Black student leaders at several universities across the United States have formed the Black Ivy Coalition, a multi-university group dedicated to advocacy for racial inequality.
Formed on September 22, the group’s main goal is to promote awareness of racial tensions and inequality in the wake of recent events in Ferguson, Missouri. The group was created by Black students at each of the eight Ivy League universities.
“It is now time for our generation to lead the movement against injustices toward people of color in the 21st century,” the group said in a statement released upon their conception.
University of Pennsylvania senior and UMOJA co-chair Denzel Cummings says that the group began as a series of informal discussions among black Ivy League students online.
“It was us having conversations about ‘what are you doing on your campus,’” Cummings said in an interview with University of Pennsylvania student newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian. “And then it evolved into a conversation of ‘what we can do together,’ and then it evolved into what we have now: …a physical, tangible thing.”
The Black Ivy Coalition is currently composed of 16 students across the Ivy League. The group plans to eventually open membership to students from other colleges as well.
In its initial statement, the Coalition discussed the divide that they claim still exists among multiple racial groups, most notably that between whites and blacks.
“The United States prides itself in its citizens’ ability to gather in peaceful assembly without police harassment and intimidation; to expect equal justice and due process free from discrimination based on gender, race, class, or any other distinction,” the group said. “The events in Ferguson highlight that as people of color, we are not guaranteed the protection of our civil rights–that somehow this country still does not consider us full-fledged citizens.”
Cummings believes that one of the key components of past civil rights movements has been abundant collegiate advocacy.
“We felt [creating the group] was important in creating a revival of collegiate advocacy that was so beneficial to movements like the civil rights movement with the involvement of groups like the SNCC [Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee] and the Greensboro Four,” said Cummings in an email to The Pacer.
The Black Ivy Coalition hopes to encourage students of all kinds to become actively involved in the movement.
“Though there is no clear path to a solution, each one of us is equipped with our talents and experiences,” the group said. “Do not become caught up in superficial ideas of leadership or feel that your background does not qualify you to act. Whether grand or small, what matters most is that you do something.”
