Jared Brown, Class of 2013
Over the past several years, the University of Virginia has witnessed a significant dip in African American undergraduate enrollment. Thanks in large part to a coalition of committed students, faculty, and administrators, African Americans constituted 12% of the undergraduate population at UVA in 1990. Today, that percentage stands at 6.5%. Two students–Lauren Colemen (AAS and English double major) and Elizabeth Webb (recent grad from the Department of Art) recently put together a short video in which they reflect on the current issue of race and the politics of enrollment.
Black Fire 
I’ m so happy that black students ,staff and faculty are paying attention to this important issue. Unless they stand up and be heard, the enrollment of black students will continue to decrease. This is a constant challenge and lifelong struggle.
Black Alumni must know and become involved in this struggle.
Thanks Dr. Turner. The foundation that you and so many others laid reminds me that we must move with clarity and know that we actually have something to fight FOR not just AGAINST.
Thanks for your effort and commitment to our community at UVA. It is a special place that we cherish and wish to share with more Black students from across the country. You have rung the bell and Black alumni have heard. We are now engaged to help make a difference. Stay tuned! Harambee!
we need to circulate this widely among the alumni
Thanks JT. I wake up everyday with the hope that WE WILL WILL. Wonderful students like you help nourish that spirit.
In speaking to a coworker today about the decrease in admitted African American students at the University, I was enlightened. She commented casually, “Word gets out fast. Yeah, I heard about that…” People are hearing and not listening. We need to be HEARD. Let’s publicize this struggle now before the percentage dwindles further!
We need people to LISTEN.*
Wow…I’ve been a student at UVA since 2004, and I noticed the shift in the atmosphere but I could never quite put my finger on the cause. This explains a lot.
One thing we have to keep in mind is the amount of African Americans that also grow up in cities or grow up in low income environments. I think many African Americans from these backgrounds have a hard time acculturating or empathizing with middle class African Americans. How can an African American from a low income area feel comfortable applying to a school like UVA when the students do not share the same values as them or value a sense of community? Low income individuals tend to value community more, but when they attend a school such as UVa, the competitive atmosphere, along with the “typical American value of independence” pervades the Grounds so much to where low income students no longer meet that standard. UVA does not seem to be a place where people work together or share in communal knowledge, things that low income students were cultivated to value.
Thanks so much for the comment. I agree that the class dynamic is something that we should be attentive to. I also think that we need to be attentive how recruiting patterns shape perceptions of an institution.
I am happy to have finally seen this after having just had conversations with current students, and Alumni about this issue while visiting grounds a few months ago. There are a few alumni now aware and willing to act, and that’s now growing to change, and I thank you all for doing this to ensure that it happens. I’d like to ask where and when, and with whom on grounds can we as Alumni build, and have these conversations and actions, with to address what has been happening. Peace and Blessings, and thank you.
Thanks for your encouraging response. As a faculty member at UVA, I recognize how much African American students enrich the intellectual, social, and cultural climate on grounds.
I also recognize that many African American students continue to have awesome experiences here—and so we have much to fight for.
Currently, students are organizing in teams to better understand the complexity of the issue, and they look forward to reaching out to alums for guidance and partnerships.
A group of students will be meeting over the summer in a series of workshops and information sessions. We are hoping to have alumni participation. I can be reached at cnh6g@virginia.edu.
UVa was a “dream experience” for me and has definitely shaped the life that I lead 6 years after graduating. Yet, as a higher education administrator and researcher I can tell you that this trend is happening at many large public flagship universities. At my current institution, Black students have rallied on campus and have gotten the attention of the Provost and the President in order to have their voices heard that 4% is not enough. It has taken a few years, but it has been a collective effort birthed from the undergraduate students, with assistance from graduate students, faculty, administrators, alum, and most recently Black state legislators (alum) to make their cries for equality resound louder. I applaud the current UVa students who are beginning this conversation.
And fortunately, the place is still a dream experience for some of our students. Of course, that doesn’t meant that there are not issues here.
Currently, students are organizing in teams to better understand the complexity of the issue, and they look forward to reaching out to alums for guidance and partnerships. I’ve been reading up on the situation at IU and I think our students will benefit immensely from learning what their peers are doing in other places.
A group of students will be meeting over the summer in a series of workshops and information sessions. We are hoping to have alumni participation and also provide them a space to flesh out what’s happening both locally and nationally.
It might be cool to talk to some of the IU folks via skype.
Sometimes even when victory doesn’t seem in sight, its good to know that you are not alone.
I can be reached at cnh6g@virginia.edu.
Thanks so much for your comment. Trust, the students really appreciate it.
I’ve been at UVA for awhile now and I’m still pretty ambivalent about it’s diversity initiatives. I don’t think the school is really committed to desegregating especially if doing so requires them to change their institutional identity. It likes the idea of having black students around because it’s good optics–they get to tout how many black students graduate from the place, for example. Nobody considers or even cares about the quality of our experiences. They don’t even care about the demographics of the black students who we’ve accepted. When confronted with a race problem, they start searching for the right “type” of black student. (Side Note: I can’t tell you how many times a Professor has given me a cold stare because I appeared to be complaining. Folks change their relationship to you. They treat you as though YOU’RE the problem. Nobody wants to think about the environment. The resentment is THICK.) This is all to say that I’m not sure statistics should dictate the terms of our protest. I don’t want MORE black students. I want a BETTER black experience. I want a school that has an ETHICAL commitment to my people. I don’t want a school that is interested in me insofar as it’ll secure a better spot for them on US News. I want black professors who want to help me gather the intellectual food I need to SURVIVE. What I don’t need is black professors who are interested in reproducing the same bullshit that make them exceptional. If we’re bringing black students down here to humiliate and disempower them, then we might as well leave the school wonderbread white.
And can we please talk about the dismissal graduation rate among black football players? 48 %?!?