14 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
St. John’s University investigating professor for
suggesting there was ‘good’ to come from slavery
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
St. John’s University has launched a probe
into one of its history professors aft er he
allegedly asked one of his classes if “there
was good” to come from slavery.
A group calling itself the Radical Social
Justice Warriors at St. John’s accused
Professor Richard Taylor of using “disgusting
NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens pays tribute to former Borough President Claire Shulman
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Former Queens Borough President
Claire Shulman was remembered as a
trailblazing advocate for the borough and
a champion of aff ordable, high-quality
healthcare for its residents during a
tribute to her legacy by NYC Health +
Hospitals/Queens. Shulman, 94, died last
month aft er battling lung cancer and pancreatic
cancer.
“Claire was the epitome of a community
activist in the purest sense of the word,
building her entire career around contributing
to the betterment of her community,
and specifi cally to the borough of Queens
for the past half-century,” NYC Health +
Hospitals/Queens CEO Israel Rocha said.
“She began her career as a nurse right here
in what was formerly known as Queens
General Hospital, entered politics as chair
of the local community board, worked her
way to becoming deputy borough president
and eventually landed the job of
fi rst female Queens borough president by
default. Yet she was so good at her job she
essentially redefi ned it, remaining in the
position for the next 16 years, and paving
the way for the two dynamic borough
presidents, Helen Marshall and Melinda
Katz, who succeeded her.”
Shulman guided the borough through
turbulent times and fought to save public
hospitals in Queens.
“Claire’s dedication to quality healthcare
and love of nursing led her to fi ght to preserve
our public hospitals from the threat
of privatization in the mid-nineties,” said
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and
Queens Dean/Medical Director Jasmin
Moshipur, MD. “Her rugged determination
and staunch perseverance resulted
in securing more than $150 million
in capital funding for a major modernization
project and upgrading of both
Queens and Elmhurst Hospitals. A personal
friend and colleague, a longtime
ally and ceaseless champion of our borough’s
public hospitals, she enabled the
fulfi llment of a dream: two newly modernized
public facilities fully equipped to
meet the increasing demands of the 21st
century.”
In 1997, Shulman fought off the city’s
plan to sell off Queens Hospital in
Hillcrest, the same place where she started
her nursing career.
“Queens Hospital had a special place
in Claire Shulman’s heart. One could feel
the genuine aff ection she had for Queens
Hospital when she spoke of her days as
a student at the Queens Hospital School
of Nursing, her fi rst professional job in
Queens, where she met her husband,
Dr. Melvin Shulman,” said NYC Health
+ Hospitals Queens Deputy Medical
Offi cer Jean-Bernard Poulard, MD. “She
was grateful for the role Queens Hospital
played in her life, but she gave back to the
people of Queens much more than she
received. She was larger than life: a hero, a
fi ghter for so many underdogs, and always
for the just cause. I will be forever proud
and appreciative to have known her and
to have witnessed her in action. She made
it possible for us to pursue our missiondriven
approach to healthcare with dignity
and respect for all those we serve.”
Th roughout her half-century of public
service, Shulman remained dedicated to
her mission to provide Queens residents
with excellent healthcare so they would
not have to take the tunnel or bridges into
Manhattan for proper medical care.
“Claire was instrumental in the establishment
of the Queens Cancer Center
in 2001, the year the newly modernized
facility was introduced to the public,”
said Queens Cancer Center of Queens
Hospital Director Margaret Kemeny, MD.
“She personally recruited me to lead this
state-of-the-art center of excellence, so
crucial to meeting the needs of the southeast
Queens community. I am forever
thankful that she enabled me to lend my
skills to a community of need. Her role in
introducing the Queens Cancer Center
helped transform Queens Hospital into a
thriving mecca for so many e immigrant
families seeking quality, comprehensive
healthcare right in their neighborhood.”
rhetoric” and demanded his dismissal.
“Richard Taylor, an adjunct instructor,
has been removed from the classroom and
the matter is under investigation,” St. John’s
University spokesman Brian Browne said.
Farudh Majid, a masters student at
SJU studying government and politics,
explained that the group that accused
Taylor is called Th e Radicals, which is
a non-university-related student organization
that worked on the letter collectively,
but other members did not want their
names used out fears of retribution from
the school’s administration. Th e Radicals’
mission is to battle systematic injustice on
campus.
“We craft ed the letter and posted it on
Instagram and before long there were 1,000
likes and more than 2,000 shares,” Majid
said.
Taylor, a former NYPD police offi cer
and U.S. Marine Corps reservist, could not
be reached for comment. He is also a doctoral
candidate at St. John’s whose research
interests focus on the evolution of militarization
within the New York City Police
Department.
“It is outrageous that in 2020, our Black
students are endangered by disgusting rhetoric
used by a Professor, an individual who
has a responsibility to adhere to the mission
of our university to uphold a global community,
to speak of slavery as if there was
‘good to come from it,” Th e Radicals wrote.
“Justifying slavery and the oppression that
results from it is a strong act of racism, of
aggression, and invalidates the experiences
of Black people and other BIPOC individuals
with connections to slavery. It pushes
forth the belief that slavery was okay.
Every day that Professor Taylor continues
to teach, Black lives are ignored. Black pain
is ignored. History is ignored, manipulated,
and watered down.”
Th e Radicals added that “the wrongness
of slavery is not a debate or a controversial
issue” and that it is not fi t for a “pros
and cons list,” and that any pro “was granted
to White people only, and the ‘diversity’
that has resulted in the United States from
slavery is not to have its impacts weighed,
especially by students whose ancestors did
not have a say is being brought to this continent.”
Th e Radicals concluded their letter saying,
“If Professor Taylor continues to teach
at this university, St. John’s University can
never be anti-racist or claim it values Black
lives.”
Th e group posted on Instagram soon
aft er Taylor was removed. Th ey shared a letter
emailed to his students from Professor
Nerina Rustomji, the chair of the SJU history
department.
Although she was unable to comment on
the investigation she did say, “I would like
to express our department’s commitment
to anti-racism and to creating classroom
environments where students feel included,
respected and enlightened by course content
and dialogue.”
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