Drew Gilpin Faust is the first female president of Harvard University. Faust grew up in rural Virginia when segregation was commonplace and the civil rights movement had not made an impact in that part of the country yet. Faust discusses what it is like to be part of an underrepresented group in the sciences while being considered a “token” appointment. Faust also shares what it was like for her to grow up in the segregated south and provides insight to a letter that she wrote to President Eisenhower when she was 9 as a plea to end segregation.
Listen to the podcast linked above. Taking the discussion about her “token” status into consideration, think about the reading on Affirmative Action and who has been seen to benefit most from the movement. Comment on the discussion of race in America and Faust’s stance as a White child from the south calling for an end to segregation. Are the two discussions related? How could her comments on both be analyzed with a CRT lens?