Black Histories in the Origins of Power & Privilege: 2000-2015

Photos from the Archives

Students participate in a rally against racism following incidents of racial cyberbullying on campus (2013).

The 2014 Waiilatpu yearbook features the letter written by students on campus to the Board of Trustees regarding the events of the rally against racism, outlining demands for change. These demands included: preventing cyberbullying on campus, a statement issued from the college condemning cyberbullying and racism, and formally establishing mandatory, yearly workshops/discussions regarding race and racism (Power & Privilege among them).

Members of the Black Student Union in 2013.

Students continued to push for Power & Privilege to be given equal permanent status on campus amidst issues with racial cyberbullying on campus (2013).

Mia McKenzie, founder of the literary project Black Girl Dangerous, speaking on campus for a reading and discussion (2013).

Members of the Black Student Union in 2013.

Petition/flyer which was passed out to faculty requesting cancellation of classes for a larger discussion event—what would become the first Symposium on Race Relations and Community—following an incident of blackface at an off-campus party in 2006.

Mcebo Maziya, center, was instrumental in reinstating the symposium and in forming Power & Privilege as it continues to exist to this day. (Pictured: Ornella Leukou, Mcebo Maziya, and Rina Wulfing at the African Dinner, organized by Wakilisha Afrika; 2011.)

Mia McKenzie, founder of the literary project Black Girl Dangerous, speaking on campus for a reading and discussion (2013).

Members of the Black Student Union in 2011.

Published after the first Symposium on Race Relations and Community, “Let’s Talk About Race” was a special issue of student thoughts and experiences as people of color at Whitman. Editor Katie Collier describes the content in “Let's Talk About Race”: “The voices in this publication speak in their own ways--some through poetry, others prose--to address the topics of what it is like to be a minority at Whitman, how we might improve this experience and how members of our community can go about enacting a change.” (Collier 2006, 2)

Amidst a campus climate where debates regarding diversity and racism were happening frequently, discussions were held featuring panels of students and teachers to facilitate conversations in productive manners. Intercultural Center intern and discussion leader Sandra Corpuz spoke about the importance of engaging with racial issues: “Everyone should have been here without a doubt. [...] I just want to make sure that [there is] an obligation for change. Recognize that [Whitman] is great, but recognize that it can always get better.” (Hookom 2004, 1)

Activities that the BSU put on annually as a staple of the early 2000s to 2010s included a dance and soul food dinner event. The Glover Alston Center (GAC) was another core component of student organizing on campus, opening in January 2010 2010 it quickly became a central hub for affinity organizations on campus, and was particularly influential on the BSU at the time. Bao-Tram Do, BSU member and Intercultural Center Intern spoke on the impact the GAC's kitchen has had on the BSU: “The kitchen makes it feel like a house and being there makes us feel like a family.” (Le 2010, 2) The BSU continued to host Black History Month events and lectures. Notably, Yolanda King, eldest daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, spoke on campus for the Black History Month series in 2004. The Mecca Interest House also continued to hold annual race forums which served as space for discussions of various topics; including “the problematic aspects and challenges of diversity on campus.” (Pham 2005, 1)

Prior to 2006, the Intercultural Center held annual retreats that sought to address issues of race and ethnicity. In October 2002, the 7th annual retreat had two sessions over the course of three days, titled “Multicultural Identity and Internalized Racism” and “What It Means To Be White.” The Intercultural Center also hosted monthly diversity conversations during this time period which aimed at continuing discussions on various issues (ibid.) Later, in the early 2010s, the BSU and Intercultural Center hosted panels and discussions centered on the civil rights movement and race with panel discussions and a peace march that was typically held on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. Other events included hosting Mia McKenzie, founder of the literary project Black Girl Dangerous, on campus for a reading and discussion (Cornett 2013, 3).

2006-2015: Formalizing Racial Justice Discussions

The history of what is today known as the Power & Privilege Symposium dates back to 2006. Two students attended a Survivor-themed party in blackface in mid-October, 2006. In response, Natalie Knott wrote to a campus listserv an email with the subject “An Open Letter” that highlighted the harm in the two students’ using blackface (Koontz 2006, 8). Students began emailing the listserv regarding the matter in what became a widespread debate over racism and prejudice, and the particular way these issues impact Whitman specifically (Johnson 2006, 1-2). Marcus Koontz describes the climate and tensions regarding the listserv: “From my perspective, most white people do not want to have a discussion on Racism. E-mails on the listserv show that most responses glided right over the issue: They attacked Knott or her defenders directly, they argued whether the incident was really about Whitman or the society, they argued that the incident was free speech and insignificant, they argued about whether historical significance mattered in this context…Racism exists. It is still here, today, even at Whitman. I wonder how many of you would deny it. Or rather how many of you would admit it but admit no culpability for yourself” (Koontz 2006, 8).

Students called for support from faculty and administration to undertake more significant efforts in supporting conversations about race and racism on campus, which quickly formed into a teach-in event. Despite support from faculty and administration, many students felt their input was not taken in the planning stages, and “a group of about 100 students gathered together [...] to ask for faculty to consider canceling classes.” (McCarthy 2006, 5). Students stated that the blackface incident “exposed larger issues regarding experiences of race, racism, and a lack of recognition and understanding” which they write “we as a campus continually leave unaddressed.” They further state “[w]e believe that these issues are significant enough that all students must have the opportunity to engage in discussions and expand our understanding of race-related issues.” (“We Need Your Help!”, 2006). Quoted in the Pioneer, students Thomas Miller and Natalie Knott said that “the demonstration was not meant to be accusatory in any way. Rather, it was to show that students are taking these things seriously but that they need the support of teachers here to really make a difference.” (McCarthy 2006, 5).

With support from faculty secured, classes were canceled on Thursday, November 9th. What had started as a loosely organized teach-in became the Symposium on Race Relations and Community. Both the initial incident and the symposium itself garnered national attention, with pieces published about it in both the New York Times and by the Associated Press (Gilbert 2006, 1). The Pioneer included a special issue within the November 9th edition titled “Let's Talk About Race” which documented student's thoughts and feelings on the incident and the broader issue of racism at Whitman.

By the Spring term in 2009, the Symposium was divided up into smaller events that would take place over the course of a year (Wisler 2009, 5). While the decision to divide the Symposium into separate events was done out of feedback that there was too much in one day, there was equal criticism for the new structure. ASWC representative Aisha Fukushima describes her perspective in an interview with the Pioneer: “I was pretty disappointed when the Symposium was not in the events calendar [...] The whole campus needs to talk about these topics. It's not just a priority for certain groups--It's an institutional priority. One of the Symposium's goals was to interrupt, to disrupt the laissez-faire attitude towards discrimination.” (Wisler 2009, 7).

It is somewhat unclear for how long the lecture series format persisted, although it ran at least through 2010. By 2012, ASWC senator Mcebo Maziya and a committee were in the process of “bringing back” the Symposium. Maziya “decided to organize the symposium to help inform students' awareness of racial and ethnic issues” and “hop[ed] to further his mission of exploring nuanced ways in which students interact with race and ethnicity on a college level” (Kim 2012, 6). By the Spring term of 2013, the symposium was named Power & Privilege, which remains its name to this day.

In 2013 the first Power & Privilege symposium took place. Maziya reflected on the inaugural Power & Privilege Symposium: “As a black African male at Whitman, I've found that many of my white peers have ceased to speak about race because there is a fear that they may offend non-white students. [...] In many workshops and panels I attended, such issues were discussed in complex ways. But because these workshops were only 45 minutes to an hour in length, we couldn't arrive at more insightful social meanings or discuss the ways we all subconsciously reaffirm white supremacy. This is another reason why a dialogue should be continuous: Meaningful social change doesn't occur overnight.” (Maziya 2013, 4).

Beyond Symposia

Students engaged with discussing their experiences as Black students on campus and in broader contexts beyond the annual Symposium events. One such instance was Gladys Gitau's column in the Pioneer titled “Whiny Black Girl.” In her first piece, “I must speak up about race,” Gitau outlines the ways in which minorities—particularly racial minorities—are viewed as ‘complaining’: “Whenever underrepresented groups anywhere talk about issues they face that others can't necessarily see, they are dismissed as just complaining. If others can't feel racism or sexism or any other form of discrimination, they think you made it up. We just like to complain.” (Gitau 2013, 7). Gitau states her purpose in writing the column: “I want to write this column as a means of injecting my thoughts as one woman of color into the public sphere. [...] I will continue complaining in the hopes that if there is at least one other lost black girl out there who is a Twitter addict, or never sees people like her on TV, or doesn't like dogs, but is scared to speak out in the status quo, she won't feel so crazy.” (7). Topics Gitau covered in her column included undocumented Americans and her own undocumented status, lives of Black youth in the United States, Blackness as a spectrum, and beauty standards.

It is worth noting that despite the continued activity of organizations like the BSU, the Whitman College Archives hold less materials from this time, beginning in the 2000s. The yearbook saw its own troubles and was eventually discontinued, and student organizations have moved away from paper materials with the rise of technology and born-digital formats. However, the archives collects digital materials and is actively seeking to document student life and activities, past and present. We encourage students to consider donating materials that support preserving the history of students on campus, particularly those that go unnoticed or unrecognized. If you have materials you would be interested in donating, contact us at archives@whitman.edu.