Jesse Jackson Has Left the Campus. 'Liberators' is Over. Now Harvard Can...

The event was over, but as 1,200 people filed out of Sanders Theater Monday night, conversation within racially-diverse groups of students continued--a measure of the success of the panel discussion on Black-Jewish relations that followed the showing of "Liberators."

The event, sponsored by the Office of the President, the Office of the Dean of Students and the Department of Afro-American Studies, was largely hailed as an effort by the administration to ease the heated tensions that flared last spring. The showing of the film, a documentary about Black troops' role in the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, was followed by the panel discussion and address by Rev. Jesse I.. Jackson.

Although conflicts between the Black Students Association (BSA) and Hillel seem to have subsided this past semester, the discussion was an important, peaceful chapter in race relations at Harvard because of the "unusual candor and openness from members of both communities," according to Assistant Professor of Law Charles J. Ogletree Jr., the panel's moderator.

While the relationship between the groups last semester was characterized by heated exchanges, Monday's five-hour program was a promising step in smoothing over past tensions and forging a new, more cooperative relationship.

"I think the quality was very high," Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III said. "I think we achieved a level of discussion I could not have imagined. The impact on people was extremely great."

Epps also said he thought the two communities would be able to use the film "to retrieve the nature of these interactions" and cooperate as the Blacks and Jews did at the time of the liberation of Buchenwald and Dachau. There is "a lot to be shared" by the two communities, Epps said.

And students, administrators and historians all said the message of cooperation between Blacks and Jews was not clouded by questions of the film's historical accuracy. The controversy surfaced last week after the publication of an article in The New Republic and a series of statements by a University of Texas professor who said he was falsely credited as the film's historical consultant.

'Beginning of a Neutral Dialogue'

Despite student sentiment that there are currently no tensions between the Black and Jewish communities, leaders of both groups say the panel--unprompted by crisis or conflict--will help the efforts to improve a historically rocky relationship.

"It is the beginning of a neutral dialogue in a very peaceful time," Ogletree said. "What we accomplish now will be very useful in overcoming difficulties in future months and years."

The string of difficulties last spring started with a conflict over a controversial BSA-sponsored speech by City University of New York Professor Leonard Jeffries in February.

In April, Harvard Foundation Director S. Allen Counter accused The Crimson of biased coverage of the Foundation and of race-related issues. The next month, the BSA door-dropped a flyer, "On the Harvard Plantation," that listed its grievances with the administration, the Harvard police and The Crimson.

But both organizations are ready to move beyond the troubles of last year, according to the remarks made by the student panelists, Hillel member Megan E. Lewis '95 and BSA Vice President Alvin L. Bragg '95. Bragg and Lewis could not be reached for comment yesterday.

"I thought it would lay down the groundwork for better relations in the future and in that respect it was a success," said Hillel Chair Jeremy A. Dauber '95, who added that the peaceful, crisis-free backdrop to the discussion will help re-define race relations.