June 24, 2015
Dear Loyola Community, This past week serves as a painful and aching reminder of the state of racism and white supremacy in our country. Nine black individuals died at the hands of a terrorist last Wednesday night in Charleston, North Carolina. Though this is not the first time a Black church has been attacked, I fear that we, a largely white institution, will come to a disappointing conclusion: inaction. As I write this letter to you, I reflect upon Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Though over time Dr. King’s message has been appropriated to fit different narratives, in its purest form it still applies to the times we find ourselves in today. A little over a month ago I wrote to our student body in the Loyola Phoenix. I urged students to recognize that we, an undergraduate student body of ten thousand, have the potential to be a force for social change. In 1963, Dr. King spoke in regard to a similar sentiment. With his feet planted on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King delivered his speech almost one hundred years after President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed blacks’ emancipation. One hundred years later, however, freedom for African Americans was nothing more than a political talking point. Freedom was not found in poll taxes or housing discrimination, nor was it found in the “white only” signs that were displayed so prominently on the doors of public and private facilities. King decried this hypocrisy and injustice. With his voice echoing across the reflection pool of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King made clear that he would not accept this broken promise of freedom. “Now is the time,” he said, “to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.” I imagine Dr. King would decry the racial injustices that continue to exist in the United States. Today, blacks’ emancipation is barely recognizable in a country where black individuals are so often accused of a crime, convicted, and executed all within seconds by a police officer rendered both judge and executioner. Racism may no longer take form in cross burnings on the lawns of black families’ homes, but instead is more discreet and potent in our country’s policies and practices. As a student leader, I often times fear that our mostly white community forgets about the struggles students of color face, specifically black students. Though I will never know their experience, I can imagine the hardships that are produced from living in a country where the Confederate flag still flies and blacks are statistically more likely to be shot dead by the police. Dr. King’s words, though iterated fifty years ago, are words that should continue to ring in all of our eardrums today, especially the ears of non-black students. With that, I say, now is the time for us, a predominantly white student body, to think critically about how we can strive to stand in solidarity with our black brothers and sisters. Yes, now is the time for us to think, but more importantly, now is the time for us to act. Now is the time for us to work towards narrowing the deep racial divide in our country—that also has the potential to permeate our own campus. Now is the time for us to heal the wounds of racial violence in our communities. Yes, now is the time, Loyola. We must never forget the power that comes from solidarity—the strength that was formed when white leaders joined hands with black leaders in 1963 marching down the streets of Selma, Alabama. Ultimately, I know that Loyola will be at its strongest when our community recognizes this, and heeds Dr. King’s call. In Maroon & Gold, Michael F. Fasullo President, Student Government of Loyola Chicago