Observing Memorial Day 2023

 

Dear Howard University Community,

It is rather fitting that the first national observance of Memorial Day occurred as Howard University commemorated its first anniversary heading into the summer of 1868.

Born largely in response to the realities of a post-Civil War America, the University’s motto of veritas et utilitas – truth and service – could have easily doubled as the mantra for the Union’s soldiers, especially the Black troops willing to risk their lives for our constitutional rights. Without their sacrifice, our world looks vastly different, almost certainly to the detriment of those who benefit most from our University’s existence. Despite racism and bigotry, discrimination and prejudice, Black service members have demonstrated love for their country and its people.

That is a debt we can never truly repay. We must pay it forward instead.

As the University soon partners with the Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force in launching the first HBCU-led University Affiliated Research Center, I am eager to watch our students continue in the legacy of our forebearers, performing an impactful and necessary role in developing the future of our nation. In another 155 years, I expect that generation of Bison to find inspiration in our labor today, holding this country accountable in a way that only Howard University can.

Memorial Day is a forceful and humbling reminder that the continued struggle for equality must be inextricably linked with an unrelenting passion for amplifying each other’s humanity. While we acknowledge and memorialize the efforts of our fallen heroes during their service, we must remain clear that our work in building a more just world is far from finished, but it does not demand enlisting in the armed forces to get involved. In the words of W.E.B. Du Bois, “The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.”

Excellence in Truth and Service,

 

Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA
Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery
President