Dive Summary:
- University of Michigan Provost Martha Pollack re-invited "The Color Purple" author Alice Walker to speak on campus.
- The Pulitzer Prize winner had been invited to speak at the 50th anniversary of the school's Center for the Education of Women, but revealed in a blog post last week that her invitation was rescinded—allegedly due to pressure from donors who disagreed with her cultural boycott of Israel.
- In a letter to faculty posted on the Center for the Education of Women's web page, Pollack said the center and the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies were inviting Walker to speak on campus, calling attention to the school's “firm commitment to free speech and to the expression of diverse viewpoints.”
From the article:
... The center said the decision to withdraw the invitation was based solely on the “celebratory nature” they hoped to achieve at the anniversary event.
Walker is a well-known supporter of the boycott, divestment and sanctions, or BDS, movement against Israel, in particular “a cultural boycott of Israel and Israeli institutions,” such as her decision last year to not allow an Israeli publishing house to translate her book “The Color Purple” into Hebrew. ...