BSO Founder Returns to Campus

Racism and how to fight it were the topics for discussion in the Malcolm X Lounge in Hartley Hall last night, as over 100 students from Columbia and other area schools met to consider ways of mobilizing on the Jena Six controversy and other issues of racial injustice.

Dr. Rufus Sadler, CC ’77 and one of the BSO’s original founders from 1976, was invited to speak about the group’s history and the current controversy regarding six imprisoned Louisiana students whom many say are the victims of a racist criminal justice system.

“Jena is a gross injustice that was put upon some children as a result of a fight, a regular fight, like most of us have probably been in in high school,” Sadler said.

The meeting coincided with a national day of protest for the Jena Six. Americans across the nation, including many in attendance at the meeting, dressed in black yesterday to demonstrate their support for the alleged victims.

The meeting quickly moved into a discussion on how to deal with and react to the situation, with suggestions that included creating a non-profit group to collect bail money and fostering greater communication and solidarity among cultural groups at Columbia.

“You don’t fight racism with racism,” Tiffany Dockery, CC ’09 and BSO president, said. “You fight racism with solidarity.”

Many in attendance emphasized the need to expand the discussion beyond the confines of the BSO. “What I want to know is what the white people on this campus are going to do,” Maasha Kah, BC ’11, said. “I don’t know why we’re here in Malcolm X Lounge instead of on the steps of Butler.”

“How can we think of the Jena Six as not just the Jena Six but as something that’s happening to our people nationally and globally?” Bryan Mercer, CC ’07, asked.
Students said they felt frustrated with the environment of neglect for social justice issues that they say is common at Columbia as well as on other college campuses.

“We’re so comfortable with where we’re at, [and] we’re so disengaged from our community that we don’t have two hours to go protest,” Alexandria Linn, Sarah Lawrence ’10, said. “This is not the older folks—this is us. This is our generation.”

Sadler urged students to remain committed to fighting racism in today’s society. “One day will we overcome? I hope so but I don’t think it will be soon, and I just don’t want anyone to sit back and say, ‘I don’t have to think about these issues anymore.’”

Mary Kohlmann can be reached at news@columbiaspectator.com.