On August 19th, 2017, a noose made out of crepe-paper was found in Newsom Hall dormitory. The noose is a reflection of racial violence and a visual symbol of terror that beckons memory of American lynchings of black women and men.
Again, we return to James Baldwin’s words: “I’m not interested in anybody’s guilt. Guilt is a luxury that we can no longer afford. I know you didn’t do it, and I didn’t do it either, but I am responsible for it because I am a man and a citizen of this country and you are responsible for it, too, for the very same reason… Anyone who is trying to be conscious must begin to dismiss the vocabulary which we’ve used so long to cover it up, to lie about the way things are.” – from Notes of a Native Son
To our CSU community: we are all responsible. We are responsible for creating a community in which displays of racism are condemned. We are responsible for creating a community in which hatred is not a mode of communication. We are responsible for caring about each other.
In response, the ACT Human Rights Film Festival is planning a film screening to take place on campus in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for updates.
Photo: Freedom Summer activists sing before leaving training sessions at Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio, for Mississippi in June 1964. Ted Polumbaum Collection/Newseum