[Bgs-list] Students arrested

Sun Apr 17 01:51:33 EDT 2016

Yes sir! It will be an opportunity to express yourselves personally.

From: <bgs-list-bounces at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu<mailto:bgs-list-bounces at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu>> on behalf of Roy Jones <ROYJ at clemson.edu<mailto:ROYJ at clemson.edu>>
Date: Saturday, April 16, 2016 at 7:37 PM
To: Chenjerai Kumanyika <chenjerai.kumanyika at gmail.com<mailto:chenjerai.kumanyika at gmail.com>>, Bryant Smith <smithcan at mac.com<mailto:smithcan at mac.com>>
Cc: "bgs-list at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu<mailto:bgs-list at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu>" <bgs-list at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu<mailto:bgs-list at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu>>
Subject: Re: [Bgs-list] Students arrested

Greetings,

I strongly encourage all Clemson University Black Faculty and Staff as well as all other interested Black folk to attend the President's Commission Forum on the Status of Black Faculty and Staff on Wednesday, April 20th at 10:00 am. The Commission will be presenting a provocative report and welcoming dialogue on the issues relative to the recruitment, retention and experience of Black personnel on campus.

Abel, rescue me, if I'm wrong, but I believe the President, Provost, Chief of Staff and our newly appointed Diversity Officer, Lee Gill may be present on his first day on the job! Welcome To Clemson, Lee!!!

Roy Jones

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network.
From: Chenjerai Kumanyika
Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2016 10:58 AM
To: Bryant Smith
Cc: bgs-list at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu<mailto:bgs-list at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu>
Subject: Re: [Bgs-list] Students arrested

As a faculty member at Clemson University I'll just add a few thoughts:

1. Many of the students that are protesting are excellent students. To illustrate this let me share a story with you. For those that don't know, I work as an assistant professor in the Comm department. On Thursday, the morning after the first day of protests, when I walked into class, I asked a fairly conservative and demanding white colleague in my area how Rae-Nessha (one of the five that was arrested - was doing). His response was that she was "an excellent student" who came to class today (he didn't know that she had spent the night in Sikes building) and he wishes that he had a class full of Rae-Nessha's.  DJ is simply one of the most impressive young people that I have come across period. Any of you who know A.D. Carson know that as a 2 time novelist, poet, and doctoral student, and MLK Award recipient, the quality and influence of his academic achievement is unequaled. These students are tremendous mentors and examples for other students.

2. I was present as a non-participatory observer, for the much of the protests. The protest leaders have consistently set aside study times multiple times per day and announced to community members that they should be studying while they were occupying. I was stunned on Wednesday night to experience a full 2 hours of completely silent time In Sikes during the occupation that they announced and enforced. The was a spirit of focus, interdisciplinary collaboration, critical thinking and cultural literacy in that environment that most formal learning contexts at Clemson have not been able to produce. For any student. Watch the livestreams of the student-facilitated public discussion about the demands and the university response if you want to get a glimpse of that brilliance and why the respectability approach is not sufficient.

3. I think that it's easy to underestimate the cumulative effect that the combination of structural inequality at Clemson and these microaggressions have on our students. I am guilty of this at times.

In fact, it is BECAUSE of the excellence of students like A.D., DJ and others that we can see the broader problem for the community. A.D. (as well as various professors of color) consistently receive offers elsewhere at more progressive, diverse institutions. He doesn't have to be here and he doesn't enjoy the environment her.

Are we to suggest that he should quietly endure Clemson's BS while not pushing back? But if you lose him, or other faculty etc. you lose mentors that can actually work with undergraduate students and help them be excellent. Since Black folk are required to be superhuman.

So I respectfully submit that it feels deeply misguided and maybe a little offensive to suggest that as a rule, these students should somehow submit to this without putting any pressure on the structures and administration at Clemson. The deep backwardness of Clemson's diversity efforts reveals the absurdity of thinking that our performance will magically deliver us to equality.

Our people have always exhibited the full range of performance from struggling to consistent examples of excellence. Just like other folks.  And yet we are here.

Finally - I'm sharing the students response to the administration's first "offer." I'm also attaching the BSU statement on the current climate at Clemson.

http://seestripescu.org/?page_id=394

There's much more to say here but let it suffice to say I fully agree with Bryant in light of these facts.

Thanks for considering my perspective.
Chenjerai
.

On Fri, Apr 15, 2016 at 2:07 PM, Bryant Smith <smithcan at mac.com<mailto:smithcan at mac.com>> wrote:
Ok I usually would let this last email slide but since it's my son and my desire to support him and his peers I am compelled to respond to this one. Why is it that it has to be either or as if students can't be scholars and activist? I think posing the questions about student success academically and the lack of it is similar to Ray Lewis asking why the Black Lives Matter movement is not focusing on Black on Black violence. They don't because that's not their mission. These students are protesting injustices because that's what they want to focus on. My son's academic life is fine. His contributions to Clemson are numerous. He does know about Dr. Thomas's research. However, even if he didn't know those things or perform well or contribute anything to the institution he pays tuition, has a contract with the University called a mission statement that says he is going to get those things that some people don't think are important but were promised in the contract. Above anything else he is a human being that deserves t be able to attend and study at a place that demonstrates respect to him. I stand by my earlier statement that I am proud of all of those students for taking a stand and hope that as BG.s we would be supportive without questioning their integrity, intellect, or responsibility to other areas and issues.

Bryant K. Smith
"Human Potential Specialist"

On Apr 15, 2016, at 11:16 AM, Bobby Clark <carlc at clemson.edu<mailto:carlc at clemson.edu>> wrote:

Well said.
Bobby

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 15, 2016, at 11:06 AM, Jordon Gilmore <jagilmo at g.clemson.edu<mailto:jagilmo at g.clemson.edu>> wrote:

I may have a different opinion than most, but I think our primary objective should be to increase the capital of the black population at Clemson. The capital at a university is essentially academic in nature. So that means we need to be making good grades and contributing from a research standpoint. Are there injustices that need to be addressed? Certainly, and we should address them. But we make ourselves too easily dismissed when African Americans are the lowest performing demographic academically at the university (fact, from an undergrad perspective). Why can't we march to a study hall? How well attended were the MLK week events? How many students protesting even knew about the work of Dr. Thomas? The fact is, we can't only be a community and show solidarity when someone puts fruit on a sign. What should piss us off more? Fruit on a sign, or the fact that more than half of black males at Clemson have less than a 2.5 GPA after their first semester at Clemson. I mean, we live in South Carolina and we attend a university with a plantation house at the center of campus. Are we shocked by these bananas? We shouldn't be. We must develop our own strong community with a culture of excellence and accountability AS WELL AS stand up to injustice. Let the news cameras come to campus to see the excellent work we are doing. Not just to see if someone will get arrested.

I don't know, just my two cents.

On Apr 15, 2016 10:49 AM, "Abel Bartley" <abartly at clemson.edu<mailto:abartly at clemson.edu>> wrote:
I concur! We need more than monuments, and plaques. We need hard quotas.
Abel Bartley

From: <bgs-list-bounces at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu<mailto:bgs-list-bounces at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu>> on behalf of "Carter, Justin" <jcarter at swu.edu<mailto:jcarter at swu.edu>>
Date: Friday, April 15, 2016 at 9:40 AM
To: Bryant Smith <smithcan at mac.com<mailto:smithcan at mac.com>>, "Curtis D White Sr." <CDWHITE at clemson.edu<mailto:CDWHITE at clemson.edu>>
Cc: "bgs-list at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu<mailto:bgs-list at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu>" <bgs-list at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu<mailto:bgs-list at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu>>
Subject: Re: [Bgs-list] Students arrested

I am very proud of the Clemson 5 and sticking to their beliefs. The question though is where do students and faculty at Clemson go from here?

In your grace,
-JC-

Justin C. Carter, Ph.D.
Associate Vice-President, Student Life
Southern Wesleyan University
907 Wesleyan Drive | Central, SC  29630
864-644-5144<tel:864-644-5144> | 864-644-5901<tel:864-644-5901> (fax)
www.swu.edu<http://www.swu.edu/>

<image001.jpg><http://www.facebook.com/southernwesleyanuniversity.central>  <image002.jpg><http://www.twitter.com/SWU_edu>  <image003.jpg><http://www.linkedin.com/edu/school?id=19376>  <image004.jpg><http://instagram.com/swu_edu>

From: bgs-list-bounces at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu<mailto:bgs-list-bounces at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu> [mailto:bgs-list-bounces at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu] On Behalf Of Bryant Smith
Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2016 6:26 PM
To: Curtis D White Sr.
Cc: bgs-list at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu<mailto:bgs-list at mailhost.ces.clemson.edu>; omega
Subject: Re: [Bgs-list] Students arrested

The university has just arrested the 5 student protestors for not leaving Sikes Hall including A.D. And my youngest son.

Bryant K. Smith
"Human Potential Specialist"

On Apr 14, 2016, at 5:12 PM, Curtis D White Sr. <CDWHITE at clemson.edu<mailto:CDWHITE at clemson.edu>> wrote:
Stu have been told they will be arrested if they do not lv Sikes Hall by 5:30. They need your presence & prayers

C. D. White, Sr.
Faculty Development & Diversity Coordinator
Chief Diversity Office
218 Long Hall
864-656-2182<tel:864-656-2182>😀

On Apr 14, 2016, at 11:59 AM, Curtis D White Sr. <CDWHITE at clemson.edu<mailto:CDWHITE at clemson.edu>> wrote:
FYI
________________________________
From: Altheia Richardson
Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2016 11:27 AM
To: Jerry Knighton; Curtis D White Sr.
Subject: Benardo's Brother
Hey,

I learned a few minutes ago that Benardo’s brother passed away suddenly and he’s on his way to be with his family.  Just FYI in case you didn’t already know.  Please pass this along to the BG’s group.

Altheia

Altheia Lesley Richardson
The Harvey and Lucinda Gantt Multicultural Center
Clemson University
602 University Union
Box 344058
Clemson, SC  29634-4058
Phone: 864-656-7625<tel:864-656-7625>
Fax: 864-656-1200<tel:864-656-1200>
email:  lalthei at clemson.edu<mailto:lalthei at clemson.edu>

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