http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/12/is_saying_all_lives_matter_off.html#incart_most-commentsIs saying 'all lives matter' offensive? Is college president's apology just case of political correctness gone wild?
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Leada Gore | lgore@al.com By Leada Gore | lgore@al.com
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on December 10, 2014 at 11:18 A
The president of a Massachusetts college has apologized for comments she made following protests over the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.
What did she say to prompt the apology?
"All lives matter."
Kathleen McCartney, president of Smith College, a private all-women's liberal arts college, wrote the phrase in the subject line of an email sent to students in the wake of protests following grand jury decisions not to indict white police officers in the deaths of black men in Missouri and New York.
Protestors have used the phrase "Black Lives Matter" when talking about the deaths.
In her email about the deaths and ensuing protests, McCartney wrote: "We gather in vigil, we raise our voices in protest; yet we wake again to news of violence that reminds us, painfully, of the stark reality of racial injustice" with the phrase "all lives matter" in the subject line.
Alumni and students quickly jumped on McCartney for her use of "all lives matter", prompting her to apologize in a campus-wide email on Friday saying she only had the "best intentions" when using the phrase.
"I regret that I was unaware the phrase/hashtag "all lives matter" has been used by some to draw attention away from the focus on institutional violence against Black people," she wrote, according to Fox News. The college has also announced plans to institute a new Chief Diversity Officer to support social justice programs and initiatives.
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