• About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Download App
  • Virtual Summit
  • Benefit Hub for Subscribers Only
SWHELPER | Social Work | Social Justice | Social Good
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • News
  • Culture
  • Mental Health
  • Politics
  • Tech
  • Disability
  • Webinars
  • Podcast
Find/Post Jobs
  • Home
  • News
  • Culture
  • Mental Health
  • Politics
  • Tech
  • Disability
  • Webinars
  • Podcast
No Result
View All Result
SWHELPER | Social Work | Social Justice | Social Good
No Result
View All Result
Home Education

Being Black at the University of Michigan

Brittany SandefurbyBrittany Sandefur
April 7, 2019
in Education, News
0
ADVERTISEMENT
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on PinterestShare via EmailShare on Reddit

Black students at the University of Michigan have come together to make demands on the administration this week. After bringing national attention to the injustices faced by Black students at the University through the top-trending hashtag #BBUM (Being black at UM), the students have taken the first step toward alleviating those injustices. They announced their demands to the University administrators on Monday the 20th, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, in what they’re calling an extension of the original Black Action Movement (BAM) at the University.

#BBUMThe demands center around moving Black students in from the margins – provide affordable housing nearer to campus, move the multicultural center nearer to campus, increase the number of Black students enrolled at the University to 10%. The current percentage is 6.4, well below state and national representation.

Meanwhile, the University of Michigan reaffirms its commitment to affirmative action as a 2006 constitutional amendment banning the policy in the state is being reviewed by the Supreme Court. The University’s commitment to diversity and affirmative action has always been driven by the student demand for it, as the Black Action Movement of the 1970’s demonstrated.

As stated in their demand letter,

“From the White House to Teach for America to the Peace Corps, on ever point of every corner of the globe, the legacy of Michigan is the audacity to be ambitious about its pursuit of social justice.  View in Full

The University’s own Provost recently cited current Black students’ efforts as a part of this legacy in a letter released to the University community last week.

“This commitment is longstanding and fundamental to who we are as an institution. And yet, there are times we have not lived up to our highest aspirations. Last term, we saw this in public displays of racial and religious insensitivity and in the daily aggression our students so eloquently described in the #BBUM (Being Black at UM) Twitter dialogue.” Read More

So what of this legacy? Why does a University that proclaims from all aspects to be committed to diversity struggle to create an environment where Black students can come in from the margins? And if they can’t do it – after court case after court case, after task force after task force – who can? And what does that mean for the growing racial gap in access to education in our country?

Last week at North Carolina State University, President Obama renewed the country’s commitment to providing a robust and accessible education for our young people. We can only hope that his message will trickle down to the institutions of higher learning struggling to increase their numbers and improve their climate or those institutions flat out refusing to do so.

In the meantime, we must be grateful to students who continue to push the envelope and pave the way for their younger brothers and sisters. At first glance, the ‘Black Wolverines’ demands seem extreme, but upon further reflection you realize that it is only this audacity that moves us forward. Many of us professionals once dared to dream that big as students.

Our hope now is that Black students at UM have the courage to expand the dialogue to include other students of color and marginalized communities. As a direct result of legacy of activism by Black students at Michigan, they have a voice that other communities of color do not have and perhaps, therefore, and obligation to lift others’ voices alongside their own.

As we know from experience in and outside of college activism, you can push faster and farther with more people beside you, and all our students deserve the chance to be leaders and the best.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4Bt_RkjBfc[/youtube]

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Activist Group Fights Against Plastic Surgery App for Children

Next Post

The Importance Of Breastfeeding: Physical, Mental and Financial Benefits

Brittany Sandefur

Brittany Sandefur

Brittany Sandefur received her BA and MSW at the University of Michigan and currently works at a domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy agency in North Carolina. Particularly interested in non-profit resource development, Sandefur works to support underserved and especially indigenous communities in their efforts toward crisis intervention, health and wellness, community empowerment, and social justice.

Related Posts

5 Ways To Boost Employee Wellbeing
Health

5 Ways To Boost Employee Wellbeing

January 7, 2023
What is High Performance Culture and How to Create It
Business

What is High Performance Culture and How to Create It

January 7, 2023
Morgan State University Professor Anthony Estreet to be next CEO of NASW
News

Morgan State University Professor Anthony Estreet to be next CEO of NASW

January 5, 2023
Sex Trafficking Survivor Files Lawsuit Against Red Roof Inns
Human Rights

Sex Trafficking Survivor Files Lawsuit Against Red Roof Inns

January 4, 2023
When Reporters of Sexual Harassment Are Silenced By Advocacy Institutions the Harm is Far Worst
Education

When Reporters of Sexual Harassment Are Silenced By Advocacy Institutions the Harm is Far Worst

January 3, 2023
How White Consumers Helped Drive Discrimination by Businesses
Economy

How White Consumers Helped Drive Discrimination by Businesses

September 21, 2022
Next Post
The Importance Of Breastfeeding: Physical, Mental and Financial Benefits

The Importance Of Breastfeeding: Physical, Mental and Financial Benefits

Dangers Of Alcohol Use In College

Dangers Of Alcohol Use In College

Leave Comment
ADVERTISEMENT
What Can Be Done To Solve The Foster Care Crisis?

Ending the Therapeutic Relationship: Creative Termination Activities

June 24, 2022
What Feelings Are In Your Heart: An Art Therapy Exercise for Kids

What Feelings Are In Your Heart: An Art Therapy Exercise for Kids

June 19, 2022
Want to Work With Children: 5 Skills and Qualities You Should Be Working On

Want to Work With Children: 5 Skills and Qualities You Should Be Working On

April 7, 2019

Connect With Us

Twitter
FlipboardInstagram
ADVERTISEMENT
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram TikTok
SWHELPER | Social Work | Social Justice | Social Good

  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Buy Merch
  • Download App
  • Terms of Service

© 2022 Social Work Helper, PBC

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • News
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Politics
    • Criminal Justice
    • Social Work
    • Education
    • LGBTQ
    • Technology
    • Disability
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Webinars
  • Virtual Summit
  • Career Center
  • Download App
  • Subscriber Benefit Hub
  • Subscribe
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart

© 2022 Social Work Helper, PBC

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Facebook
Sign In with Google
Sign In with Linked In
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Sign Up with Facebook
Sign Up with Google
Sign Up with Linked In
OR

Fill the forms below to register

*By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Go to mobile version