Northwestern State University of Louisiana President James Genovese has come under scrutiny after a post on Facebook accused the president of making a racist remark towards an elected official.
Crystal Ellis Luter posted to Facebook on Monday, Feb. 17, that she overheard Genovese make a disrespectful comment to the Natchitoches Mayor Ronnie Williams Jr. Luter is a local nonprofit executive who resides in Baton Rouge.
“He audibly questioned how the mayor managed to secure a front-row seat and then told him he ought to be ashamed for taking it in the presence of white attendees,” she said.
Genovese told The Current Sauce that the interaction with the mayor was a joke as he and the mayor are friends and that there were no racial words or disrespect when he made the comment.
“Mayor Williams is a dear friend of mine — who in the seven months I’ve been here — I’ve worked very closely, hand-in-hand, both having the need to work hard to improve Natchitoches and improve Northwestern,” Genovese said.
Genovese, who is white, said that he never made any racial remarks toward the mayor, who is Black. He explained that he was seated five rows in the back and when he saw the mayor he went to greet him and made the joke: “I said ‘I want to be in the front with you, why is it I’m in the back and you’re in the front and I want to be up in the front with you.’ And that’s what happened, and that’s all that happened,” he said.
The exchange happened during U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, swearing-in at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge. The first row was reserved for elected officials.
The post garnered widespread attention on social media. In Luter’s original post, she only named Genovese, but on Monday, Feb. 24, she made a new post naming Williams as the elected official and said where the interaction took place.
Luter told The Current Sauce and has shared online that “I urge the students and families to hold NSU’s leadership accountable for actions that undermine the integrity of the institution.” She had no prior interaction with either Genovese or Williams before this event.
Williams responded to the situation with the following statement:
“Recently, at Congressman Cleo Fields’ swearing-in ceremony, the President of Northwestern State University uttered a comment that was overheard and interpreted by others. Those interpretations were later posted on social media.”
“As Mayor, I will continue to take all the necessary steps to foster positive race relations in the City of Natchitoches,” he added.
Luter also updated the post a few days later stating she had sent a formal complaint to the Faculty Senate, the Alumni Association and the Alumni Board Foundation.
Faculty Senate President Frank Serio confirmed that they received Luter’s complaint. Serio hand-delivered the letter to Genovese on Wednesday with unanimous approval from the faculty senate asking the president to address the situation.
“I laid out the faculty senate’s position in what we’re asking him to do, and I believed he listened to me, but he did not make a commitment to anything during our meeting,” Serio told The Current Sauce.
Serio said that the senate met on Tuesday and spent around 40 minutes discussing the letter. The demands of the letter further describe concerns that students have brought to faculty members about the Facebook post. Serio also shared that before Luter sent her complaint, the faculty senate was made aware of the issue and started to work on a way to address the situation.
“We ask that you fulfill the promise that you made to us: operating with shared governance and integrating the wisdom and insight of the Faculty Senate with that of administration. We call upon you to make a public statement accepting your responsibility for the damage your remarks have done to the prestige and reputation of Northwestern State University and your resolve to speak with more care in the future,” the letter ends.
Many alumni have shared or commented on Luter’s posts. Nicole Gray, who serves on the NSU Board of Directors Foundation, Demons Unlimited Foundation Board of Directors and is the founder of the NSU Black Alumni Alliance, replied to Luter’s most recent post saying these comments shouldn’t be made.
“As a native of Natchitoches and resident of this community, I believe that racism has no place in today’s society, especially not on NSU’s campus, where young minds are being shaped for the future,” Gray said in an email interview. “Our students’ hearts and minds should be filled with the promise of accomplishing their hopes and dreams, not the worry of bigotry from those they hold in high esteem as leaders at NSU.”
Genovese said that he did not speak with Luter at the event and had no way to communicate with her but apologizes to her for offending her. “All I would say is I apologize if I offended you, that’s the right thing to do,” he said. “We do things every day that offend people and when we do that and make a mistake and say things you shouldn’t say, you apologize for it.”
Additionally, he explained that the university has a policy where they don’t respond to unsubstantiated social media comments. He said he did want to address the student body, and he had met with the Student Government Association and offered to attend a meeting to address any concerns students may have. SGA President Terrell Woodard Jr. said he met with Genovese to discuss various topics but did not have a comment on the situation for The Current Sauce.
Serio encouraged students to seek out SGA if they have concerns. “Everyone has representatives who will listen to their concerns, and they should reach out to them because that’s the most effective way for us to try to create change is for us to be speaking with a unified voice,” he said.
Genovese said he is also willing to attend a faculty senate meeting to discuss the comments and answer any questions the faculty senate may have.
The Current Sauce reached out to 6th congressional district representative Cleo Fields, but did not receive a response.