Simmons College president: Spalding doesn't understand 'Louisville is segregated'

A day after his school called nearby Spalding University's new athletic complex a "symbol of white privilege," Simmons College President Kevin Cosby suggested in a series of tweets that Spalding doesn't understand racial issues in Louisville.

What Spalding "doesn't get," he tweeted, is that "Louisville is segregated. It is baked into the system."

He added that "diversity 4 whites means reforming white space alone but never repairing black space racism created" and that people in western Louisville will only be "lifted by repairing black space."

"We do not want to play on their playground," Cosby said in a separate tweet. "We want our own institution funded the same ways there’s (sic) is."

Spalding President Tori Murden McClure said in response Wednesday that her school has "been a good neighbor to Simmons," providing its students with housing and access to Spalding's library, lab and mental health services over the years, at Simmons' request.

Background:Simmons calls Spalding's athletic complex a 'symbol of white privilege'

Cosby had said on Tuesday that he holds no animosity toward Spalding and sees it as a sister college to Simmons with the chance for the two to become real allies through shared conversations about making Louisville more accessible for everyone.

"We cannot fix what we cannot face," Cosby said.

Simmons College, which was founded in 1879, is the commonwealth's only private historically black college or university. Spalding, which can trace its Louisville campus back to the 1920s, was founded by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.  

On Tuesday, Simmons said Spalding is gentrifying the neighborhood through its construction of a state-of-the-art, 7.3-acre athletic complex across the street from Simmons on Ninth Street.

McClure said in response Tuesday that the school "greatly values diversity in all our endeavors" and that it has been "committed to its neighborhood for 100 years, and we continue to do our part to improve it."

But Cosby tweeted Wednesday that Spalding's focus on diversity does not create more equity.

"What does diversity have to do with equity," Cosby asked. "Having a few black faces n white led schools is not equity. Funding HBCUs is!"

Cosby's comments came as Spalding planned to open its athletic complex, which it nicknamed the "Field of Dreams." 

Related:Spalding's new athletic complex is already a 'game-changer'

After a year of negotiations, Spalding purchased the property —  two adjoining pieces of land, bounded by South Eighth and Ninth streets and West Breckinridge and West Kentucky streets — for about $1 million from Dover Energy and Huber Book Enterprises in 2014. Each company owned one of the parcels.

After raising $5 million through private donations for several years, the university broke ground in April. The school also is spending $2 million of its own money to finish the project and continues to raise money to cover the project.

Cosby said at an event on Tuesday that Simmons had "aspirations" to acquire the property once and Ford Motor Co. had solicited its support to build an advanced manufacturing plant there. But once that partnership fell through, Cosby said Simmons "didn't have the resources, nor do we have the connections with the people who have the resources."

The specifics of Simmons' hopes to acquire the land are unclear. Cosby could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. A Ford spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a phone call and email. A representative of Dover Energy said he was looking into previous attempted acquisitions from Simmons. Representatives of Huber Book Enterprises could not be reached.

On Wednesday, Cosby attacked "philanthropic discrimination," tweeting: "White wealth is feeding a white university directly across the street" from Simmons "while at the same time starving Ky’s only private HBCU."

According to Spalding's website, 28% of its student body self-identifies as black, Native American, Asian, Hispanic, Pacific Islander or multiracial. 

Joshua Poe, an urban planner who studies racial capitalism and redlining, said at an event hosted by Simmons on Tuesday that projects like the new athletic center "squeeze out" places like Simmons. 

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Equity, he said, should be about leveling the playing field and not treating people and communities like the problem. Projects that raise property values quickly often result in homelessness, he said, in what he called "racial banishment."

"The city talks about equity above the table," Poe said. "But below the table, it's about giving land away to white developers in west Louisville." 

Simmons is teaching "the poorest of the poor," according to Cosby: 90% of students live in poverty. In several tweets, Cosby referenced Simmons' commitment to the American Descendants of Slavery movement, which seeks financial redress for decades of legalized segregation and discrimination against African Americans.

On Wednesday night, Cosby said on Twitter that he had “a wonderful conversation” with McClure.

“The conversation was extremely helpful, kind and empathetic,” he tweeted. “I look forward to working with her in ways that will help both institutions serve all of Louisville’s higher education needs!”

Contact Ben Tobin at bjtobin@gannett.com and 502-582-4181 or follow on Twitter @TobinBen. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: subscribe.courier-journal.com.