Panelists discuss Black experience at UMW over the years

FROM NAACP PAGE 1

“I was so mentored and cared for by the women, the students, but also the faculty advisors in Women of Color,” said Okomo. “I was so awed by them.”

Jenkins also noted the positive impact of Black women at UMW.

“That was the reason that I really enjoyed my time on campus there,” he said of the center. “It was the people you meet at that center, who come into that office, are truly the reason why I loved that school so much.”

Jenkins said that though the survival tips the panel members shared are helpful, students should not have to employ them.

“I’m seeing multiple generations, multiple decades of people saying that they were hate crimed, that they went through these things,” said Jenkins. “It’s beautiful to see all these tips and stuff like that about how we can survive but, like it was said, I’m not in the business of surviving.”

“We have this community of Black women who’s been here ... that existed for generations,” she said.

Ford enjoyed the community he found within the James Farmer Multicultural Center.

Jenkins continued, “In 20 years if a program like this is done again, I don’t want those kids to be like ‘Oh I experienced a hate crime, someone called me this,’ because that’s not how it’s supposed to be!”

Okomo shared advice for current students, encouraging them to advocate for themselves to faculty and administration.

“Have a voice,” she said. “This is the time to have a voice, to let university administrators, let faculty members, know what your experiences are because you are a student and you are there to thrive, not survive.”

Joy Griffin, a 1984 alum with a degree in biology and chemistry, also shared words of encouragement for current UMW students.

“For you to forget that there are those who don’t think like you do and don’t see life as you do, that would be a non-reality,” she said. “Part of the reason why I’m here tonight is to do my best to encourage you, and all those who are attending Mary Wash now, because what you gain in your education as you stay and you commit and you come away with that, no one can take that from you.”