Feature By Ziqi Wang
“It’s very clear what the students are asking for:” Sylvia Spears talks about how Emerson College is hurting students from marginalized communities
Raised in Narragansett, Rhode Island, Sylvia Spears has fond memories of her childhood from bathing in sunshine during the summer to splashing water at the beach with her siblings. And yet, despite these memories, one feeling remained the same: being othered. Her family was one of four families of color in Narragansett, so she wasn’t a stranger to microaggressions or overt racism. But her mother, she said, validated her experiences and taught her about oppression, helping her understand what it meant to be Black in America. This sparked Spears’ realization that she wanted to help students of color in white spaces just like her mom helped her. Spears is currently the Vice President for Equity and Social Justice at Emerson College. Hired in 2012, Spears’ primary responsibility is to provide broad institutional influence and leadership to advance the College’s diversity and inclusion. And yet, the position has never had any authority or direct power to create actual institutional change, she said. After decades of inclusivity and diversity work, she said it’s hard to say if institutions and the people who benefit from these existing systems actually have the ability to make the kind of transformative change that is necessary. Spears said she thinks her role
