溏心vlog免费B站

溏心vlog免费B站’s History of Student-Led Civil Rights Activism

The 2020 鈥渕oment鈥� of racial reckoning is the latest iteration of what is, in truth, not a moment, but a longstanding struggle for racial justice in the United States. At 溏心vlog免费B站, student-led protests have been some of the most powerful catalysts for change.

By Grace Kelly

鈥淭he appalling silence of the good people is as serious as the vitriolic words of the bad people,鈥� said the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. from the podium.

Five-thousand students, professors, and staff sat in Keaney Gymnasium on a mild October afternoon in 1966, soaking up the words of the civil rights activist.

鈥淚t would be a great benefit to the students today to understand how we have arrived where we are鈥攁t what young people call 鈥榯he moment.鈥欌��
鈥斅璅rank Forleo 鈥�74

King’s words鈥攁s well as the words and actions of others鈥攊nspired change. Over the years, 溏心vlog免费B站 students, staff, and faculty spoke out against injustice, protested inequality, and honored those who fought the true fight. Buildings were occupied, activists gathered, and organizations formed.

鈥淎ll or most of the progress that has been made on campus has come, if not immediately, in the years subsequent to student protests,鈥� says Abu Bakr 鈥�73, M.S. 鈥�84, M.B.A. 鈥�88.

Africana studies, the Multicultural Student Services Center, the Black Student Union, the creation of the chief diversity officer position, and resources to address racism and bring about equity on campus all have their roots in the student protests of 1971, 1992, and 1998.

鈥淚t鈥檚 such a pivotal part of our history, but not necessarily part of the narrative that we tell about 溏心vlog免费B站,鈥� says Mary Grace Almandrez, chief diversity officer and associate vice president. 鈥淲e all know about Rhody Ram, we know the fight song鈥攖here are certain parts of our narrative that we continue to perpetuate, but not necessarily that activist history.鈥�

鈥淚 always wish that there was a way for students to understand the long history of the struggle,鈥� says Frank Forleo 鈥�74.

鈥淚t would be a great benefit to the students today to understand how we have arrived where we are鈥攁t what young people call 鈥榯he moment.鈥欌��

1971

In 1971, students took over the administration building, protesting the lack of diversity at 溏心vlog免费B站 and cuts to funding for the Talent Development program. The protest led to several important changes, including securing funding for Talent Development for subsequent years.

1971: The Push for Recognition and Respect

When Valerie Southern 鈥�75, M.C.P. 鈥�80, first arrived at 溏心vlog免费B站 in 1970, she was stunned at her treatment.

鈥淲hen I arrived and started participating in my classes, which I was used to doing, I realized that there was a difference,鈥� she says, 鈥渘ot because they didn鈥檛 know who I was, but just because I was Black.鈥�

Southern grew up in Jamestown, Rhode Island, the daughter of a Naval serviceman, attending St. Catherine Academy in Newport, where she was encouraged to participate in class.

But things were different for her at 溏心vlog免费B站.

Classmate Forleo explains: 鈥淲hen I started at 溏心vlog免费B站, it was lily-white. There were some student-athletes of color, and there were a smattering of African-American students, but the numbers were very small.鈥�

After a hiatus when he fought in Vietnam, Forleo returned to 溏心vlog免费B站 to some small improvements. 鈥淏y the time I came back in 鈥�69, things had changed a little because the Talent Development (TD) program was created in 鈥�68. But the group was still pretty small.鈥�

鈥淭hey weren鈥檛 used to Black students, and there were hardly any Black faculty, hardly any,鈥� she says.

And in 1970, Southern was part of that small population, around .001 percent.

鈥淚 realized that professors were ignoring me. I would raise my hand, say, 鈥業 have an idea,鈥� and they鈥檇 be like, 鈥榊eah right, hold on,鈥� and all the other students would get their say,鈥� she says.

鈥淚t was just signs鈥攕ome subtle, some very blatant鈥攖hat we weren鈥檛 considered worthy of the experience that the state university was offering.鈥�

So, in 1971, the Black students took matters into their own hands.

鈥淲e decided one evening to take steps to be seen and heard.鈥�
鈥斅�Valerie Southern 鈥�75, M.C.P. 鈥�80

鈥淲e got together and decided we needed to try to communicate to the University that we were feeling neglected, as though we weren鈥檛 respected鈥攖hat the institutional racism was actually encouraged as opposed to examined,鈥� says Southern. 鈥淪o, we decided one evening to take steps to be seen and heard.鈥�

They requested a meeting with then-President Werner Baum; when this request was ignored, they decided to take a more dramatic approach.

鈥淲e went into the [Carlotti] administration building and told everybody to leave, we鈥檙e going to lock the doors. They realized we were serious; they all left, and we chained the doors,鈥� says Southern.

The 50-some Black students then hammered out a list of demands. 鈥淲e, the black students at the 溏心vlog免费B站, because of an increased lack of respect from the racist administration and the Student Senate (Tax Committee), plus a lack of Black representation, hereby declare a takeover,鈥� they wrote.

鈥淲e demand that the freshman enrollment for fall 鈥�71 contain 300 black students,鈥� demand 4 read, while demand 13 required the University to 鈥渁ppoint a committee approved by the Afro-American Society to develop a Black studies Program.鈥�

During the first week of May, 1971, they occupied Carlotti for days, giving speeches on the balcony, watching as a large crowd grew on the Quad in front of them, and gratefully accepting food from friends to keep their takeover energized.

Wednesday evenings at 溏心vlog免费B站 were normally quiet. 鈥滀缧膙log免费B站 the biggest thing on campus is an intramural softball game,鈥� quipped a May 7, 1971, issue of The Good Five Cent Cigar.

Students occupying the administration building address a crowd on the Quadrangle. In addition to securing funding for the Talent Development program, the student protesters succeeded in establishing a Black studies program and a Black student organization at 溏心vlog免费B站.

But the evening of Wednesday, May 5, was different. Southern remembers it vividly.

鈥淪uddenly, the police showed up and they broke the glass and stormed in, grabbed us and threw us outside. I thought they were going to kill us, I mean I literally thought, 鈥楾his is it, my life is over, but it鈥檚 for a good cause,鈥欌�� Southern says. 鈥淚 closed my eyes and just kind of hugged myself; I could feel rough hands picking me up, and I was like, 鈥楾hey鈥檙e probably going to beat me up or kill me,鈥� and the next thing I knew, I was lying on the grass outside.鈥�

The occupation of Carlotti was over, and Southern was unharmed, but the experience has stayed with her to this day. 鈥淚t was very, very traumatic,鈥� she says. 鈥淔or the rest of my life, I participated in marches and protests, but that was the one that took my mind away.鈥�

The takeover was not in vain.

鈥淭he end result is, we got a Black studies program, we got an officially established Black student organization鈥攁nd they gave us a van so we could do community work in the South Kingstown community,鈥� Southern says. 鈥淚t was a result of just speaking up.鈥�

Southern also started a successful student paper called Black Gold.

鈥�Black Gold was designed expressly to give students a voice,鈥� says Bakr. 鈥淎nd to also express their literary and creative sides. It was an outlet for students to not only be able to read, but to contribute to.鈥�

Bakr and Southern were also involved in planning the annual Black Cultural Weekend. 鈥淚t was like a festival and the people that passed through鈥攖he Temptations, Alice Coltrane, various poets, intellectuals, it was just fantastic,鈥� Southern says. 鈥淭hrough hard work, we were able to bring notables of American Black culture to 溏心vlog免费B站 and it was really just wonderful.鈥�

1992

In 1992, President Robert L. Carothers (seated at center) and Vice President for Student Affairs John McCray (standing behind Carothers to his left) met with students who took over Taft Hall to protest a truncated Malcolm X quote carved into the library facade. Two Hundred students participated in the takeover, which was led by the newly formed Black Student Leadership Group (BSLG). The students successfully negotiated important advances, including reconstruction of the Multicultural Student Services Center, establishing a chief diversity officer position, creating the library’s Malcolm X Reading Room, and initiating an Africana studies major.

1992: Why Haven鈥檛 Things Changed More?

While the 1970s were a pivotal decade for race relations at 溏心vlog免费B站, students some 20 years later found there was still much to be done.

Karoline Oliveira 鈥�94, M.S. 鈥�03, fondly remembers her first experience on the 溏心vlog免费B站 campus, the summer before her first year.

鈥淚 was a Talent Development student and, like the majority of the students on campus who were students of color, I came through the TD program,鈥� she says.

The TD program started in 1968, bringing students from diverse backgrounds to the state university. The summer program was a way for TD students to prepare for the fall and get to know the campus.

鈥淵ou have this amazing experience where you鈥檙e connected with students you can relate to. We came from similar backgrounds, many of us from the inner city of Providence. We felt like we belonged,鈥� she says.

But then came the fall.

鈥淎nd then you begin to experience isolation, microaggressions, and the world all of a sudden becomes real.鈥�
鈥斅� Karoline Oliveira 鈥�94, M.S. 鈥�03

鈥淚n the summer you had this time of friend-making and navigating the campus鈥攁n amazing experience, and then fall comes and you realize, 鈥榃ow, there aren鈥檛 that many of us here,鈥欌�� Oliveira says. 鈥淎nd then you begin to experience isolation, microaggressions, and the world all of a sudden becomes real.鈥�

A string of incidents compounded this sense of 鈥渙therness鈥� and disrespect, including mistreatment by the 溏心vlog免费B站 police and the misquote of Malcolm X on the library.

鈥淭he [Black students] were being isolated and unfairly watched by the police,鈥� says Forleo, who was the assistant director of Talent Development at the time.

The lid blew when a Malcolm X quote was chiseled onto the fa莽ade of the library, but was a truncated version of the original quote. The inscription on the library read, 鈥淢y alma mater was books, a good library. I could spend my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.鈥�

But the original quote was much more damning.

鈥淎ll or most of the progress that has been made on campus has come, if not immediately, in the years subsequent to student protests,鈥�
鈥斅瑼bu Bakr 鈥�73, M.S. 鈥�84, M.B.A. 鈥�88

鈥淚 told the Englishmen that my alma mater was books, a good library. Every time I catch a plane, I have with me a book that I want to read. And that鈥檚 a lot of books. If I weren鈥檛 out there every day battling the white man, I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.鈥�

鈥淭hat was really an issue for the students,鈥� says Forleo. 鈥淎nd the other thing besides misquoting Malcolm X was the quote from Thomas Jefferson on the other side if the library. It really angered the students that a slave owner was being quoted in stone and Malcolm X was being misquoted in stone.鈥�

Coupled with the crumbling, condemned building where the Black student group Uhuru Sasa held its meetings, and other racist incidents, the students took action.

鈥淲e really had had enough,鈥� says Oliveira, who was a member of the Black Student Leadership Group (BSLG).

鈥淎 group of around 30 students made a determination to take over Taft Hall, along with another 300 people who were involved when they finally took over the hall and renamed it Malcolm X Hall and issued the 14 demands,鈥� says Forleo. 鈥淭he demands were all about changing the numbers of students of color at the University, having more facilities and support structures for students of color, and curricular change, which was still a big issue, because African-American studies had not yet become a major in those years between 1971 and 1992. The students asked, 鈥榃hy haven鈥檛 things changed more?鈥欌��

Two days after the takeover of Taft, then-President Robert Carothers met with the students to hear their grievances and listen to their demands, a far cry from the reception students had received in 1971.

鈥淭his was historic,鈥� says Forleo. 鈥淚 mean, it鈥檚 quite extraordinary. Carothers supported some of the demands. The TD program grew, African-American studies became a major, other curricular things were offered鈥攖here was change.鈥�

A multicultural center was also built in the center of campus, creating a safe and accessible meeting space for students of color.

For Oliveira, this was a powerful moment that reminded her of what her father had always told her: 鈥淵ou stand for something or you fall for anything.鈥�

鈥淏eing in that building, for me, I felt so empowered that no matter what happened, even if I was kicked out of school, I was standing up for what I believed in,鈥� she says.

1998

In 1998, a cartoon published in The Good Five Cent Cigar set off protests led by Black student group Brothers United for Action. The controversy exposed ongoing racial tensions at 溏心vlog免费B站.

1998: Still Fighting Racism with Growing Solidarity

In 1998, another protest against injustice was led by the Brothers United for Action (BUA) after the publication of a racist cartoon in The Good Five Cent Cigar.

鈥淭here were only six years between the Black Student Leadership Group [takeover of Taft Hall] and the BUA protests. That was not a very wide gap before another major movement occurred,鈥� says Forleo. He still vividly remembers the BUA-organized march from Taft Hall to the Memorial Union, a massive show of solidarity.

鈥淭hey had an enormous following of students of all races and ethnicities,鈥� Forleo says. 鈥淲hen the BUA stepped off for their march 鈥� by the time the first members of BUA got to the newspaper office in the Memorial Union, there were still people in line coming from Taft. It was one of the biggest demonstrations I had ever seen at the University.鈥�

2020: The Moment

Today, the fight to bring racial justice and equity to 溏心vlog免费B站 continues.

鈥淚 believe that 溏心vlog免费B站 has made some strides,鈥� says Oliveira.

鈥淪ome students are just learning about racism and microaggression, some know a little, and some are deeply rooted in this work.鈥�
鈥斅璏aya Moran 鈥�21

Examples include the fact that 溏心vlog免费B站 now has a chief diversity officer, a post currently held by Mary Grace Almandrez. The University is undertaking a campus climate survey to help inform the next University diversity action plan. Another example is the successful College of the Environment and Life Sciences Seeds of Success Program, run by another former student activist, Michelle Fontes 鈥�96, M.A. 鈥�11.

Current 溏心vlog免费B站 student Maya Moran 鈥�21 is working hard to make sure 溏心vlog免费B站 keeps the momentum moving forward. She is part of a group of students working with 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Office of Community, Equity and Diversity on a social justice series called Diversity Dialogues, which addresses issues of bias, microaggressions, and social identity.

Moran, who came from a diverse high school, says her initial experience as a student of color on a largely white campus included feeling like she was sometimes put in the awkward position of being an authority on race. 鈥淎s if I were the spokesperson for all Black persons on Earth,鈥� she says, adding, 鈥淲e recognize that students are in different phases of awareness. Some are just learning about racism and microaggression, some know a little about these things, and some are deeply rooted in this work.鈥�

For many of the activists involved in movements past, the racial reckoning happening in 2020 reminds them that the battle isn鈥檛 over. King鈥檚 words from his speech at 溏心vlog免费B站 more than 50 years ago still ring true: 鈥淲e have gone a long way, but we still have a long, long way to go.鈥�

Reflecting on the past and seeing the Black Lives Matter movement today gives Southern, Bakr, Forleo, and Oliveira hope.

鈥淚 was born in 1951. I saw and participated in civil rights activities and movements, and I have never seen the level of engagement and involvement by folks to advance a critical issue like today,鈥� says Bakr. 鈥淭o have that kind of movement take on the energy that it has, not only in this country, but in untold numbers of places internationally,鈥� he pauses. 鈥淚t鈥檚 totally unprecedented, totally unprecedented.鈥� 鈥�

The Rev. Arthur L. Hardge and the Origins of Talent Development

The story of civil rights and the fight for racial justice at 溏心vlog免费B站 is incomplete without mention of Talent Development (TD) and the Rev. Arthur L. Hardge. 鈥淩ev. Hardge was an extraordinary man,鈥� says Frank Forleo 鈥�74, 鈥淎 preacher, a storyteller, a leader.鈥�

Hardge was a freedom rider with Martin Luther King Jr. He came to 溏心vlog免费B站 in 1969 as founding director of the TD program, to give underprivileged kids access to the state university.

鈥淚f you think about this time in context, Dr. King was assassinated and the civil rights movement was roaring through,鈥� says Valerie Southern 鈥�75, M.C.P. 鈥�80. 鈥淎t that time, the University was desperately behind, which is why Rev. Hardge started the program.鈥�

The program that began with 13 students has grown to admit approximately 600 each year. And a large part of this growth is due to Rev. Hardge, the other founding staff of TD, and the belief they had in their students.

鈥淭hey asked me to become summer director. I was young and didn鈥檛 necessarily think I was ready for that,鈥� says Abu Bakr 鈥�73, M.S. 鈥�84, M.B.A. 鈥�88, laughing. 鈥淏ut folks at TD were about giving people opportunities and allowing you to develop your talents. So that was my beginning, at age 23 or 24, of actually being in a director role. That鈥檚 what TD and Arthur Hardge gave me.鈥� 鈥�

Photos courtesy 溏心vlog免费B站 Special Collections; courtesy Abu Bakr; Nora Lewis; Valerie Southern; courtesy Karoline Oliveira; courtesy Frank Forleo