A call to action arose after the death of George Floyd highlighted injustices against Black people around the nation. In response, University of Idaho President C. Scott Green sent emails to students, faculty and staff June 2 and 4.
“Admittedly, I did not like (the initial statement),” graduate student KT Turner said. “There was a lot of walking around the issue rather than addressing the issue, and it sounded more like let’s agree to disagree.”
Not long after, the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) sent out its own response and coordinated the Black Lives Matter Speaker Series, which initially featured Bakari Sellers, Shaakirrah Sanders and Samuel Newton. The Department of Student Involvement released a page of resources on its website listing a range of media from Black creators on racial inequality.
Dr. Sydney Freeman, an associate professor in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences and an affiliate faculty in African Studies, felt as the only African American tenured faculty member on the Moscow campus, it was important to speak up on behalf of Black faculty, staff and students.
Over the summer, he wrote a nationally published article regarding 10 policies and practices predominantly white universities like UI could implement to combat discrimination. Of those policies, three focus on improving the morale of Black faculty, staff and students.
While lots of things can change, much of it comes with understanding the differences between equity, diversity, inclusion and representation, Turner said. Freeman has called for a physical space for African American students to gather on campus.
“When I first came to UI last year, I noticed that there were more Black students than I originally thought would be there,” Turner said. “But there was no sense of community. There was just this big hole of isolation.”
One of many goals OMA Director Jesse Martinez has is to establish an African American/Black Center fully staffed with community members. OMA would provide funding for programming and the center could provide financial resources for students, staff and faculty, including scholarships.
This physical space would need a director.
“I would like to see us unite more, so that when we’re asking for things, we’re coming as a collective voice which helps the university,” Freeman said. “The university is going to look at numbers, what is the percentage of the African American or Black population that’s asking.”
The space would encourage interaction between African American, Black, Caribbean and African students, staff and faculty, Freeman said.
Freeman is affiliated with the Black Student Union and his wife serves as a co-sponsor. They have found many students doing well academically may not have the financial resources to remain at UI.
The way the law is interpreted, scholarships cannot target a specific racial group, so Freeman is working on trying to figure out ways to ensure Black students can get scholarships, Freeman said.
Hiring more staff and faculty of color could make the university feel more safe for students of color, Turner said.
“I’ve been here at the university over 20 years, but as a staff member for over 16 years. It’s not as diversified as you would hope,” Martinez said. The university needs to purposefully express the desire to hire people of color in its hiring statements, Turner said.
“Students like me, I know I check a box,” Turner said. “I check a box when I’m in a play, when I direct a play. But there is no representation among so many different (departments) and there’s no representation in administration. And that, to me, is very frustrating, because how am I supposed to feel safe and good at this university when there’s nobody speaking up for me and people that look like me?”
While the golden rule is to treat people how you want to be treated, the platinum rule is to treat people how they want to be treated, Martinez said. In his view, if we can start shifting our mindset and become more informed, we will have the cultural humility to understand one another.
Alicia Garza, an activist who came to the university three or four years ago, said something Martinez took to heart. She said if a person wants to treat social change, they must follow three key steps. They must listen not for the answer but listen to respond, they must compassionately listen and engage with resources around the campus and community, and they must take action.
Several on-campus groups are working to challenge bias at the university.
The Women’s Center is doing a workshop series on anti-racism for people who identify as white. The second two parts of the series can be attended virtually Sept. 14 and Sept. 28. The Black Lives Matter Speaker Series webinar can be attended Sept. 8, Sept. 15, Sept. 22 and Sept. 29. The Office of Multicultural Affairs will be programing speakers to come to the university throughout the semester.
Emily Pearce can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Emily _ A_ Pearce.