Yes, It Happened At The GSB
Documenting the Hate Crime Committed on our Campus
By: the Nondisclosure Editorial Board, with support from BBSA
We’ve heard variations of “This couldn’t happen at the GSB” from students. While we want to believe that is true, we must accept that it is not. A hate crime was committed on our campus against our Black community. Below is a record of the incident and what has transpired since.
The Crime
On the evening of Tuesday, February 22, 2022, the N-word was written on the whiteboards outside the doors of two students in Jmac— one Black student, and one White student who had a Black student in their room near the time of the incident.
CONTENT WARNING
The below image depicts the use of the N-word on a Black student’s door. What this image symbolizes should be repugnant to all, but may trigger additional fear, exhaustion, or trauma for some. View at your own risk.
The Significance
The written use of the N-word in our shared home is an abhorrent violation of the humanity and safety of our Black community members. This is a racial slur that has been used to dehumanize Black people throughout the history of our country and carries a painful reminder of slavery, of families being ripped apart, of power and agency being stripped away, and of the root of systemic injustices that carry on to this day for Black Americans.
This was a targeted attack, meant to incite fear in our Black community members and to undermine what the GSB stands for as a community.
Our Black community has shown strength, resilience, and a bold call for action in response. While the perpetrator is still at large — while we maintain a culture where demonstrations of vile racism can exist without consequence or substantive, long-term response — that attack achieves its goals.
Community Response
Hundreds of GSB community members — students, partners, faculty, and staff — came together on Friday to vehemently reject this senseless act of hate and replace it with a visual sign of love and support for the Black community. Members of BBSA; Arthel D’Antoine Coleman Jr., GSB Residences Manager; and Dr. Adina Sterling, Professor of Equity by Design spoke powerfully on the severity of this attack, the pain they feel over the invasion in a place they claim as their own, and their exhaustion at the growing weight of how Blackness is treated at the GSB.
BBSA Leadership spoke to the need for action at this moment, a sentiment echoed by Representatives from the Student Association Executive Team and Diversity Committee. Allies wrote messages of solidarity on a black curtain covering the wall of change. We reflected on the joy, leadership, brilliance, strength, and beauty our Black community members bring to the GSB every day; and that we are not a GSB community without them.
Call to Action
BBSA Leadership has had several meetings with the administration regarding the incident and has informed a list of necessary action responses. The Student Association Executive Team and SA Diversity Committee, together with BBSA, are in discussion with the administration to demand urgent incident response and larger systemic change for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the GSB. These demands are a collaboration with BBSA and other identity & affinity groups.
More detail on systemic change demands will be shared as conversations develop, but these demands focus on:
- Developing and refining plans to increase Black and other underrepresented minority representation among the student and faculty population at the GSB, with clear KPIs and transparent updates
- Instituting required curriculum around DEI for students and faculty
- Creating a more formal process around handling DEI issues, tracking patterns of aggression, and using this information to inform policy updates
We call on you to take action by sharing this article with others and by emailing the deans of the GSB to say that you reject the act of racism that occurred and demand the administration take serious, prompt action to make the GSB the community we say it is. Resources for sending emails to the Deans can be found here.
