
News get more and more outrageous and unbelievable with each passing day, especially when it comes to racial tension and insensitivity. The latest “hold-my-beer” moment comes from the desk of Lipscomb University’s president, Randy Lowry.
Last week, in presumably a well-meaning gesture, the president of the predominantly white Nashville school invited several black undergraduate students to his home for dinner. The students in attendance had hopes of discussing their specific experiences at Lipscomb, and instead were greeted with a buffet of racial triggers.
The menu for the stand-up dinner included soul food staples like macaroni and cheese, collard greens and cornbread, but the real kicker was the cotton stalk centerpieces that decorated each table. The centerpieces (which the president claimed were “fall-inspired”) were not there for the Latino dinner the night before, in which tacos were served to guests.
One student documented the problematic ordeal on her Instagram.
“[President Lowry] asked why there was cotton on the table as the center piece,” she wrote. “His response was that he didn’t know, he seen [sic] it before we did, he kind of thought it was ‘fallish’, THEN he said ‘it ISN’T INHERENTLY BAD IF WERE ALL WEARING IT’ then walked off. Later on all of us that were there were invited into the home, and we had the impression that we were coming to speak about how us as Black people feel about Lipscomb. The whole entire time we were in their home they only talked about themselves( how they met, got married and ended up at lipscomb) & the ONLY question that we were asked was our transformation coming to lipscomb.”
Lowry has since publicly apologized for the offense and welcomed more dialogue surrounding the topic.
“The content of the centerpieces was offensive, and I could have handled the situation with more sensitivity,” he wrote. “I sincerely apologize for the discomfort, anger or disappointment we caused and solicit your forgiveness. I have heard from a number of students who would like to spend more time together engaging in conversation. I am most pleased to do so either in small groups or individually.”
Read the full post below.