Africana Supporters Protest at Day Hall

Advocates of the Africana Center’s autonomy are making their message clear and public: “we’re not going anywhere.”

Roughly fifty students and faculty were on hand in front of Day Hall Friday afternoon, protesting the recent announcement that Africana Studies would be brought under the wing of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Energetic speakers took turns on the megaphone, calling for students to take action. These speakers included both students and professors in the Africana Center. While the speakers’ anger was directed at the alleged rashness and lack of communication associated with the move rather than the move itself, the protest signs indicated a staunch opposition to the move.

A petition went around, calling upon President Skorton to hear the voices of the protestors. One speaker claimed that the petition would be “national” and already had “thousands of signatures.”

Update:

While the speakers were generally outraged with the sudden nature of the University’s actions, their rhetoric seemed to point to deeper fears.

“This is about control, money, power, and domination,” shouted Ken Glover, former RHD of Ujamaa, claiming that Provost Fuchs’ decision was the first strike in an attempt to take over the Africana Studies department. He later went on to question the University’s motives, stating his belief that, “this is about white supremacy…If they had our best interests in mind the Indians would still have their land.”

A second speaker echoed these sentiments, saying, “This is about getting rid of black people from this campus.” She expressed her feelings that she did not think highly of Cornell, and has tried to dissuade others from coming to study at the school. She claimed this new failure to communicate by the administration as another justification for her opinion. Despite her dissatisfaction with the management’s decision, both she and other students took the action personally, implying that the school somehow looks down on the program and is trying to oppress Africana students.

This notion prompted her to make statements such as, “I know they don’t think we read up in Africana,” and “[I am] not going to be forced to go into buildings with pictures of people who do not look like me.”

The speakers and protesters vowed to continue fighting the university’s encroachment until they are met as equals in debating changes to the Africana Studies department.

Expect more updates in the near future.