NOMMO NEWSMAGAZINE
DISDAINED: AN EXAMINATION OF ANTI-BLACKNESS AND ADMINISTRATIVE INACTION AT UCLA
Research Initiative by UCLA McNair Scholar Gene McAdoo
Research Initiative
Disdained: An Examination of Anti-blackness and Administrative Inaction at UCLA Gene McAdoo
Abstract:
A
nti-blackness -- the cultural disdain
anti-Black, and the negative impacts that anti-
for Blackness reflected in society’s
blackness has on Black students’ educational
inability and unwillingness to recognize
experiences and outcomes. I argue that UCLA
the humanity of those racialized as Black -- is
Administrators’ snail-like pace in meeting the
central to how all of us make sense of everyday
needs of its Black students reveals a larger
life. The history of American higher education
inability--or unwillingness-- to empathize with
reveals how Black Americans’ relationship to
and recognize the struggles of Black students,
higher education institutions has always been
directly contributing to the amount of support,
fundamentally defined by anti-blackness, and
or lack thereof, that Black students at UCLA
the experiences of Black students at UCLA are
receive. By analyzing the experiences of Black
certainly not an exception to that rule. Although
students at UCLA through the specific lens
Black students are no longer subject to the
of anti-black racism, as opposed to racism in
same overt discrimination as Black students
general, we are able to recognize the unique
in the years preceding the landmark Brown v.
ways in which Black students are marginalized
Board Supreme Court Case, anti-blackness
and underserved at the university and develop
has remained endemic to the educational
targeted solutions to improve Black students’
experiences of Black students. Using UCLA and
educational experiences. If it is at all possible
the fight for a Black Resource Center as a case
for UCLA to become an “anti-racist” university,
study, this essay explores the ways in which Black
it is imperative for Gene Block and other
students (still) experience higher education as
campus administrators to be more proactive in meeting the unique needs of its Black students.
NOMMO NewsMagazine
“
“
I’M HERE TODAY TO ASK YOU TO MAKE IT STOP. STOP THE PAIN. STOP US FROM BEING TIRED. Philonese Floyd, brother of George Floyd
s I descend into my final couple of quarters
A
Nonetheless, after the rose colored goggles are
as an undergraduate, I can’t help but have
removed, the shiny “#1 public university sticker”
bittersweet feelings about my time at UCLA.
peeled back, and I interrogated my experiences
Reflecting as a graduating senior, I am undoubtedly
slightly further, I cannot help but think about
thankful for the fact that my experiences as a
the rampant anti-blackness that I have had to
Black student were not as horrifying as 18 year
contend with day in and day out that has defined
old Gene had feared. I am grateful for my time at
my experience as a Black Bruin. Anti-blackness
UCLA and the opportunities that attending such
refers to society’s inability to recognize Black
a “prestigious” (their words, not mine) research
humanity due its “disdain, disregard, and disgust”
institution has brought me that could have been
for Blackness that can historically be traced
elsewhere. Attending UCLA has set me on the career path that I’ve always desired and for that I will forever be grateful. Likewise, I’m also eternally grateful for the (Black) community I’ve found a home in, the lifelong friends turned family that I’ve met, and ultimately for my
“
more difficult to obtain had I enrolled
back to the days of chattel slavery (ross,
“Anti-blackness is a foundational ideology to all social, economic, and political institutions in the United States, and UCLA is certainly no exception (Dumas,2016).”
2020). Anti-blackness is a foundational ideology to all social, economic, and political institutions in the United States, and UCLA is certainly no exception (Dumas, 2016). In this essay, I argue that at the institutional level, antiBlackness at UCLA largely manifests in the form of the administration’s lack of
entire village of support that has
urgency in addressing and meeting the
helped me escape this institution
needs of UCLA’s Black students, which
in one piece and move along towards my next
has the effect of contributing to the suffering of
step in the journey of life. While UCLA certainly
Black students in the form of racial discrimination,
wasn’t my top choice, my village certainly made
inadequate support resources, and ultimately
my time here bearable and even fun on occasion.
lower graduation rates for Black students.
2
Undoubtedly,
anti-blackness
at
UCLA
manifests in other forms such as daily (hourly, even) microaggressions; however, the focus of this essay will be to shed light on the ways that anti-blackness goes unnoticed at UCLA, given that microaggressions are often more readily understood as examples of anti blackness. In the supposed “coloredblind/ post racial era” we live in where the relative success of some students of color is offered as evidence of the end of racism, calling attention to the specific ways in which Black people experience marginalization in society—antiblackness— is imperative to devising appropriate solutions to improve the wellbeing and livelihoods of Black people both on campus and in society as a whole. If it’s possible for UCLA to become the “antiracist” university Chancellor Gene Block claims is the goal, the institution must contend with the ways it perpetuates anti-blackness and find more effective means to support the holistic wellbeing of Black life on campus.
NOMMO NewsMagazine
History of Anti-blackness in Higher Education History reveals that the history of American higher education is cloaked in anti-blackness, again defined as the disdain, disgust, and disregard for Black humanity (ross, 2020; Mustaffa, 2017; Harper, 2011). Historically, higher education institutions have been unwilling to recognize Black humanity and thus, Black educability. In other words, as a result of the dominant beliefs in civil society about Black people being uneducable that can be traced back to the days of chattel slavery, higher education institutions have historically worked to deny Black students access to quality collegiate education. Moreover, in cases where Blacks students are able to obtain access to quality higher education, our experiences are often constructed and tainted by incessant anti-blackness that works to deny us adequate educational resources as we are often seen as undeserving of support because, in part, we are seen as uneducable. Due to the inverse relationship between white privilege and Black suffering, white privilege in higher education has historically been predicated on the subordination and suffering of Black people (Wilder, 2013; Mustaffa, 2017; Dancy et. al, 2018). Education scholar Jahlil Mustaffa writes, “Higher education’s beginning in the US, during the [antebllum] Era, cannot be critically engaged without aligning it with slavery” (2017). Without the suffering of the Black slaves who built and maintained the colonial colleges, the landscape of higher education would be arguably unrecognizable, as Wilder (2013) notes that many of the early colonial institutions that served survived largely because of their reliance on Black slave labor. In Ebony and Ivy, Craig Wilder dispels the commonly held belief that Black people were not present in colonial colleges.
“
According to Wilder, enslaved Black people often outnumbered the amount of white people present at a number of Ivy League colleges. According to Dancy et. al (2018), “Black people erected the buildings, cooked the food, and cleaned the dormitories… Colonizers advocated (from college campus podiums) for the inhumane treatment of Black people everywhere, and violence was a common experience for the enslaved on college campuses’’ (emphasis added).
The landscape of higher education as we know it would be unrecognizable without the suffering of Black bodies due to the way that many elite institutions relied on the free labor that was violently forced upon Black people for their construction and everyday maintenance of white higher education institutions.
Wilder goes on to argue that while most of the higher education institutions founded in the 18th and 19th centuries failed to survive, the overwhelming majority of the institutions that did survive relied on slave labor. Marc Parry supports this claim, as he writes, “...the number of colleges in British Americas had more than
4
tripled in the quarter century between 1745
and state as the third pillar of a civiliztion built
and 1769...All of the new colleges were
on bondage” (2013). As Wilder explains, higher
established with direct connections to that
education instituions were pivotal in establishing
[slave] economy...about 80% of the newly
the anti-black, white supremacist social order that
established academies failed. Those that
deemed Black people to be inferior and inherently
survived did so by attaching themselves
uneducable. As the primary modes of knowledge
to the slave economy” (2017). This fact
production during the antebellum period, beliefs
highlights the importance that slave labor
about Black inferiority rooted in Social Darwinism
held in the success of early American
and eugenics were foundational to the field of
colleges, and also demonstrates that white
anthropology, and thus helped legitimize the
educational attainment quite literally could
scientific racism that has been used to justify white
not have been possible without the suffering
supremacy and Black subjugation to this very day
of enslaved Black people. The landscape
(Mustaffa, 2017).
of higher education as we know it would be unrecognizable without the suffering of Black bodies due to the way that many elite institutions relied on the free labor that was violently forced upon Black people for their construction and everyday maintenance of white higher education institutions.
In terms of educational equality, the period immediately following emancipation cannot be easily characterized as one of progress nor of total stagnation for Black Americans. On one hand, this period saw the creation of over 200 institutions with the purpose of educating Black Americans ( Harper, 2009). On the other hand, the majority of
In addition to producing Black suffering
these institutions received inadequate resources in
by purposefully excluding Black people
comparison to white schools and also emphasized
from higher education learning spaces and
vocational education, essentially ensuring that
instead relying on their labor for everyday
Black Americans who attended these schools
maintenance, higher education institutions
would only receive knowledge that restricted
also perpetuated anti-blackness through
them to low-paying labor (Thelin, 2011; Harper,
their research agendas that often justified
2009). Thus, while Black Americans saw greatly
and reinforced notions of Black inferiority
improved access to higher education following
and beliefs that helped render Blackness
emancipation, a widespread effort to recognize the
as abject, inferior, servile, etc (Mustaffa,
Black humanity and educability of Black Americans
2017; Hartman, 1997). Wilder writes, “The
had yet to materialize.
academy never stood apart from American slavery— in fact, it stood beside the church
NOMMO NewsMagazine
Sadiya Hartman’s concept of burdened individuality may be useful in understanding
HARTMAN’S “BURDENED INDIVIDUALITY” encumbered freed person” (Hartman, 1997). Hartman’s concept of burdened individuality highlights the limits that emancipation posed for the formerly enslaved and the ways in which their newfound emancipation was still largely shaped by anti-blackness. Additionally, burdened individuality provides a forceful rebuke of liberal narratives of progress, as it highlights the ways in which that “progress” for Black Americans was hindered by a (still) extreme “disdain, disgust, and disregard” for Black bodies, or in other words, anti-blackness (ross, 2020; Hartman, 1997). The concept of burdened individuality is useful because it highlights how, despite (non)emancipation from slavery, individuals and institutions in American society still work to subjugate Black Americans and ensure that Black Americans would be unable to realize their full legal rights. Angela Davis captures the essence of burdened the way that the “(non)event of emancipation”
individuality when she writes, “The idea of
(Hartman, 1997) transformed the master/slave
freedom is inspiring. But what does it mean?
relational dynamic. Hartman uses the term burdened If you are free in a political sense but have no food, what’s that? The freedom to starve?”. individuality to describe how the formerly enslaved “navigated between a travestied emancipation
Hartman’s concept of burdened individuality
and an illusory freedom” following the “nonevent
helps readers understand that improved
of emancipation” (Hartman, 1997). On burdened
access to higher education did not necessitate
individuality, Hartman writes, “...the advent of
the elimination of anti-blackness in their
freedom marked the transition from the pained
educational experiences. Curriculum and
and minimally sensate existence of the slave to
pedagogy were often the most contentious
the burdened individuality of the responsibility and
issues in Black education influenced by anti
6
blackness; due to the Southern planter class’
training, many Black Americans were still
continued dominance in American politics, many
restricted to jobs that paid lower wages an
policies sought to ensure that Black students
largely resembled slavery and sharecropping.
received a curriculum that would not “spoil a
Subsequently, the racial hierarchy within the
good plow hand” (Anderson, 1988), or in other
capitalist economy remained unchanged and so
words, ensure that Black Americans would remain
did the material conditions of the masses of Black
an easily exploitable class. Mustaffa writes,
people. The key takeaway here is that despite
“Both a form of cultural and direct violence,
increased access for some Blakc students, all
curriculum management was about marginalizing
Black students still experienced schooling as
Black culture and knowledge and preserving
fundamentally anti-black, or reflecting society’s
an exploitable labor force” (2017). Mustaffa
inability to recognize Black humanity. (Ross,
further notes that the curriculum at some HBCUs
2020).
emphasized manual labor and teaching Black Americans to adhere to the South’s laws and customs that demanded white supremacy and Black subordination.
Clearly, anti-blackness and notions of Black inferiority and ineducability can be traced back to the plantation and chattel slavery. At the height of chattel slavery in the antebellum south, southern
It is clear that while many Black institutions
planters stopped at nothing to restrict the literacy
expanded the access Black Americans
of their enslaved (human) property based on
had to higher education, it did so while also
the belief that Black people were best suited for
perpetuating anti-blackness by ensuring that
enslavement and manual labor. Thus, not only
Black people would only receive an education
did white Americans subscribe to beliefs about
that would prepare them for labor that closely
Black people that rendered them incapable of
resembled slavery such as sharecropping. Thus,
being educated, but there was a social, economic,
ensuring the subordination of Black people in
and political imperative to ensure that Black
the capitalist economy and “returning them to
Americans did not receive adequate education.
their place”(Anderson, 1988). It is important
This developed an ideology that justified
to understand that the period following (non)
these practices by rendering Black people as
emancipation cannot easily be characterized as
uneducable. Based on this belief, in conjunction
one of great “progress” or stagnation. Although
with the political threats that increased Black
Black Americans saw greatly increased access
literacy posed to white supremacy, slave owners
to higher education institutions in the period
strove to ensure that their enslaved property and
immediately following (non)emancipation,
descendants would be denied literacy, keeping
due to the extremely segregated nature of the
Black folks in a position where they would always
higher education landscape that restricted Black
be easily exploitable labor (Anderson, 1988).
Americans to HBCUs ands thus vocational
Notions of Black ineducability have shifted
NOMMO NewsMagazine
overtime; whereas in the days of antebellum
essentially paid their way to be admitted into the
slavery and even Jim Crow, these beliefs were
university are somehow much more deserving
much more openly accepted by the dominant
than the Black students who likely overcame
society, shifting perceptions about the political
numerous obstacles to be competitive for
correctness of overt racism caused for notions
admissions at elite institutions. These notions are
of Black inhumanity and ineducability to shift
also particularly harmful due to the way that their
as well. Following the passage of civil rights
prevalence can lead to Black students internalizing
and affirmative action legislation, “denial of
these beliefs about themselves, leading to lower
admission was not because Blackness meant
self esteem and lower self efficacy, and thus
subhuman but because it meant “unqualified”
contributing to a sense of unbelonging. Moreover,
(Mustaffa, 2017). In the post-civil rights era,
the language asking for “equal treatment” in
dominant beliefs about Black students shifted
admissions and hiring
to go from unacceptable (“subhuman”) to
practices used by anti-
Notions of Black in-
acceptable (“unqualified”).
affirmative action legislation
educability have shift-
such as California’s
ed overtime; whereas
Propositon 209--which
in the days of antebel-
forbade the use of race,
lum slavery and even
Furthermore, notions of Black students being “unqualified” and ultimately uneducable contribute to Black students’ sense of belonging, or lack thereof, at higher education institutions. The idea that Black students are “affirmative action admits” who do not truly deserve to attend PWIs are rooted in ideas of Black educability, as it indicates a belief that Black students could not possibly be smart enough to be admitted under their own intellectual merits. Further, the anti-blackness that underlies this argument is further revealed by how white and Asian students often point the finger at Black students for stealing “their” spots, as opposed to focusing on the pervasiveness of legacy admissions at elite institutions throughout the country.
sex, religion, and other social identifiers in state admissions and hiring practices-- is inherently anti-black, as seeking “equal
“
Jim Crow, these beliefs were much more openly accepted by the dom-
inant society, shifting
treatment” without undoing
perceptions about
the historical legacy of
the political correct-
anti-blackness and white
ness of overt racism
supremacy that has relegated
caused for notions of
many Black Americans to an
Black inhumanity and
undesirable socioeconomic
ineducability to shift
status for centuries keeps
as well.
those same inequalities in place. That is, in ignoring the historical legacy of centuries of anti-Black policies
The difference in focus between Black
and practices that have contributed to the inferior
students and legacy admissions can be
structural position of Black people, anti-Blackness
attributed simply to notions of educability and
is only perpetuated rather than ameliorated. The
deservingness; those rich, white students who
fix is in.
8
Anti-blackness at UCLA nti-blackness and white supremacy have
A
students are retained at comparable rates to their
been the root causes and driving forces
white, Asian, and Latinx peers (Bell, 2004; Flores et.
behind the persistent educational inequality that
al, 2017). This has become increasingly important
has engrossed our nation’s education system
in recent years, as more Black students have begun
since its very founding, and as an institution
to enroll at UCLA. As the Black student population
UCLA is not exempt from this phenomenon.
increases, it is imperative that the university’s
UCLA primarily upholds anti-blackness not
efforts to support Black students does not stop
necessarily through its actions, but through its
once students enroll, but is ongoing to ensure that
inaction. That is, UCLA’s willful negligence of
students have the necessary support and resources
low Black student retention rates in the last 25
to thrive in their time at the university and graduate
as it reveals a pattern of disregard
“
years is indicative of anti-blackness
at rates comparable to their peers.
UCLA’s willful negli- Historically, UCLA has done a poor job at for the educational and holistic gence of low Black stugraduating its Black students, to say the wellbeing of Black students at the dent retention rates in least. According to UC enrollment data, university. Due to the way anti- the last 25 years is indicative of anti-black- the 4-year graduation rate of the cohort blackness operates at the K-12 ness as it reveals a of freshmen who entered UCLA in 1999, level, Black students often attend pattern of disregard was 34%, compared with a graduation highly segregated and severely for the educational and rate of 55% for white students. In other under resourced high schools holistic wellbeing of Black students at the words, for every three Black students that are grossly inadequate at who enrolled as freshmen in 1999, two university.” providing Black students with the of them did not graduate within 4 years. sufficient preparation necessary Roughly 15 years later, the cohort who to excel academically at the collegiate level entered as freshmen in 2015, the most recent (Bennet & Okinaka, 1984; Massey & Fischer, data available, 64% of Black students, compared 2006; Orfield et. al, 2014; Flores et. al, 2017). with 86% of white students. While Black students’ Therefore, many Black students who enter as graduation rates have risen significantly since freshmen face many additional obstacles not 1999, the troubling gap between Black and white faced by other groups of students, highlighting students has remained almost exactly the same. the need for UCLA to take affirmative steps The gap is even wider for Black males, whose four toward providing support to ensure that Black year graduation rates sit at 57% (UCOP, 2020).
NOMMO NewsMagazine
do about Black students. Given the fact that Black students tend to enter college severely underprepared by their high schools, many are quite literally at a disadvantage before they even set foot on campus (Massey & Fischer, 2006; Orfield et. al, 2014; Flores et. al, 2017).With this understanding, the onus should shift from individual students to the university in increasing student graduation rates. However, by blaming Black students for our own woes, multiple (antiblack) purposes are served. To start, this perspective blames Black students for the obstacles we face that are created by anti-blackness and racial capitalism by saying that Blackness itself is the problem rather than the systems that have contributed to their disenfranchisement (Dumas, 2016; Walcott, 2020). The Many, especially those on the conservative end of
relative success of a few Black students
the political spectrum (although that isn’t to say that
and other minority groups on campus is
liberals do not adhere to this ideology), may point
offered as evidence of the end of racism,
to these statistics as indicators that Black students
thus implying that race is no longer a
just aren’t as capable as other students at thriving
barrier to equal opportunity and that those
academically, often employing deficit-based ideas
Black students who struggle are at fault
to explain why Black students tend to graduate
of their own. This notion also serves as
at lower rates than their white peers. However,
a rationale for not taking more action to
deficit-based explanations for lower Black student
support Black students. If one knowingly
achievement place too much blame on the individual
or unknowingly subscribes to this belief
and not enough focus on the structures that shape
about Black students inherently being
the opportunities, or lack thereof, an individual is
inferior, then there’s simply nothing
able to take advantage of. Conversely, I would argue
more that can be done to support Black
that these numbers say more about UCLA than they
students, as their lower graduation
10
rates are seen as a result of their perceived
Union chairperson, Black students have
inferiority and a result of “just the way things
been advocating for UCLA to create a Black
are”. If only Black students had better tried
Resource Center since the late 1990s (Daily
harder, they would do better. If they weren’t
Bruin). On two occasions, in 2015 and 2017,
so lazy, if they weren’t so... we can go on and
the ASU at UCLA released demands to the
on. Ultimately, this deficit-oriented perspective
UCLA administration asking for upwards of
is commonly heard in discussions around
$30M and the creation of the Black Resource
low graduation rates, which is extremely
Center, citing UC Berkeley and UC Santa
disappointing given the ways that these
Barbara as examples of UCs who have
explanations fail to examine the structural
implemented similar support for Black students
conditions that are out of students’ control
(Daily Bruin, 2019).
that may ultimately create barriers and obstacles not faced by students of different
“
Perhaps the best example of how this notion of Black ineducability leads to administrative inaction at UCLA is exemplified in the decades-long fight for a Black Resource Center (Daily Bruin).
backgrounds.
Again, given the long history of low graduation rates for Black students, the creation of a Black Resource Center is seemingly a foolproof way to support Black students. Instead, students
What are some
were met with resistance
tangible examples of
and often gaslighted
institutional anti-blackness
in their meetings with
at UCLA? Perhaps the best
administrators who were
example of how this notion
seemingly unconvinced
of Black ineducability leads
by the decades
to administrative inaction
of extremely low
at UCLA is exemplified
graduation rates for
in the decades-long fight
Black students (Daily
for a Black Resource Center (Daily Bruin).
Bruin, 2019; personal
Given the long history of UCLA doing a poor
conversations, 2020).
job at graduating its students, paired with its stated commitment to “equity, diversity and inclusion”, one would imagine that establishing a Black Resource Center to contribute to improved retention rates of Black students on campus would have been something of utmost importance to UCLA administrators. However, this was not the case. According to a former Afrikan Student NOMMO NewsMagazine
In 2020, we finally began to see real progress in the establishment of a Black Resource Center; however, this progress did not come without one caveat. It was decided that the CUB referendum would decide the fate
According to a former Afrikan Student Union chairperson, Black students have been advocating for UCLA to create a Black Resource Center since the late 1990s (Daily Bruin). On two occasions, in 2015 and 2017, the ASU at UCLA released demands to the UCLA administration asking for upwards of $30M and the creation of the Black Resource Center, citing UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara as examples of UCs who have implemented similar support for Black students (Daily Bruin, 2019).
“
and Ahmaud Arbery and the subsequent global uprising in response to those murders that the UCLA Administration officially announced its support of the creation of a Black Resource Center and other initiatives meant to support Black life on campus. It took two decades of work by Black student leaders for the UCLA Administration-amplified by the brutal murders of Black people at the hands of the state or white vigilantes--to finally recognize the necessity of the Black Resource Center and the urgency with which low Black student graduation rates needed to be addressed. The suffering of Black students only became legible after the viral murders of not one, but three Black people. Only after Black death did Black life at UCLA begin to receive some type of genuine support. Why? of a Black Resource Center, absolving the
What explains the lack of action on the part of
administration of responsibility in establishing
UCLA administration? I agree with the viewpoint
the Center and leaving future support for Black
of former ASU Chairperson Isaiah Njoku, who
students in the hands of the student body (95%
according to the Daily Bruin believed that “the
of whom are not Black, I might add) in the 2020
push for a center has been ongoing for decades
USAC Elections. The referendum did not pass
because the administration has prioritized other
(shout out to the organizers who worked for that
entities on campus over the Black student
campaign) as many students complained that
population”. In other words, in the eyes of the
$15 per quarter was a price they were unwilling
UCLA administration, Black students and their
to pay to support their Black peers. The mere
needs were not important enough to have their
fact that the creation of the Black Resource
academic wellbeing further addressed and
Center was trivial enough to be decided by
supported with a sense of urgency. The issue of
student body elections rather than offered
low Black retention rates has continuously been
institutional funding is indicative of the anti-black
kicked down the road, to be resolved at a later
culture that permeates throughout UCLA.
date. As long as notions of Black ineducability
It wasn’t until the brutal, highly sensationalized
rooted in anti-blackness—again, knowingly or
murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd,
unknowingly—cloud administrators perceptions of
12
Black students deservingness of said
kick the can of Black student retention
support, no support can be expeced.
down the road, always a problem to be
No matter how well meaning Gene Block
solved at a later date.
and his administration may be, anti-
What was different about the events of
blackness hinders their ability to see Black students as students deserving of being at the university in the first place,
2020 that sparked UCLA administrators to finally take action? The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud
let alone deserving of an equitable
Arbery, and the countless others that
allocation of resources and support.
sparked global protests shocked the senses
Once again the inaction on the part of the
of many white Americans and for the first
UCLA administration when it comes to
time made them realize just how insidious
graduation rates reveals
“
addressing low Black student
and deeply ingrained anti-black
“Anti-blackness and the way that anti-blackness more specifically notions of Black ineducability operates at UCLA. The invisibilized Black stuinaction of the UCLA dents’ struggles and have Administration reveals enabled Administrators to always kick the can of their inability to recognize Black student retention the humanity of Black down the road, always a problem to be solved at a students and empathize later date.” with our struggles. It’s not like Administrators
racism is in this country’s societal institutions. Soon after the murder of George Floyd, the white guilt began to flood in, white folks (and nonblack people of color) realized the ways in which they were complicit in Black suffering on campus, and suddenly after years of negotiations with the Afrikan Student Union and a
have been unaware of issues facing
failed referendum attempting to collect
Black students. For years, Black
funds to establish the Black Resource
students tirelessly advocated for the
Center--seemingly with the snap of a finger-
administration to provide them with more
-the UCLA administration announced it was
support, only to face much resistance
going to support the creation of a Black
from the Administration--again, in lieu
Resource Center. What a slap in the face
of low enrollment numbers and low
to the students who have been tirelessly
retention rates. Anti-blackness and more
advocating for more support for Black
specifically notions of Black ineducability
students, only to be gaslighted and have
invisibilized Black students’ struggles and
the legitimacy of our concerns questioned
have enabled Administrators to always
and trivialized.
NOMMO NewsMagazine
14
In her book Scenes of Subjection, Sadiya Hartman (1997) asks, “What does it mean that the...pained existence of the enslaved, if discernible, is only so in the most heinous and grotesque examples and not in the quotidian routines of slavery?”. We should ask ourselves a similar question about the struggles of Black students at UCLA: What does it mean that the suffering and struggles of Black students are only recognizable following heinous, highly publicized lynchings of Black people and subsequent uprisings? Why were low Black graduation rates not enough to spur the UCLA Administration to take action to address the needs of Black students? Where was the sense of urgency in addressing the needs of Black students when Black students’ graduation rates were 34% in 1999? Or what about after the Kanye Western blackface party? Or the 2015 ASU demands? Or the 2017 demands? 2019? Derrick Bell’s interest convergence theory is useful for helping us understand why
the nation”. Bell’s interest convergence theory
UCLA Administrators finally caved in and
helps us understand that UCLA Administrators
decided that Black students deserved a Black
didn’t necessarily approve the establishment
Resource Center. Bell’s interest convergence
of a Black Resource Center for the wellbeing
theory rests on the argument that “Black
of Black students--because, quite frankly, if
rights are recognized and protected when
that was the case, it would have happened a
and only so long as policymakers perceive
long, long time ago-- but because it would help
that such advances will further interests that
UCLA Administrators and the collective UCLA
are their primary concern”. Further, Bell says,
community to alleviate their (white) guilt.
“Rather, relief from racial discrimination has
White guilt is powerful, and it’s often the sole
come only when policymakers recognize
motivating force in situations where white
that such relief will provide a clear benefit for
people provide meaningful aid or support for
NOMMO NewsMagazine
Black people. That is, support typically isn’t
the responsibility on Black students to defend and
offered based on whether or not there is some
support themselves as they navigate an anti-
perceived injury and the support would alleviate
black institution. Additionally, it is easy to observe
the harm caused by said injury; rather, support
how the colorblind lens leads to the inability to
from white people in power often typically
empathize with Black struggle, because if one
comes when it will go a considerable distance
does not even see Black struggles as problematic,
in alleviating white guilt. White people tend to
then there aren’t even any issues to empathize
support Black causes only after realizing how
with in the first place. In other words, if Black
their indifference to the struggles faced by Black
students are simply getting what they deserve
people has directly contributed to or made them
because of their own fault, there is nothing to feel
complicit in Black suffering.
bad about. The commonly held belief that racism
With these understandings of the relationships between (lack of) empathy, white guilt, and anti-blackness, it’s very easy to see that UCLA Administrators moved so quickly to support the creation of a Black Resource Center to cover up for their decades of indifference towards Black Bruins’ academic achievement. For one, in the alleged colorblind society we live in today, racism and anti-blackness is difficult to identify within the frames of liberal discourse
is a thing of the past or does not operate at the institutional level at UCLA implies that race is no longer a barrier to equal opportunity; and in that case, Black people and Blackness itself become pathologized
“
and become the problem that needs to be fixed, rather than inequitable societal structures.
The commonly held belief that racism is a thing of the past or does not operate at the institutional level at UCLA implies that race is no longer a barrier to equal opportunity; and in that case, Black people and Blackness itself become pathologized and become the problem that needs to be fixed, rather than inequitable societal structures.
because they are often spoken of as if they
As I mentioned before, if
are boogie-monsters our country left in the
it is possible for UCLA to
past. So when Black students complain that a
become the “antiracist”
blackface party hosted by a UCLA Fraternity is
university Gene Block claims
indicative of a larger culture of anti blackness at
is the goal, the institution
UCLA, those complaints are easily dismissed
must address the ways that
as minute acts of individual prejudice because,
anti-blackness hampers the
quite simply, racism doesn’t exist anymore, as
educational experiences
indicated by the racial “diversity” of the campus.
of its Black students. Although the long overdue
The colorblind lens worn by administrators
establishment of the Black Resource Center is
allows administrators to easily dismiss claims
certainly welcomed as a positive step in the right
of anti-black racism while also freeing them
direction, this alone is not enough for UCLA to
of any guilt for the lack of action they take in
be able to dust off its hands and claim that anti-
supporting Black students, essentially shifting
blackness has been “solved” at the university.
16
Too often, Black students are forced to
services. Blaming problems on students just
tirelessly advocate for themselves and as a
won’t do anymore.
result, many of the programs and resources
Antiblackness--which is the analytical lens
at the university created to support Black and
which has supported much of this essay-- is a
other underrepresented students were only
theoretical framework whose central argument
created in response to student activism, as
is that anti-blackness is endemic and central
is the case with the Academic Advancement
to how all of us make sense of human life
Program, Community Programs Office, and
(ross, 2020). This means that anti-blackness
countless other programs and initiatives.
permeates all of our social institutions and
Going forward, the UCLA Administration must
social relations in such a way that it is virtually
be more proactive in being responsive to
inescapable. Using this lens to understand
the needs of Black students. This might look
Black student experiences at UCLA reveals
like being more proactive in recruiting Black
that even around “well-meaning” people (both
students in programs where they are typically
white and nonblack people of color) at a “liberal”
underrepresented--as is the case with many
university in the post racial era, anti-blackness
research programs housed under AAP-- rather
is still endemic, as pervasive and normal as
than blaming the lack of Black students on
the weather and climate according to Christina
these students not applying, thus falling back on
Sharpe (2016). The mere fact that the decades
deficit oriented (read: antiblack) views of Black
of readily available examples of anti-blackness
students and relieving themselves of any further
that take place at UCLA day in and day out
responsibility for addressing the problem. The
were not convincing enough to move the
frequent claim heard in the hallway of Campbell
UCLA Administration to support the creation
Hall that Black students “just don’t apply”, is
of a Black Resource Center is indicative of
also echoed throughout countless programs
the way that the university has been unwilling
and services on UCLA’s campus. Has anybody
to recognize and affirm Black humanity, and
ever stopped and asked Black students why
ultimately exemplary of the anti-black culture
they don’t apply? Does anybody care enough to
that permeates the university. Moreover, the
ask? Administrators must be more proactive in
fact that many campus services and programs
working to recruit and retain the Black students
finally began to recognize the ways in which
that are in their programs or utilize their
students why they don’t apply? Does anybody care enough to ask? ”
NOMMO NewsMagazine
“
“ Has anybody ever stopped and asked Black
they were undeserving Black students only after the viral deaths of Black people reveals an inability to empathize with the everyday struggles of Black students.
At UCLA, Black suffering must be extravagant before any possibility of redress is put on the table. Put simply, the current administration has demonstrated that it has trouble recognizing and taking steps to ameliorate the suffering of Black students even when it’s presented right to their faces. How can the same individuals who have been indifferent to the struggles of Black students on campus for years be trusted in leading the university to fulfill its stated goals of becoming an anti-racist instittuion? For the sake of the wellbeing of current and future generations of Black Bruins, the time for leadership change at UCLA was yesterday.
18
Author’s Note Gene McAdoo is a 4th year African American Studies major with a minor in Education. In his time at UCLA, much of Gene’s work has centered on supporting Black students through college access, recruitment, and retention. Gene has worn a variety of different hats in his time at UCLA, but the accomplishments he is most proud of are his work with the UCLA VIP Scholars, where he works with Black high school students to ensure their competitive eligibility for “elite” universities such as UCLA (shoutout to C13), and his work as a UCLA McNair Scholar, where he conducts academic research on anti-blackness in Los Angeles high schools and how Black students might go about resisting and challenging anti-blackness in their everyday educational experiences. After graduating, Gene plans on pursuing a doctoral degree in Education and is currently waiting to hear back admissions decisions from several programs. Outside of labor, Gene loves hanging out with friends, eating good food, and (before he got banned from Playstation Network) beating all his homies at 2k. For any direct comments or questions about this essay, he can be reached at mackcandoo3@gmail.com NOMMO NewsMagazine
References Admin. (2015, October 23) Afrikan Student Union at UCLA Releases Demands. Nommo Magazine. https://nommomagazine.com/?p=2580 Anderson, James D. (1989). Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935. Chapel Hill :The University of North Carolina Press. Bennet, C. & Okinaka, A. (1984) Explanations of Black Student Attrition in Predominantly White and Predominantly Black Universities, Equity & Excellence in Education, 22:1-3, 73-80, DOI: 10.1080/0020486840220109 Bell, Derrick, 1930-2011. (2004). Silent Covenants : Brown v. Board of Education and the unfulfilled hopes for racial reform. Oxford ; New York :Oxford University Press. Dancy, T. E., Edwards, K. T., & Earl Davis, J. (2018). Historically white universities and plantation politics: Anti-Blackness and higher education in the Black Lives Matter era. Urban Education, 53(2), 176-195. Dumas, M. J. (2016). Against the dark: anti-blackness in education policy and discourse. Theory Into Practice, 55(1), 11-19. Dumas, M. J., & Ross, K. M. (2016). “Be real black for me” imagining BlackCrit in education. Urban Education, 51(4), 415-442. Flores, S. M., Park, T. J., & Baker, D. J. (2017). The racial college completion gap: Evidence from Texas. The Journal of Higher Education, 88(6), 894-921. Harper, S. R., Patton, L. D., & Wooden, O. S. (2009). Access and equity for African American students in higher education: A critical race historical analysis of policy efforts. The Journal of Higher Education, 80(4), 389-414. Hartman, S. V. (1997). Scenes of subjection: Terror, slavery, and self-making in nineteenth-century America. Oxford University Press on Demand. Orfield, G. Kucsera, J. V., Siegel-Hawley, G. (2014). Are We Segregated and Satisfied? Segregation and Inequality in Southern California Schools. Urban Education, 50(5), 535–571. DOI:10.1177/0042085914522499 Massey, D. & Fischer, M. (2006) The effect of childhood segregation on minority academic performance at selective colleges, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 29:1, 1-26, DOI: 10.1080/01419870500351159 Mustaffa, J. B. (2017). Mapping violence, naming life: A history of anti-Black oppression in the higher education system. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 30(8), 711-727.
20
Parry, M. (2020, July 23). Stained by Slavery. Retrieved February 24, 2021, from https://www.chronicle.com/article/stained-by-slavery/ Ross, K. (2020, June 04). Call it what it is: Anti-blackness. Retrieved February 24, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/opinion/george-floyd-anti-blackness. html Ross, k.m. (2020). “Fugitive Resistance in the Afterlife of School Segregation. Grant, C. A., Woodson, A. N., & Dumas, M. J. (Eds.). (2020). The Future is Black: Afropessimism, Fugitivity, and Radical Hope in Education. Routledge. Sharpe, C. (2016). In the wake: On blackness and being. Duke University Press. UCOP. (2020). Undergraduate graduation rates. Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/ug-outcomes Wilder, C. S. (2014). Ebony and ivy: Race, slavery, and the troubled history of America’s universities. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. Wilderson, F. B. (2020). Afropessimism. Liveright Publishing Zhu, Tyler. (2019, March 1) ASU calls for UCLA to address issues affecting African-American students. The Daily Bruin. https://dailybruin.com/2019/03/01/ asu-calls-for-ucla-to-address-issues-affecting-african-american-students
NOMMO NewsMagazine
22