can say is that when I read the article, I thought the results were karma at work, and I don’t think Jones can hide behind issues of race forever.
