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On one of my first trips to Yellow Springs back in the mid-90s, I purchased a t-shirt at Antioch College’s funky campus bookstore. Printed in big bold letters on the front it read, “What Would Horace Do?” I still have the t-shirt. And I have returned to that question many times over my subsequent 35 years at this institution, wondering what wisdom Horace Mann would bring to the trials and tribulations of Antioch … and the country.
I’ve often imagined sitting with him at the College Mound, pondering the place of progressive education in the 21st Century. What would Horace, that famed abolitionist, founder of Antioch, the believer in common schools for the common good, do today?
And so, I asked him.
No, don’t worry, I’m not hallucinating.
I turned my fantasy to the latest rage: AI. I asked DeepSeek, the recent Chinese phenomenon that has sent U.S. techno-capitalism into a tither, about Horace.
Indeed, the irony of this all doesn’t fail me.
Here’s a counterculture feminist nurtured on 60s’ politics and classic rock—for whom I doubt Horace would have much tolerance—asking an artificial bot—for which I have zero tolerance—about a 19th-century abolitionist educator—for whom today’s U.S. democracy would likely have little tolerance.
What would Horace do, I wondered, about… dare I even type in the words that might draw the ire of algorithms and land me in hot water? You know, those dangerous words like “diversity,” “equity,” “inclusion,” “oppression,” “marginalization.” The list of George Carlin’s seven dirty words you can’t say on TV just got much longer. Now, it’s not just TV that’s on edge; words are putting science, healthcare, humanitarian aid, and higher education in the crosshairs. Censors are trolling. I was drifting into dangerous territory. But I know Horace would not support preemptive obedience, so I took the next step.
I felt compelled to ask, “What Would Horace Do About DEI?” My profound curiosity was whether Horace would lead Antioch to continue to embrace these dangerous words or whether he would tell us to hide them, eradicate them from our institutional presence.
So, I asked.
I am relieved to know that Horace still believes in the principles upon which he founded Antioch as co-educational and multiracial. He believes in creating equal opportunities through education, particularly for those who are “marginalized.” Oh dear, there’s that word again!
While Mann’s approach was more assimilationist than contemporary DEI’s emphasis on identity and celebrating difference, my sense is that its primacy on inclusion and belonging would lift his spirits. He likely would struggle with finding the balance—as many of us do today—between common values and diverse identities. He would likely caution us about separation and division because his belief in mutuality and the common good was essential. But I’m sure he would find the struggle worth it. That’s what Horace would do.
I’m convinced Mann’s directions to us would emerge from his excitement with DEI’s fundamental belief in access to education and a commitment to dismantling systemic barriers. He would understand and embrace—although the jargon may well be different—DEI’s explicit commitment to mutual respect and dignity, to pluralism and diversity, to equity and inclusion. To democracy.
I am relieved to know that Horace would tell us not to hide. He would tell us to stand up and fight, just as he did. He would encourage us to teach empathy, justice, and civic responsibility.
He would summon us to continue to win those victories for humanity, not for one race against another, or one sex on top of another, nor for one nation over another. But for all humanity. “Make Humanity Great Again.” That’s what Horace would do.
