This past fall, the Black Student Union (BSU), the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI), athletics and the Student Activities Board (SAB) collaborated to plan and execute Black Lives Matter Week. Held from October 12-17, 2020, the week featured programs and events to show support of the Black community on campus and in the greater community.
Motivated by the heightened attention toward the Black Lives Matter movement over the summer, as well as the ongoing national conversation about racism, social justice and equity, Gabryel Porter ’21 and Daria Warner ’21 spearheaded the effort. President of BSU, Gabryel is pursuing a degree in social work and a certificate in child welfare. Daria is majoring in business administration with certificates in healthcare management and human resources and is a member of the Student Activities Executive Board and the soccer and track teams.
Both students are members of Cedar Crest’s Racial Equity Committee, a group tasked with advising the College on critical areas not currently being addressed by existing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The committee also makes recommendations to inform the Anti-Racist Action Plan for 2021-2022 and beyond.
Black Lives Matter Week kicked off with a movie night hosted by the CDI and OUTThere, Cedar Crest’s gender, sexuality and diversity club. Students gathered in the Tompkins College Center or tuned in virtually to view “Paris is Burning,” a 1990 film showcasing the LGBTQ+ BIPOC ballroom scene. The movie night aptly coincided with National Coming Out Day.
The next day, the CDI and athletics held an online Student Intergroup Race Dialogue where students had an opportunity to discuss the ongoing movement for racial justice and their own experiences with race, both positive and negative, on and off-campus. The dialogue was “part of this continuing conversation about what’s going on and how we, as students and as Americans, are going to get through this time,” says Gabryel.
Wednesday night’s online “Say Her Name” spoken word poetry event featured Basement Poetry, a local performance art group that is committed to serving the community through raw and original art that informs its audiences. The night began with a conversation about the meaning of the phrase “Say Her Name” and the importance of speaking about the lives of Black women. The conversation was followed by a poetry performance. “Their message was powerful. It was about being a Black woman today,” says Daria. “One of the poems was about learning to feel confident in your own skin.”
On October 15, BSU, SAB, athletics and the CDI hosted a Black Lives Matter Walking Exhibit on Lee’s Lawn that welcomed approximately 200 participants. “We had 25 double-sided lawn signs with different victims of police brutality or racial violence. Some of the victims were transwomen who were killed just for being transgender,” says Daria. At the exhibit, the organizers handed out custom-designed Black Lives Matter shirts and encouraged faculty, staff and students to sign pledge cards in support of the demonstration and the week’s message.
“I think it was really important to get those signs out and to allow people to read about the different lives lost and to really see it in the numbers, but also to know that that wasn’t everybody who has lost their life to racial violence,” says Gabryel. “It was definitely very emotional to take that walk and to see all the different faces.”
October 16’s BLM Demonstration, which started on the steps of Blaney and allowed people to watch virtually, included a march and speeches from students, alumnae and local activists. Sixty people were present and an additional 38 joined virtually. The group walked around Blaney Circle to symbolize how long George Floyd suffered with the Minneapolis police officer’s knee on his neck and then held a moment of silence. Following the march, many participants stayed to discuss what the event meant to them.
“It was a great night. There was so much support. There were so many allies there with us. It was small, but I think it matched the values and ideals on our campus and of our allies and students of color,” says Gabryel. While the event was small, Gabryel believes its impact will be far-reaching. “This is going to be great for Cedar Crest history and it’s going to be great for the BSU after me. I feel like this is just the start.”
The final day of Black Lives Matter Week was all about self-care. In-person and virtual attendees listened to Kiyaana Cox Jones, assistant director of multicultural life at Muhlenberg College speak about “Black Girl Magic” and participated in yoga led by Andre Coles from Roots2Rise Philly. “Our speaker made the participants feel safe and welcome. She is a mentor of Black women on Muhlenberg’s campus and in general. I feel like she knows the importance of celebrating our magic and lifting us up so that we can go out into the world and be confident and lift up other Black women and girls,” says Gabryel. Attendees also enjoyed face masks, snacks and self-care bags.
For Gabryel, the week was an important way to bring awareness of social justice issues and the spirit of activism to campus. “As a school, it sometimes feels like we’re in our own little world. Out in the world, you see allyship, you see support, and you see marches, and so I feel like that should be reflected on our campus to start showing support, and to say to people of color and our Black students that we are here,” she says.
“I think that the importance of having the week at Cedar Crest was to show solidarity,” Daria adds. “We needed to give people opportunities to have conversations, or just to sit back and listen.”
While Black Lives Matter Week is over, the conversation about equity and racial justice on campus and in the nation continues, and Cedar Crest’s work toward racial equity is ongoing. In recent months, Cedar Crest has added resources to the Center for Diversity and Inclusion website, including ways to take action and an anti-racist reading list, and has implemented action plans and committees as part of its work in addressing institutionalized racism at the College and fostering an inclusive community that recognizes and celebrates diversity.
In October, the College created and shared an Anti-Racism Action Plan Mapping document, the purpose of which is to monitor the College’s performance against its Institutional Goals throughout the 2020-2021 Academic Year. The document includes all 60+ anti-racism action items generated by the Diversity & Inclusion Council, the faculty, the Athletic Department and the President and her cabinet. It aligns each action item to the eight broad goals communicated on August 27. This document will be updated regularly throughout the year to serve as a mechanism to report on the college’s progress.
In November and December, the school also shared updates regarding the Racial Equity Committee, which included meeting information and an updated list of members.
For more information about the College’s diversity, equity and inclusion work, click here.
To connect with and learn more about the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, see below:
Center for Diversity and Inclusion
Cedar Crest College
Allen House 303
(610) 606-4666 ext. 4555
Facebook: CDICCC
Twitter: @cedarcrestcdi
Instagram: cedarcrestcdi