Bleeding at an HBCU
I was attracted to my Historically Black College and University (HBCU) for the opportunity to be immersed in the beautiful intertwining of cultures that make up the Black Diaspora. With notable Black alumni like Clara Byrd Baker, Alberta Williams King, Mary Jackson, and Rosa Parks, I was expecting Hampton University to be a progressive institution that echoed the same testaments that these inspiring women once held. Don’t get me wrong; I love my HBCU; however, I was disappointed to find that Hampton University was not yet equipped to support their menstruating students.
To give some insight, all things within reproductive health are considered taboo on my campus. For example, condoms are only provided at our limited hour health center, and birth control and emergency contraception are limited. Considering that over 68% of the student body menstruates, I was beyond surprised to discover the lack of menstrual products available to students. The lack of products posed an accessibility issue for womxn and LGBTQ+ students who menstruate and added a cost of transportation to purchase these products.
So in September of 2019, in response to this issue, I introduced “The Period Project.” The mission aimed to establish period pantries within every dorm, academic building, and a gender-neutral location on campus. I began to gather data from the student body, staff, faculty, and outside institutions to quantify Hampton University’s needs. From the five hundred twenty-seven responses (527) collected, 83.9% of the participants stated that they faced some form of menstrual product insecurity and that transportation was an issue. Furthermore, over 75% of the students surveyed admitted to paying for transportation to obtain the menstrual products they needed. Lastly, 98.8% of the student population surveyed said they wanted period pantries on Hampton University’s campus. With this data, I was ready to draft legislation to ensure that “The Period Project” would be implemented come the spring of 2020. Little did I know what 2020 would have in store.
The first issue I encountered was the issue of funding. My university was hesitant to support my project because of the funding it demanded, which subsequently silenced the support from leaders within my student government that were once onboard. The Covid-19 pandemic also proved to be another obstacle that no one expected. I felt pressed against a wall but was still determined to make a way, even if that meant reaching outside the scope of my university. I began reaching out to menstrual hygiene companies and nonprofits like No More Secrets Mind Body Spirit, Inc to aid my efforts. I drafted “The Period Project” Bill as a Chair within my student government senate branch with their support. After one year of petitioning my university, I am beyond proud to announce that with unanimous consent, Hampton University will officially implement “The Period Project” in the Fall of 2021.
Until the return to in-person learning, I will continue operating an emergency repro hotline that provides free emergency contraception, menstrual products, barrier methods, and pregnancy tests for students in need. Through this hotline, I hope that I will be able to aid students in need until products are readily available on campus.
I want to reiterate that I love my HBCU. I would not be the activist that I am today if I did not get the chance to experience all that is Hampton University. Moving forward, I hope to encourage other HBCUs to establish their own menstrual equity projects. Although HBCUs tend to have conservative and traditional administrations, it is important to remember that bleeding does not stop simply because our schools say so. I hope that projects like mine will become a trend on campuses nationwide because every menstruator deserves to be supported and uplifted.
In my experience, organizing and advocacy work on campuses where over 90% of the student body identifies as Black is much harder because of the accompanying barriers of accessibility, social stigma, financial concerns, religion, etc. that are often exasperated in these communities. Often to obtain justice, Black organizers and activists have to work so much harder to have their work seen and acknowledged. After reading about my experience, I hope that you donate and uplift to Black-led menstrual equity projects designed to help communities of color. We all may bleed the same, but how we experience it is much different.
