Last modified: Tuesday, November 11, 2008
IU redesignates Wildermuth Intramural Center as the Garrett-Wildermuth Fieldhouse
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 11, 2008
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Sixty years ago, Indiana University sophomore Bill Garrett electrified Hoosier basketball fans with his extraordinary shooting and rebounding abilities when Big Ten basketball was played in the building now known as the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center.
Garrett, IU's first black player, also frequently demonstrated remarkable courage and strength of character in the face of open hostility from fans and players on other teams who did not welcome his presence on the playing court.
It was his strength of character as much as his playing skills that enabled Garrett to break the unwritten agreement barring blacks from Big Ten play.
That is why the All University Committee on Names is unanimously recommending that Garrett's name be permanently affixed to the building. If approved by the IU Board of Trustees, the building will be officially redesignated the "William L. Garrett-Ora L. Wildermuth Fieldhouse."
Signs and maps would be changed to the shortened, "Garrett-Wildermuth Fieldhouse."
"Bill Garrett was not only a great basketball player, he was a hero of the American civil rights movement, and he deserves to be remembered for that as well," said Ed Marshall, IU's vice president for diversity, equity and multicultural affairs. "Bill Garrett truly earned this special honor."
Marshall, who serves on the naming committee, said that linking Garrett's name with that of Wildermuth, a longtime trustee who opposed racial integration of the university in the 1940s, would provide a positive and highly visible teaching opportunity for future generations of IU students.
The committee is proposing that a plaque describing the history of the name change be installed in a conspicuous location near the building. IU President Michael A. McRobbie endorsed the recommendation Monday and will present it to trustees on Nov. 19.
The issue was made public in April 2007 by the Indiana Daily Student newspaper, which reported that Wildermuth, who served as a trustee from 1925 to 1952, had made written comments in letters to university officials that by today's standards would be considered as racist and offensive. In a letter explaining why he opposed integration of dormitories, he wrote, "I am and shall always remain absolutely and utterly opposed to social intermingling of the colored race with the white…"
The letters were first brought to light in the book Getting Open by Tom Graham and Rachel Graham Cody, which recounts Garrett's key role in the integration of college basketball. The book is available in paperback from IU Press.
Last year, McRobbie asked the Committee on Names to consider whether it would be appropriate to keep the Wildermuth name on the building in light of Wildermuth's known racist views.
IU Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer J. Terry Clapacs, who heads the 25-member committee, said the group had several meetings to discuss the issue and struggled to find a satisfactory and appropriate solution.
It was Marshall's suggestion to combine the names and use the new name as a point of reference for teaching future generations of students about the university's racial history.
"Everything Bill Garrett did at IU ran contrary to Ora Wildermuth's ideas about the potential of African Americans to succeed in life," Marshall said. "Bill Garrett not only broke the Big Ten 'color barrier' and became an All American basketball player, he earned an IU degree. "
Clapacs said that while committee members recognized the offensive nature of Wildermuth's views, they were of the opinion that it would not be right to judge him by today's standards.
"As wrong as he was, his views on race were not that uncommon at that time in history," Clapacs said. "Even our Armed Forces were segregated in those days. What is remarkable is that our society has changed so much in just 60 years. "
Clapacs noted that in 1971 when the building was named for Wildermuth, the late IU President Herman B Wells presided over the Committee on Names. As a trustee, Wildermuth had been instrumental in raising funds for the fieldhouse and other IU projects, and naming the building after him was intended to recognize his many contributions to IU.
"To some extent, we are continuing to trust in Herman's judgment," Clapacs said. "Herman knew Ora Wildermuth's views very well. Perhaps Wildermuth, like so many other Americans, came to see things differently as the civil rights movement unfolded."
Garrett died in 1974 at the age of 45 of a heart condition.
Clapacs said Garrett's surviving family members were consulted about the recommendation and approve of it. He said the family would be invited to attend a formal naming ceremony to be held sometime in the spring semester.
