The attack on William Bennet in the Oct. 27th issue of the Graphic is not only an affront to me as a Pepperdine alum, but totally misrepresents what I know, first hand, to be true, since I worked as Dr. Bennett’s assistant for five years.
Ms. Brittany dean parrots Rep. John Conyers’ (D-MI) now discredited, partisan charge by repeating his misquote, using the first part of a sentence and purposely omitting the second part of the sentence. After noting the absurd suggestion following a caller’s question that aborting black babies might reduce crime, in the same sentence Dr. Bennet said, “that would be impossible, ridiculous, and a morally reprehensible thing to do.” Purposely omitting that part of his sentence was clearly a dishonest distortion of the quotation, and Ms. Dean, unfortunately, was taken in by Conyers’ distortion.
Secondly, Ms Dean’s characterization of Dr. Bennet as promoting “vile ideas” is contrary to everything that he stands for. He was a strong leader in the South for civil rights long before others supported it. In the 1960s, his faculty contract at the University of Southern Misssisippi was denied because of his support for the philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of his heroes. He was several times confirmed by the Senate for Cabinet positions, being acclaimed for his efforts to advance social justice and racial equality, often teaming up with African-American leaders. As Drug Czar he worked tirelessly to remove drugs from the inner city, and has worked indefatigable in support of the work of his wife, Elaine, who established “Best Friends,” a very successful program for young inner-city girls, most of whom are African Americans, to have opportunities they would not otherwise have had.
That a partisan like Conyers would stoop so low is, unfortunately, not atypical. But it is unbecoming of the Graphic to repeat it.
Gail M. Wilburn, Pepperdine resident
11-03-2005