Education remains the most salient social struggle for black people and apathy or inaction will cause us to not only repeat history, but, more tragically, suffer even greater injustice.
•UM is a model for other universities to follow
•BBUM represents a national problem in Higher Education
•Great step toward progress; however, remains an ongoing challenge
It remains to be seen what sustained progress will result from the efforts of the Black Student Union at the University of Michigan and similar Black student activism at other predominantly white institutions around the country. What is clear now, however, is that education remains the most salient social struggle for black people and apathy or inaction will cause us to not only repeat history, but, more tragically, suffer even greater injustice than we have prior to the Black Campus Movement’s beginnings in the mid-twentieth century. Although the #BBUM campaign has produced some desired results (namely, critical attention to the issues blacks students face at PWIs), it exists as a microcosm of persistent systemic inequity that is endemic to the ministry of education at all levels in America.
“In response to the (#BBUM) campaign, the University of Michigan administration announced it would create a leadership position dedicated to recruitment of minority students. The school would also expand a program in which students had discussions about ‘inclusive leadership, personal and social identity, and bystander intervention,’ according to a letter from the provost, Martha Pollack.”
(Jolie, Lee, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/03/05/black-students-harvard-tumblr/6013023/, 2014)
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•UM is a model for other universities to follow
•BBUM represents a national problem in Higher Education
•Great step toward progress; however, remains an ongoing challenge
It remains to be seen what sustained progress will result from the efforts of the Black Student Union at the University of Michigan and similar Black student activism at other predominantly white institutions around the country. What is clear now, however, is that education remains the most salient social struggle for black people and apathy or inaction will cause us to not only repeat history, but, more tragically, suffer even greater injustice than we have prior to the Black Campus Movement’s beginnings in the mid-twentieth century. Although the #BBUM campaign has produced some desired results (namely, critical attention to the issues blacks students face at PWIs), it exists as a microcosm of persistent systemic inequity that is endemic to the ministry of education at all levels in America.
“In response to the (#BBUM) campaign, the University of Michigan administration announced it would create a leadership position dedicated to recruitment of minority students. The school would also expand a program in which students had discussions about ‘inclusive leadership, personal and social identity, and bystander intervention,’ according to a letter from the provost, Martha Pollack.”
(Jolie, Lee, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/03/05/black-students-harvard-tumblr/6013023/, 2014)
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