Walter J. Leonard – The Unappreciated President of Fisk University

Walter J. Leonard, the former President of Fisk University, passed away on December 8^th, 2015. As the memorials and tributes roll in, I am interested in seeing just how forgetful some of them will be.

As an energetic but undisciplined veteran of a New York ghetto, I had no business attending Fisk. My original intent was to study television at Brooklyn College, but my mother steered me toward Nashville. She must have known that I needed something more than just a degree, that I needed a better foundation for my life. She was right.

I arrived at Fisk knowing nothing of school or cultural traditions. As a self-appointed oddball in need of better clothes and a haircut, fitting in wasn't exactly on my radar. Since I could read music and already knew most of the repertoire, I passed my audition for The Fisk Jubilee Singers and joined the Stagecrafters and the University Ushers. Yet it was through these activities that I was able to observe Dr. Leonard up close.

First came the protests. As on many campuses, there was tension between the faculty and the administration, which inexplicably boiled over into silent student marches and class boycotts. I did not participate, mostly because I don't readily join crowds and also because I am not impressed by campus radicals and bullies (although I did participate in one sit-in at the Administration Building. I just wanted to play, too. All I remember were cliques sitting between the book stacks and student leaders in the study rooms, loudly talking about doing nothing. I went to sleep in a corner, woke up at 6 AM, took a shower and went to class that morning).

To be fair, Dr. Leonard's administration could be heavy handed with students (remember the expulsions and the Black Mass issue?); however, regarding the school's solvency, what else could he have done? I have no medical training, but in the case of an open wound, doesn't the medic or First Responder have to try to stop the bleeding? This is what Dr. Leonard did for Fisk, both financially and philosophically and the fact that he wasn't tall, good-looking or sepia toned didn't phase him at all. He was upbeat and would encourage any student who came within arms reach. I wrote satirical articles for the school's newspaper and often made the wrong people mad. His advice to me: “Keep on writing!”

My two concluding stories precisely sum up the wisdom of Dr. Leonard and his love for Fisk. The first involves a phrase that he used frequently in speeches. I specifically remember him stating that “Jim Crow...is dead, but we always have to be vigilant against his cousin, 'Sir James Crowe, Esquire'.” I challenge my readers to stay abreast of news headlines: Police brutality against African-Americans, The Prison Industrial Complex, discriminatory Mandatory Sentencing, attacks on Public Education, Union Busting, opposition to Affordable Healthcare, voter redistricting schemes, eminent domain seizures for private developers, de-funding of state HBCs and HBCUs, White Supremacist Terrorism, obstructionism against President Obama, etc.

James Crowe, esq., indeed.

The second involves something Dr. Leonard said during a speech at a Black church, the location of which I have long forgotten. He was speaking of a recent Fiskite, who had been accepted to the graduate schools of both Harvard and Howard.   Dr. Leonard described them as “The Big H and the Little H”, which he repeated twice: “The Big H and the Little H. The Big H and the Little H”. Then, after a pause and a mischievous grin, he added: “Howard...is the BIG H!” - to rounds of applause.   Then he added “And that young man...IS FISK!”

Indeed, Dr. Leonard.   Indeed.

Rest in Peace.

--Thomas Wilson, Class of 1983