“This week a group including alumni, faith leaders, actors, and the N.A.A.C.P. wrote to University of Wisconsin officials asking them to repeal the tarring and feathering of an alumnus of the school, the renowned actor Fredric March. The letter, which was also sent to the Wisconsin governor, Tony Evers, and shared with me, decried the decisions to strip March’s name from theaters on the Madison and Oshkosh campuses, which the writers blamed on “social-media rumor and grievously fact-free, mistaken conclusions” about March. March has been done a resounding wrong. I have no animus against the University of Wisconsin, but what we are seeing in these two sad episodes — the removal of the rock and the defenestration of March — is how antiracist “reckoning” can, if done without proper caution, detour into mere posturing, even at the cost of justice itself.” — John McWhorter
The preceding quote was taken from columnist John McWhorter, whose article on actor Fredric March (1897-1975) appeared in the New York Times on September 17, 2021. Click Here for the full story!
As administrator for the Fredric March Film Society, I should say a few pointed words about the controversy that has developed over March’s legacy…
Throughout his life, Fredric March supported numerous social causes as well as the Civil Rights movement. His was a life of service to his fellow man. March often put his reputation on the line or used his fame to do the right thing. He was respected in the industry by Academy members of all races and creeds. Civil Rights leaders have also acknowledged his work on their behalf. (Click Here for specific examples of his contributions.) These facts are evident to anyone who has taken the time to research his life. The definitive biography on March remains Fredric March: Craftsman First, Star Second (1996), written by the late Deborah C. Peterson.
And he was arguably the finest actor of his generation– the winner of two Academy Awards (five nominations in total), two Tonys, and a Golden Globe Award. Two campus theatres were later named after him in his home state– one at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (the Fredric March Play Circle) and one at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (Fredric March Theatre). However, in 2018 and 2020, these honors were stripped away– 45 years after March’s death.
The issue is guilt by association. While attending the University of Wisconsin, Fredric March (then Frederick Bickel) was part of an honor society named the Ku Klux Klan; the club had sought him out in his senior year. This academic society had its origins in 1916 at the University of Illinois and then carried over to the University of Wisconsin in 1919. Though the choice of name was inappropriate, the group itself was not connected to the historical KKK and did not espouse their beliefs. Furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest that March had ever shared such views at any point in his life.
The students had appropriated the name “Ku Klux Klan” for reasons that are now lost to time. It could have been intended as a facetious alternative to Latin-named fraternities like “Phi Beta Kappa.” Milwaukee journalist George Gonis has suggested that in the 19th and 20th centuries, some college societies deliberately gave themselves sinister names (like Yale’s Skull & Bones, for instance); the “KKK” moniker being used at a time when the real-life clan was dormant.
The University’s current reasoning for removing Fredric March’s name from their theatres is because the name “Ku Klux Klan” is so toxic they are compelled to disassociate themselves from March. Furthermore, they prefer to skip the nuances of the issue altogether because they feel that that in itself represents the sort of (white) privilege they’d like to stamp out. It’s clear they don’t want to offend the sensibilities of their students. This all started when members of the student body and the brain trust at the Union Council became offended at seeing the name “Ku Klux Klan” in a 1920 yearbook and immediately called for March’s banishment. They had zero awareness of who March was and what he had done; they couldn’t process history beyond the social media age.
Actress Lillian Gish (1893-1993) has fallen victim to cancel culture in much the same way as March. At Ohio’s Bowling Green State University, it was decided to remove her distinguished name from a campus theatre dedicated to her. Since she was the star of D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915), she’s been “smeared” by today’s culture. As with March, there has never been any connections between the star and racist ideology.
It’s understandable that in 2022, for example, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures might relegate the monumental influence of D.W. Griffith to a broom closet, but one would think those in an academic setting would know better concerning Fredric March. One would think that school administrators like former UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank and UWO Chancellor Andrew Leavitt would’ve understood the context of the times or attempted to get the full story instead of making knee-jerk responses based on the current political climate. The university owes the Fredric March family/estate an apology, and the current chancellors should insist March’s name be restored.
What they’ve done or allowed to be done is a disgrace, and they need to be called out on it. The school is basically saying that if you’re a student and you make a mistake in your life– not that anyone viewed it as a mistake a hundred years ago– no matter what you do after that, after your years of learning, it doesn’t really matter. This sends a great message, doesn’t it? The University of Wisconsin is not planning on revisiting the issue, but the heat needs to be turned up on them to make amends for the disservice they’ve done to March. Hopefully, a national network like Turner Classic Movies will address this matter; a TCM video highlighting March’s legacy would certainly go a long way in educating the general public.
It’s reasonable to state that Fredric March did more for social justice in this country than anyone making these decisions on the University of Wisconsin board. It’s shameful that these administrators feel that history– and a man’s greater accomplishments (beyond the few months he spent in a poorly-named honor society in 1919)– can be erased from a place of honor.
If anything, more institutions in this country should be named after Fredric March.
Click Here! for a must-read article by Tom Condon that appeared in the March 6, 2022, issue of The CT Mirror.
Click Here! for an interview with Fredric March biographer Charles Tranberg on Wisconsin Public Radio.
~MCH
