There have been way too many dorm-room debates and TDR table discussions about what it means to be a black woman at AU. We’ve laughed ourselves to tears with stories about the things that we experience here. From our natural hair journeys to often being the only black person in our classes. We share many of the same experiences yet lack community.
AU prides itself on being both extremely diverse and inclusive. Each year, the amount of minorities who attend AU seems to be increasing. It also seems that by the time you reach your third year as a minority student, you find yourself feeling like the upperclassmen who told you that “when I was a freshman I was the only [insert exaggerated claim about AU’s previous lack of diversity here].”
Though it may seem like an exaggeration, it is important that people find and retain community throughout their college careers. So while watching the next campus/student life promo video of AU flaunting about how diverse it is, I challenge you to question what really happens to these populations when they get here.
According to the AU Academic Data Reference Book of 2012-2013, approximately 8.2 percent of all AU students are black female students as opposed to 47.5 percent that are white females. This means that there are roughly 647 black female students currently enrolled as of the fall semester, who may have relatively similar experiences and yet still little to no space to build community together.
In addition to increase in the number of minority students for the academic school year of 2012-2013, AU made another stride toward becoming more diverse and inclusive by implementing a new office, better yet a compilation of offices, known as the Center for Diversity and Inclusion. This office seeks to enhance LGBTQ, multicultural, first-generation and women’s experiences on campus.
The efficacy of this merge of offices is a question for another time, but I’d like to rewind back to the days when there was an Office for Multicultural Affairs. There were strong, intelligent women of color running the office. This was very visible upon stepping foot into this office, and it was empowering. Perhaps AU should flaunt the women of color who work here so that students, particularly black women, can utilize and create relationships with them.
AU has often been compared with universities such as Georgetown University or George Washington University. When comparing the schools, it’s quite obvious that there is no real competition. AU Eagles consist of some of the brightest people from all over the U.S. and internationally. We intern the most. We’re considered to be among the top most politically active universities. We even eat the best vegan food!
Unfortunately, one thing that we can’t rub in the faces of Hoyas or the students who take pride in that identifiable George Washington-looking mascot is the fact that we don’t have any Black Women’s Forum like they have at GW or an organization for our Women of Color like they have at GU. These organizations empower women of color on a regular basis and encourage them to express themselves and share their unique experiences.
I wouldn’t truly be an Eagle, especially as a student leader, if I wasn’t bothered by this. So one day, while studying in the office that I work at, a group of random but familiar black women congregated and had a compelling conversation about “Why we can’t wait” for AU to change itself.
Feeling inspired by leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Donald Curtis, we decided to create a movement which would no longer tolerate the overlooking of black women at AU.
We, student leaders and other active students of color, decided to take immediate action toward creating real community for, by and among other women of color at AU.
We wanted to spark things off by calling all women of color to meet once and for all. So we booked a room. Made a flyer. And blasted it all over Facebook. The purpose of our gathering was to encourage women of color to come together in fellowship in hopes of building community and, most importantly, to brainstorm ideas for how we can make our experiences here at AU better.
Like I said, from our awkward black girl problems to wondering if white guys dig black girls, we demand an acknowledgement of our presence and a setting to share among one another.
It starts with the little things. The silent head nods or even eating together in the Tavern. It starts with these.
Akosua Bamfo is a junior is the College for Arts and Sciences.
edpage@theeagleonline.com
