Bob Jones University Apologizes For Racist Policies that Persisted Well into the Early 2000s

This rings very hollow to me, but nonetheless, I applaud Bob Jones University's President Stephen Jones' decision to do so. The fundamentalist Christian University apologized for racist policies including a one-time ban on interracial dating, which was not lifted until nine years ago and let's also not forget the institution's unwillingness to admit black students until 1971. Mr. Jones said that the decision to apologize was also based, in part, on the questions the school continues to receive on its views on race.

Bob Jones University, which was founded in 1927 in South Carolina, said its rules on race were shaped by culture instead of the Bible. The university did not begin admitting black students until nearly 20 years after the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling found public segregated schools were unconstitutional. I personally would not consider Bob Jones University as an institution of higher learning for my own children. You see, old habits dies hard. According to a historical snapshot of the school, From 1971 to 1975, BJU admitted only married blacks, although the IRS had already determined in 1970 that "private schools with racially discriminatory admissions policies" were not entitled to federal tax exemption. Late in 1971, BJU filed suit to prevent the IRS from taking its tax exemption, but in 1974, in Bob Jones University v. Simon, the US Supreme Court ruled that the University did not have standing to sue until the IRS actually assessed taxes. Four months later, on May 29, 1975, the University Board of Trustees authorized a change in policy to admit "students of any race," a move that occurred shortly before the announcement of the Supreme Court decision in Runyon v. McCrary, which prohibited racial exclusion in private schools. To read more on BJU racist past, CLICK HERE.

The university issued a formal apology on their website that reads.....

"We failed to accurately represent the Lord and to fulfill the commandment to love others as ourselves. For these failures we are profoundly sorry. Though no known antagonism toward minorities or expressions of racism on a personal level have ever been tolerated on our campus, we allowed institutional policies to remain in place that were racially hurtful," the statement said. The interracial dating ban was lifted in March 2000, not long after the policy became an issue in the Republican presidential primary. Then-candidate George W. Bush was criticized when he spoke at the school during one of his first campaign stops.

Let me echo the sentiments of Lonnie Randolph, the leader of the South Carolina National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, who said:

"It's unfortunate it took them this long — particularly a religious, faith-based institution — to realize that we all are human beings and the rights of all people should be respected and honored."

I completely agree with his statements. I would also caution others not to hold Mr. Jones liable for the decisions made by Bob Jones, his grandfather and his father, also named Bob Jones, against him. I have to wonder, what took Mr. Jones so long to speak out against the policies of the school. A dwindling student population, that lacks diversity, perhaps?