Claims to diversity in academic institutions such as Pitzer College are in this day and age the norm.  Recent events at Pitzer have caused many faculty members and students alike to begin an investigation as to whether Pitzer actually “walks its talk.”  Last year, after being heavily recruited by Pitzer College under its Target of Opportunity Procedure (TOP), and working for the college for four years, Brian Yazzie Burkhart Ph.D. (Cherokee/Dine’) was denied the tenure track position that the TOP conceived and developed for him.  Supposedly, the project aimed to bring to the campus what they described as an “extraordinary” addition to the community in “Non Western” Philosophy (in this case Indigenous Philosophy).  Since then, the only thing extraordinary about Pitzer’s hiring process, in regard to Burkhart, has been the lengths to which they have subjected a person of a traditionally marginalized ethnicity to its scrutiny, one that has included multiple lengthy application processes and a litany interviews.  This, according to the many opinions I have taken, including some of Burkhart’s colleagues, would be highly irregular in any other non-minority targeted hiring process.  
     I was raised in Claremont, and I haven’t forgotten Jimmy Smith and Irvin Landrum.  Burkhart is known for the American Indian songs he sings which have resonated beyond Pitzer, and found commonality with a contingent of the Native Community of greater LA, myself included; we have waited hopefully to see this Native son posted.  But Pitzer has tried to sidestep the outcry of support for Burkhart’s claims to rightful employment with careful, cunning announcements, timing their intent to decline his hire for just before graduation last year, and again (on his third application) just at winter break this year.  Students and faculty have circulated petitions that have garnered incredible support for Burkhart (whose class numbers have exceeded 60 where 15 is the norm), and their actions have culminated in confrontations with multiple internal committees including the Board of Trustees.
       The TOP search committee chairperson, who recruited Burkhart, spent the first three years of Burkhart’s residency soaking up the praises of a champion of diversity.  Last spring, many witnesses to Burkhart’s “job talk” (interview) have suggested the TOP chairperson and the other members of the five-college philosophical organization formed questions to Burkhart that challenged the legitimacy of Indigenous Philosophy as a whole.  This approach establishes and maintains a condescending, paternalistic dominance on behalf of the Western Philosophy Institution, which it would seem Burkhart was recruited to broaden.  Perhaps the Philosophy establishment realized they could not control Burkhart or the unique legacy through which he frames his perspectives.
       Sadly, it seems Burkhart’s plight will be decided in the courts, with the EEOC and ACLU.  We would expect institutions, like Pitzer that profess to serve us, to demonstrate leadership on such issues, but history seems to prove yet again that we must hold even those who make claims to inclusiveness, accountable for their words.   So often we think we want a new perspective, such as Burkhart’s, until it is glaring us in the face.  Looking back through a western lens, and faced with the prospect of seating an effective challenger at the table must be, to some, threatening.
     Americans have demonstrated that when it comes to entrusting the job of the most powerful man in the world to an African American, our choice is not to be entirely guided by color.  During the campaign, Michelle Obama commented, “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country…”  I heard many angry responses to her, that questioned her awakened pride, and suggested pride in America should have been instilled in the crib.  I don’t think she meant this as literally as this group of patriots would have us think, but or my generation (CHS class of 91), there has been no event anywhere near as momentous as Obama’s victory; we did not witness the end of WWII, the felling of the Berlin Wall, or the days when Martin Luther King Jr. spoke “I have a dream”.
      Perhaps given this milestone, we will not rest on our laurels.  In fact, on Monday January 20, the New York Times reported of Mrs. Obama: “She has decided to shape her public program with the help of a policy director who has raised concerns about instances of systemic employment bias against minorities and called for tougher enforcement of antidiscrimination laws, contentious issues in the workplace.”  It’s easy to cast a vote, stake a claim, or sing the praises of diversity.  How will we respond when the tough choices, work and discussions follow?  
      It seems Obama has called for engagement in our communities as we march on to the promise of unity and the opportunities it may bring.  Will the community that is Pitzer College be equal to the task?  It will be a sad day if this Native Son, Brian Yazzie Burkhart, is told to pack his bags, and the songs he has shared at the drum that have summoned so many, are silenced.