The English Department over at UPenn has replaced a painting of Shakespeare with a photo of a black lesbian, citing “diversity.”
The famous English playwright was ousted by Audre Lorde, a gay black feminist poet whose work began primarily during the Civil Rights era of the 1960’s and continued on into the ‘80s.
Students at UPenn were reportedly concerned that Shakespeare simply didn’t represent enough diversity. In response, they removed the Bard’s portrait from its prominent place at the top of the staircase in Fisher-Bennett Hall and swapped it for a printed-out photo of Lorde – who is certainly a much less prominent figure in literature. The Department had reportedly voted several years ago to replace Shakespeare's image with a more "diverse" figure, but had dragged its heels in actually doing so.
Now, the once-impressive space boasts a print-out of Lorde's face taped to the wall.
The Daily Pennsylvanian reported some UPenn English students replaced the portrait as “a way of affirming their commitment to a more inclusive mission for the English department,” according to English Department Chair Jed Esty, who added that the photo of Lorde will remain in the space for the time being.
In other words, the move wasn’t based on the obviously notable contributions the Bard made to English literature, or the merits of Lorde’s “poetry” (an loose term for her work, an example of which can be seen here). Ignoring cause, reason or logic, UPenn students, wrapped up in the fires of social justice, forcibly replaced a “white, straight” man with a black lesbian.
You know, for “diversity.”
This is hardly the first time a white, straight person has been given the boot to make way for more “inclusivity.” Just this past week, the United Nations kicked Wonder Woman off its list of ambassadors over complaints that she was a “large breasted, white woman.”
Wherefore art thou, Common Sense?