In the Spirit of Pride Month, It Is Time For Boston and BU to Rename Silber Way for His Gay Son, David, Who Died of AIDS at His Parents' Home in Brookline At Age 41

Silber demonstrated anti-gay beliefs as well as biased views about rape and racial justice.

Editorial/Opinion

In the spirit of Pride Month, it is time for the City of Boston and Boston University to re-name Silber Way, which is named after former Boston University president John Silber.

The Boston University Office of the President, Board of Trustees, Center for Anti-Racist Research, Boston City Council, and Boston Mayor’s Office could collectively come to a constructive outcome on this issue.

Mr. Silber demonstrated anti-gay beliefs, culminating in his elimination of the Gay-Straight Student Alliance at Boston University Academy, a private high school on the Boston University Campus.

Renaming anything often provokes long debate, but in this case there exists a powerful, easy, compromise solution: rename the street to "David J. Silber Way."

David J. Silber was John Silber's gay son who died at age 41 of AIDS at his parents’ home in Brookline in late December, 1994.

David J. Silber's tragic obituary is here:

David J. Silber, an actor who appeared in plays on and off Broadway as well as in several touring and regional theater productions, died on Thursday at his parents' home in Brookline, Mass. He was 41.

The cause was AIDS, said his mother, Kathryn.

https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/01/obituaries/david-j-silber-theater-actor-41.html

According to the Buffalo Times, David J. Silber came to his parents’ home in Brookline for the final months of his life:

Buffalo News Obituary for David J. Silber

Had our world been more accepting of homosexuality, perhaps David Silber and others could have and would have had more open conversations about their sexuality, leading to earlier public discourse about the risks of HIV transmission.

Perhaps had our society been more accepting of homosexuality, David Silber would be alive today.

John Silber Eliminated the Gay-Straight Alliance at BU Academy

John Silber’s statement about the Gay-Straight Alliance at BU Academy, published online by Boston University Public Relations but since removed from the website, is below:

John Silber’s Views on Rape and Race Were Also Offensive and Anachronistic At Best

Silber’s views on rape were equally concerning. The Daily Free Press, Boston University’s student newspaper, reported Mr. Silber telling students, “If you want to stop rape, stop using the T. Don’t wander around late at night ... no city is absolutely safe.”

And regarding admissions of black undergraduates, The Daily Free Press reported Silber as saying, “If you have a black student whose qualifications are such that he can be accepted at BU, the fact is he is going to be offered a full ride at half a dozen schools, and that’s the problem.”

And further, “The Asian students don’t have any problem at all. They are backed by parents ... [who] push these students in a very rigorous way. [Blacks] do not get the kind of support and pushing by their parents to study.”

Boston University Today Claims a Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

Boston University and the City of Boston have an easy and elegant solution to renaming Silber Way — simply adding “David J.” would make a powerful statement about values and acknowledgement of painful history that Boston University and the City of Boston must face in the present and moving forward.

Doing so would also be firmly in the spirit of Boston University’s stated commitment to Diversity & Inclusion and the university’s Diversity & Inclusion Progress report, which states:

It Is Time For David J. Silber Way

Renaming Silber Way to David J. Silber Way would be an important step in Boston University’s mission to become a more welcoming, diverse, and inclusive institution than was the case during the years of the Silber presidency.

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