Matthew Resenhoeft

Early during Wednesday afternoon’s panel discussion on education and diversity, James Meredith shared what he believes is the single most important factor when it comes to education: language.

“In the inner city, the language they speak is not the language that the educational system uses,” said Meredith, who in 1962 was the first black student to attend the University of Mississippi. “Until they at least get a command of correct English, I don’t think we’re going to have a change.”

Meredith went on to say that “doing away with white supremacy” was a great event in American history, but it hasn’t had an impact in terms of “real education.”

Senior Seth Zlotocha, the lone student on the six-person panel, agreed with Meredith and added that simply putting students of different races in the same school doesn’t solve the problem.

“Just by putting a black student in a white school or a white student in a black school, that is not necessarily going to integrate that school,” Zlotocha said. “It’s important to have interaction.”

The moderator of the discussion read a few prepared questions to the panelists before opening the hour-long event to questions from the audience of about 40 people.

Another topic discussed was that of rap and its role in American culture. Selika Ducksworth-Lawton, associate history professor, said it’s important to make the distinction between social consciousness rap and gangster rap.

She drew some laughter from the audience when she said she felt it was a social injustice that Vanilla Ice could get airplay when Arrested Development could not.

“Gangster rap is not the reality of black life,” Ducksworth-Lawton said. “(But) that’s the image that suburban whites get and some of them believe it.

“This has a really big impact on the perception of blacks in the United States.”

Meredith spoke briefly about his definition of citizenship, his comments doubling as a preview for his Forum Lecture “Celebrating the Dream” 7:30 p.m. tonight in Zorn Arena.

“Citizenship is the right to enjoy the privilege and rights of the nation of the society that one lives in,” Meredith said. But he said citizenship also is carrying out the duties and responsibilities that go along with that citizenship.

Meredith said many people often focus on the rights, but the focus on responsibility is lacking.

“That’s just a promo for (tonight),” he said.