Black students at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have been calling for a Black Resource Center for more than five years. In June, UCLA announced that it would create the center, which is now in the planning stages.
“In this moment we rightfully have been moved to ask what more we can do to make UCLA a community where all will know that Black lives, Black intellects, Black aspirations and Black experiences matter,” wrote Chancellor Dr. Gene Block and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Dr. Emily Carter in a statement. “UCLA will provide funding this coming academic year to establish programs and staffing in the center. We have begun the process to identify the best location options for the Black Student Resource Center in the center of campus.”
For Black student activists, this is a success story, but it has also felt like a long-fought battle.
The Afrikan Student Union and the Black Graduate Student Association released a joint statement, calling the timing “eerily convenient,” in the aftermath of Black Lives Matter protests, but also a “major win” and “monumental” for the Black student community.
“Our fight is not done here and there’s so much more work to be done, but this space is a sign of how powerful the resilience and strength of our community at UCLA and as a whole is, and is a testament to the determination of our people,” the statement continued.
Dr. Tyrone C. Howard, a professor of education at UCLA, also described the moment as “bittersweet.” He directs the UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children & Families, the Center for the Transformation of Schools and the UCLA Black Male Institute.
He’s heartened watching leaders actively making plans to build and staff the center, but “the university didn’t feel compelled to do this because it was the right thing, because students have been pushing for this for many years,” he said. “I think the university ultimately felt moved to do this because the climate is such that, if they didn’t do it, it would look very bad. We can’t allow these kinds of moments, these tragic moments … to be our impetus for when we decide to do these things. I’m excited, I think the students are excited, but it had to happen under duress.”
