Friday, March 6, 2015

The Black Voice. Volume 4. Number 1. February 28, 2015

The Black Voice
Whitewashed/ STILLblack@wisc.edu by Althea Miller
Spurred by a surreal identification with the experiences of the participants in a study conducted by Rachelle Winkle-­‐Wagner, the findings of which are described in Unchosen Me Race, Gender, and Identity among Black Women in College, STILLblack@wisc.edu speaks to the triumph and trauma that was my undergraduate experience at the University of Wisconsin-­‐Madison from August 2007 May 2012. Between the onslaught of hateful messages spewed at me by White peers, nonchalant professors, conservative think tanks denying my place at this institution, and a myriad of other horrors caused or compounded by my Blackness and the other identities intersecting it I further grounded myself in my roots, despite various purgative efforts by others, or even myself.



STILLblack@wisc.edu depicts the gradation of identity from acting white, to total and unabashed Negritude, with a deliberate (albeit subtle) reference to minstrelsy a message to the University that   I will not allow myself to be pandered as the fruition of a diversity plan, nor am I a quota. 
 I am a voice.  
And I will be heard.




On Friday, February 5, 1971 volume 1, number of THE BLACK VOICE was released to the campus.The  paper  was  a “new  vehicle  on      which  Black people  can  transmit their      thoughts.” During  a time of turmoil and overt  rejection from the greater campus community Black students created  place  where  their  needs, conversations, interests, and community could be centralized beyond the realms   of  physical  space. The Black student  body  as  it  currently  stands  is  still in  need of such  space. charge  you  now  as  students charged one another then, “With THE BLACK VOICE, this        new    endeavor, let      us  all  become determined  to    progress, let  us  all  refuse  to stagnate, and      let    us    all  refuse  to retrogress. This is  a long  awaited  beginning.” 

 


Lift Every Voice
“If your voice is not loud enough you need to make it louder, but at the same time you need to make it productive”-Amani Breanna Alexander
         When the first issue of The Black Voice was published on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1971 the voices of Black students had been made loud for over a decade already. Students gathered on the Capitol Square, Library Mall, and Bascom Hill in order to protest segregated lunch counters and overt acts of racism by predominantly white fraternities, demand improvement in the recruitment and retention of Black students and the implementation of a Black Studies Department, and also to boycott the closing of the Afro American and Native American Cultural Centers. Fast forward 44 years later and we can all share a meal at the Nitty Gritty, yet there is still a likelihood of being called any variation of nigger while walking down Langdon street and we’re still discussing and demanding tangible action to solve the recruitment and retention gap that plagues all ethnic minority groups on campus. Even the Afro- American Studies department, though present, still lacks sustainability and is in danger of being dissolved into one large department along with its ethnic studies counterparts that remain at only program status. How is it that an institution known for its breakthrough research and accomplished reputation remains stagnant in its efforts to institutionalize the value of Black students? Has there actually been no progress in the campus racial climate? One answer can be found in the gallery of the Multicultural Student Center in the Red Gym or on the walls of the second floor of College Library. For the month of February photos depicting the student protest that took place on December 14, 2014 hang alongside photos of student protests from 1940 until the late 1980s. Aside from the color there is little difference between the periods. Not only have the needs of Black students remained fundamentally the same, but also there is little difference in the methods used to implement change and the message of why change is necessary. Even still, these protests, marches, and boycotts show moments in campus life that, though powerful and impactful, were briefly experienced. How have the day-to-day lived experiences of Black students improved throughout the last 44 years? As we near the half a century mark, what can continue to be done ensure the safety and sanity of Black students on campus?
 Our campus has been consistently informed of administrative intentions to reform the hostile campus racial climate. Students, staff, administrators, and several campus entities have all hosted their fair share of forums, discussions, and town hall meetings in order to voice respective concerns, opinions, and plans to improve conditions for marginalized communities. Buzz words like “diversity” and “inclusivity” have been circulating in every public sphere in order to maintain assurance that a change is coming, but with current campus life bearing uncanny resemblance to campus 30 years ago, that change is a long time coming. As a Madison native, former undergraduate and graduate student at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, current Assistant Director of the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives, and program advisor for the First Wave Hip Hop and Urban Arts Learning Community, Adey Assefa, has had over a decade of experience in the campus’s racial climate. When reflecting on her own experiences as a Badger Adey admits, “I know from the experiences I experienced growing up here as well as being a student here and where I’m at now working with students, specifically Black students, not much has changed.” Incidents like the one Janetta Hill, a freshman at the university, experienced when she was called a “nigger bitch” while walking down State Street this past summer are still prevalent in Black students’ lives. Instead, Assefa has observed a change in the Black student population’s response to such a stagnant environment. Every aspect of Black student life is engaging in the discourse surrounding the displacement of Black students and all resources are being utilized to address the issue. Many current students agree that the Black student community is collectively more active, visible, and apt to bring about more change than has been seen in recent years. The problem, though, is that the onus falls primarily on the shoulders of students. Responses from Bascom Hill have been slow to say the least and most seem geared towards immediate placation of students than toward sufficient action. Two major initiatives that work to address current and future issues facing students of color are the Diversity Framework and the incident/bias reporting system. The Diversity Framework, entitled Forward Together, is coming out of the office of the Vice Provost for Diversity and Climate and is currently aiming to address six priority areas of campus improvement for students of color including undergraduate curriculum, retention and research, and access and recruitment. The first draft of the framework’s initiatives are set to be released Sunday, March 1st. While we await the application of these solutions, students may use the incident/bias reporting system to report instances of bias and hate demonstrated within the realms of the campus community. Incidents can be reported online under the Dean of Students office or in person at various campus offices including the Multicultural Student Center and the LGBT Campus Center both located in the Red Gym. Students who have reported incidents have seen swift and just consequences for their offenders. Still, Assefa points out, there is little room for reporting acts that are well intended or that may not have an individual, known, or direct offender. Despite these two initiatives most students agree overall that little is done institutionally to ensure their safety and comfort. The only glimmer of hope resides in a small pocket of campus entities. Spaces like the office of African American Student Academic Services, the Multicultural Student Center, or the major scholarship communities for people of color, PEOPLE, Posse, and First Wave. Still, many students believe these offices often function independently of the institution as designated safe space. Once students step outside of these spaces to engage in common areas of campus life there remains a dissonance. Sophomore Deshawn McKinney points out that Black students not enrolled in a scholarship community or those who live in the Lake shore dormitories and lack access to “centrally located” safe spaces are further undeserved and their resources even more minimalized. He adds that even campus services such as University Health Services aren’t always able to sufficiently serve students of  color due to an inability or unwillingness to recognize the unique experiences of Black students and the unique needs those experiences create. Consequently, most of the efforts to create, sustain, and expand safe spaces comes from the Black student population. Student organizations geared towards serving Black students facilitate most of the community gatherings and what little centralization the community has. Still the reach of these organizations is limited due to what Deshawn acknowledges as a need to survive. 2012 alumnus and current graduate student Walter Williams recognizes that there is often a lack of financial support from the university to ensure the sustainability and survival of student organizations. Little consistent and fully effective university initiatives combined with limiting and, sometimes, unsustainable campus spaces cause many Black students to be constantly susceptible to the micro-aggressive environment that can be the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
When asked what ways can this climate be remedied Black students and staff makes it clear that reform is needed at every level of the university and action is called on everyone’s part. There is large inclination towards diversifying the campus faculty. Adey believes, “there needs to be a commitment to diversifying the faculty and staff on campus so that students can see people in professional roles that look like them and be taught by faculty that look like them, especially when it comes to area and subjects that are about their identity.” Janetta agrees, expressing her own confusion over the absence of faculty working in programs and departments that align with their racial and  ethnic identity. “It just doesn’t make sense for the head of all of these departments to be mainly White people or White men, it doesn’t make sense. It’s not your experience. I want the best. UW-Madison is supposed to be the best and I want the most detailed work and you cannot give me that because that’s not your experience.” The need for more faculty of color or at least faculty trained and committed to having a truly inclusive classroom climate can address issues of retention. Garrett Pauli, a sophomore, believes that“If the university is going to use words like diversity and inclusivity and that kind of rhetoric then it should be excited about incorporating that into the University experience.” Reformation is not solely required of the university though. There are many ways in which students, both organizationally and individually, can improve our efforts to create a better campus climate. Coalition building and self-awareness are essential to our efforts. While there is much that needs to be done and many ways to contribute to getting it done, it is imperative that we know where we can best serve. Both Hill and McKinney agree that everyone’s strength is not in public speaking or organizing and that’s okay. Being willing and able to acknowledge and address the task you can best complete instead of the one that personally benefits you is crucial to our overall progression. The marches and protest, says McKinney, are only small parts in the grand scheme of advancement. “Its more than a movement. It should be a lifestyle because it’s literally a life style. It’s more than a moment”, says Hill. We must challenge ourselves to embody the change we want to see and incorporate it into our daily lives. A sophomore student Hiwot Adilow says, we must start with ourselves. Students find small ways to enhance everyday aspects of campus life like Olivia Millet, another sophomore student, who strives to be another smiling brown face to alleviate any possible loneliness that may be felt by many students of color during a simple daily commute. The responsibility, though, does not rest solely upon the small student of color population or the even smaller Black student population. There is also a responsibility of the majority student population, primarily White allies. Pauli, a white student, believes in being in constant communication with his white counterparts about race relations on campus and is using his artistic platform to address white privilege and white silence. Coalition building within the Black community, primarily amongst organizations, between different student of color populations, and amongst the student population as a whole can urge for a heightened and quickened response on behalf of administration. Allowing students to be active in the decision- making regarding the betterment of their experiences also becomes a crucial part of actual improvement. Above all, there is a vital need for what 2015 Black History Month keynote speaker Marc Lamont Hill calls deep listening, or the realization that everyone speaking at the same time does make a conversation. In order to truly advance, the faculty, staff, administration, and the student body in its entirety has to be willing to actively listen to the needs and realities of one another.
While the sound of current Black voices deeply resonates with those of the 1970s this is not to be confused with a 30-year-old echo. Despite the fundamental feel of same sh*t different day, there is a different end goal for Black students today. Instead of visibility and acknowledgement there is a pressing need for holistic integration into the overall university mission and the ideologies that shape the Wisconsin Experience, while also ensuring that integration is not coupled with an expectation of assimilation. Instead it has become imperative that Black voices are recognized for their matchless sound and are given the space to harmonize with the larger campus without being drowned out in monolithic multiculturalism.
Until we receive that space we can only deduce that our voices simply are not loud enough yet.

 

Black is the New 

   L

       A

            C

                 K

 

 


a lover’s poem


the sun loves me so much people say they see him when i walk into a room.

i am golden. the sun loved me enough to leave a kiss from himself on my cheeks.



the sky could say the same thing.

he wakes her from a mourning color.

he turns her over from blush to bruise. she blues, only grabbing glimpses of him before he dusks away. she turns a violent hue and i do too. both of us grow grey and starless when he goes. we flood everything with how full we are of thunder.



it’s nighttime, the sun has sunk.

the sky and i almost forget: yesterday we split a tree down the middle.


this morning, the sun fills us fierce, we forget our wrath in his warmth.
we remember that we are not always so dark.

we take this truth and shawl it around our shoulders.

By Hiwot Adilow











Abandon Whenever a blk person is senselessly murdered (and I shiver through the bones at how  smooth it comes, like wind across my cheek, the bitter truth that waves whenever)



I find myself, my Other name, biting at The Atlantic—I will simply go Back Home. Ethiopia waits for my lips, spitting

My father’s name so wrong.



There is blood in the city I was born in And it trails from one coast to another. I say beYesussm and dream of flight Wondering where the dying will go.



Can I pull them onto the boat I inherited? Who is to say I will not die running? Who is to say that the bullet cares Anything for where I am “from?”

By Hiwot Adilow


"Just a KID" by Jerry Jordan




"Mattea" by Jerry Jordan

 

Prayer (Song) for Magic

[Introduction]
17- year-old Travyon Martin fatally shot by 28-year-old George Zimmerman 17-year-old Jordan Davis fatally shot by 45-year-old Michael Dunn

18- year-old Michael Brown fatally shot by 28-year-old police officer Darren Wilson 12-year-old Tamir Rice fatally shot by 26-year-old police officer Timothy Loehmann



[Verse]

white men with magnums make black children phantoms,

I’m singing anthems praying to freeze handguns,

I don’t have powers but I produce poems that ask if my children

can make all the cannons unmade



[Chorus] (x4)

oh heavenly father give us all your magic give us every spell you can lend



we have your good book now we need your spell book the bible can’t battle a bullet

 Conclusion]
  df dkjhnjnkj ink dv  they used to put on a white sheet hey how are you doing today .. Today they've taken off the white sheet                                                                                                               , and

they're     doing the same thing.”

-Malcolm X

By Sean Avery


    Upcoming Events



Sunday, March 1st:

First Wave Womyn’s History Month Showcase Featuring Rose Gold”
By Zhalarina Sanders Fredric Play Circle, Memorial Union
         6pm-9pm

Tuesday,March 3rd
Wisconsin Black Student Union
Talk to Me Tuesday:
Addressing the N Word in the Black Community MSC Lounge, Red Gym
6:15pm

Thursday, March 5th:

Filipino American Student Organization Breakfast for Dinner- Pancake Fundraiser MSC Lounge, Red Gym
                                                                        6pm-8pm

Wednesday, March 11th:

D-Squad Presents: The Mask You Live In Overture Room, Gordon Commons
                                                                                  6pm


Friday, March 13th:

Gamma Epsilon, Zeta Iota, and Epsilon Tau Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha PHInesse
The Red Zone Madison 10pm-2am
$8 presale tickets, $10 at the door

Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc 2015 Triple ‘S’ Show
Shannon Hall Theatre Doors open at 8pm

Sunday, March 15th:
[un] bound call for submissions deadline
This edition intends to capture the challenging and celebratory moments where our intersectional roots as LGBTQA+ and ally identities find liberation
in a world that challenges our very existence.
Mediums: paintings, poems, sketches, comics, photography, songs, drawings, quotes.
Formats: JPEG/ PNG/ TIFF/ Doc/PDF Files, color or black and white Submission Size: No specific size, but a submission will be published in a 5.5’’x8.5’’ page
Page Limit: Submissions will have a limit of being printed on 2 pages of 5.5’’x8.5’’ for questions and submissions contact,
Ricardo Mora, mora2@wisc.edu



March 11th- 17th:

First Wave Hip Hop and Urban Arts Learning Community Presents
The Line Breaks Festival 2015 Overture Center for the Arts



Thursday, March 12th- Friday, March 13th:
Multicultural Student Center
The Symposium on Race & Politics in Higher Education  
               Click here for more info http://msc.wisc.edu/msc/social-justice/symposium



Special thanks to: 
 Hiwot Adilow
Shade Adu
          Amani Breanna Alexander  
          Adey Assefa 
          Janetta Hill
                                                 Deshawn  McKinney
                                                 Olivia Millet
                                                 Garrett Pauli
                                                 Egal Warsame   
                                                 Walter Williams


  Hard copies are available in the Multicultural Student Center, POSSE office, Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives, and PEOPLE Program office. 

To send in submissions of poetry, prose, artwork, or article topics please email Jordan Gaines at jsgaines@wisc.edu


For all question, comments, or concerns please email  aasas@ls.wisc.edu

 



No comments:

Post a Comment