A group of University of Missouri alumni has formed to combat the notion that racism is prevalent at the university, and to work with other groups to bring a "reasoned response" to the recent racial tensions and to any problems that do exist.
Truth Matters MU is a group that started late last week with about 30 initial members who are "sensitive to discrimination, yet also fear many of the recent incidents have been fabricated to create a platform that creates divisiveness and contrarily promotes racial tension rather than inclusion," according to a news release from the group.
It has started a #UNITYMU Initiative on social media to bring healing to the school.
"This is not the beloved Mizzou many know," said Russ Jones, a 1982 University of Missouri alumnus and founder of Truth Matters MU. "How are administrators, and the nation for that matter, supposed to take seriously issues of discrimination when the facts seem to say something very different?"
The group says it wants to work with students, faculty and university leadership to address any problems that do exist and to celebrate unity in diversity at the university.
Truth Matters MU believes President Tim Wolfe was falsely accused and should not have resigned, and that Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin should not have stepped down.
It said the protests have created further division, rather than celebrating diversity.
"I graduated in 1982, and Mizzou has always been very dear to my heart," Jones said. "I received an excellent education there that I worked very hard for and has served me well over the years."
So when he heard of the racial tension and the incidents that led to it, he took notice, finding it hard to believe racism was a big problem on campus. He looked into some of the incidents and found some didn't add up.
Student body president Payton Head, for example, had to apologize for spreading false reports that the KKK was on campus.
Concerned Student 1950 formed last month to protest what they said was a lack of response from university officials to racist incidents. The group called for change and demanding that Wolfe resign, gaining momentum through a student's hunger strike and then the backing of the MU football team.
Through that, which led to the resignations of Wolfe and Loftin, Jones said Concerned Student 1950 went unchallenged, so he and other alumni believed something had to be done.
He said he started the group, knowing that some might wrongly paint him as racist.
"This is not a group of angry white men," he said. "It's a broad collection across the United States that loves Mizzou and are concerned" about the harm protesters are doing to both MU and to race relations.
"Dr. Alveta King, Martin Luther King's niece, is standing with us. She's willing to lend a hand," Jones said.
"A guy driving through town in pickup truck yelling the N word is not acceptable," he said. "I don't know anybody who would condone that behavior. Does that mean there is widespread racism on the campus? That's a stretch."
On the Web:
truthmattersmu
Facebook.com/truthmattersmu