Student Reflection

Student Perspective

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

A Student Perspective on the Current Movement

by Kiana Tuckett Sophomore Psychology Major

As the leaves turned to fiery blazes, falling and sweeping over the campus of Mars Hill University on October 18, a crowd of students—masked, of course—paraded through the university grounds with waves of pride and courage in a plea for civil justice. That Sunday afternoon marked the second Black Lives Matter (BLM) march in Mars Hill, organized by students enrolled at the university. Nearly 200 students, faculty, and members of the community congregated at Meares Stadium before the BLM march began, exchanging powerful words of affirmation. Students and members of the community alike gathered in pursuit of unity and acceptance for all people. Sports teams could be seen walking together along the march path, and elderly couples were seen holding hands with each other as well as signs reading “Black Lives Matter” and “No Justice. No Peace.” The group, led by student organizer Jayson Moorman and President Tony Floyd, marched up Bailey Street, and then back down through campus to the lower quad. Moorman, the president of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) and a member of the men’s soccer and lacrosse teams at Mars Hill University, was instrumental in the planning and success of both BLM marches. With the country embroiled in a vast political divide, there are also many divisions in Americans’ perspectives of the Black Lives Matter movement. Tymothy Jones, a recent alumnus of MHU and a member of the College Republicans Organization on campus, gave a few words on his perspective of BLM, recently. “If it’s peaceful, great, but violence is not the answer. Destroying small businesses is not the answer; I see all this stuff about people destroying African American owned businesses, but it’s like, you’re hurting yourself. The way to change society is the way Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. did.

Peacefully. The answer to fixing this country is not pillaging.” By all accounts, the BLM demonstration in Mars Hill was peaceful and uplifting for the participants. When asked about it afterwards, an officer who attended the march, helping to direct traffic around the marchers, stated that the march was “well planned and executed very well. We didn’t have any issues on it, and we welcome it. Everything just went well.” In relation to conflicting views over the BLM movement and what it stands for, Moorman explained, “I wanted to show people that the idea was not about hate, but unrest in the black community and showing them the way we can get justice. And that’s through the unity of all people.” Although the march spanned only about a halfmile, Moorman believes the event encouraged the community to find truth in the need to, “demand justice and equality for all.” A’mera Bellamy, the current president of the Black Students Association (BSA) at Mars Hill University, also responded to criticisms of Black Lives Matter, stating, “It’s not political, it’s personal.”

Caption: The October March on Mars Hill was peaceful and uplifting. Here, the group is shown, led by student organizer Jayson Moorman (below right) and President Tony Floyd (blue shirt). This event was intended to send a powerful message of solidarity from the members of the Mars Hill community, Bellamy said. However, she also made it clear that this event was only a step along the path to social justice. “We still have a long way to go,” she said. Bellamy explained that her aim as president of BSA is to raise awareness and advocacy for diverse students as well as making students of color feel more comfortable in using their voices. She said she wants people to be aware that this movement is not something new, but instead a culmination of many events and factors. “People of color were more passive before because they felt like they had to be. Now, we know we have more support, and we are more active because we have the space to do it,” Bellamy said, in reference to the recent rise in Black Lives Matter protests and other social justice marches. Jonathon McCoy ’92, an instructor of history at Mars Hill University and the director of the Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on campus, also attended the Black Lives Matter march in October. He said that the mission of the center is to be a resource for students to help themselves be heard. “Who’s going to put their actions into words?” he said. “How can I help you be active, and how can we make a community where everyone is empowered?” Mars Hill University, which was built on slave labor almost two centuries ago in 1856, has experienced tremendous growth and change throughout its existence. Due to this, Bellamy shares a message regarding the alumni of Mars Hill University: “Before they make assumptions or judgments about the campus, they have to consider that we have different experiences. They have to remember that their time isn’t ours,” she said. And the time is now. For all students at Mars Hill University and all members of the Mars Hill community. The time for change, growth, and most importantly, unity.

Kiana Tuckett is a sophomore student in the narrative journalism class, taught by Felice Lopez-Bell, assistant professor of English.