Chicago Man Wants More Money Or He'll Burn Historical African American Documents [UPDATE]

By Lisa White in News on Oct 17, 2013 4:00PM



Richard Theodore Greener, depicted in a 1900 illustration. burn the documents he found if he doesn’t receive more money for them.

The documents in question are a treasure trove of photos, diplomas and papers of Richard T. Greener, the first black graduate of Harvard University and an important figure in African American academia and political history. The documents were thought to have been lost for over a hundred years until their discovery by contractor Rufus McDonald last year. Academics and historians praised McDonald for finding these documents and expressed interest in acquiring them so they could be properly stored and preserved for generations to come. Harvard University, unsurprisingly, expressed great interest as well. But after selling two documents for $52,000 to the University of South Carolina (where Greener also studied and taught), McDonald is now threatening to burn the remaining documents unless Harvard offers him more cash.

The Sun-Times spoke with McDonald earlier this week to talk about the documents and reported this horrifying news. He told the Sun-Times the following:

“I’ll roast and burn them. It might sound crazy, but people who know me know I’d really do it - I’m sick and tired of Harvard’s BS.”

He also added that he thought the Ivy League school was trying to take advantage of him after offering (according to him) $7,500 for the collection that was appraised at $65,000. The Sun-Times reached out to Harvard for a comment and although they declined, a university source familiar with the negotiations stated that the offer was “significantly more” than $7,500.

McDonald also told the Sun-Times that he just wants a fair price for what’s left of the collection “so my 9-year old twins can have the chance I didn’t and go to college if they want to.”

Lets examine the situation here. Rather than threaten to burn these important documents in public (since McDonald dragged his children into this sordid tale) maybe he should try to work out a deal with one of the universities interested in the papers and set up a trust or scholarship fund so his kids can attend school there. Being petty and threatening to torch important historical documents that have been lost for over a century isn't the best negotiating tactic.

We can’t think of a more selfish and ridiculous way of handling this whole situation. Fingers crossed a university offers up a hefty scholarship fund for McDonald's sons in exchange for the documents so he has to eat his words. Then possibly his children can take courses in the art of negotiating and explain to their father where he went horribly wrong in this process. No matter what, we hope the documents make it into safe hands and are preserved as the important part of history that they are.

UPDATE, 12:30 p.m.: McDonald now tells the Sun-Times that he has “changed his mind” about burning the documents. Speaking Thursday to the paper he stated that he “decided against it” after the reaction from the original story the paper reported. McDonald was unapologetic and said that he had been told by supporters that “you’ve done what you were supposed to do” by standing up to Harvard. He is expecting to hear from Harvard now, but is also planning on marketing the papers to “wealthy black Harvard alumni.” We are glad to hear the documents are safe (for now) but boy is this guy a class act.