Howard University students sparked a string of protests after #BlackburnTakeover went viral.
After administrators failed to attend a scheduled town hall, Howard students staged a sit-in at Armour J. Blackburn University Center on Oct. 12.
News of the protest spread rapidly, inspiring Atlanta HBCUs to stage their own protests addressing housing conditions and lack of funding, in solidarity with Howard University. Dubbed the “ATL Student Movement Takeover,” students from several Atlanta HBCUs banded together in a demonstration at Atlanta University Center, beginning last Monday.
Students shared experiences of “mold in dorms and showers, broken washer and dryer machines, ants in buildings, lack of access to housing and more,” according to theGrio. Howard students seem to face similar issues, as videos of mold-ridden dorms and water damage flood social media.
“It is not a normal college experience to be living with mold and having respiratory issues and safety hazards in our living spaces,” said Howard student Thandiwe Abdullah in an interview with FOX 5.
Howard students may face punishment for their peaceful protest, despite President of Howard University Wayne A. I. Frederick verifying that no damage was done to Blackburn, according to Howard’s student-run newspaper The Hilltop.
Cynthia Evers, vice president of Student Affairs at Howard, threatened discipline to protestors who did not vacate Blackburn by the afternoon on Oct. 13, citing Student Code of Conduct violations including “failure to comply with University or civil authority; unauthorized presence; and disorderly or disruptive conduct.”
In response to police presence and increasing disciplinary threats up to expulsion, Howard University School of Law students aided the sit-in protestors by acting as legal observers, according to The Hilltop. In the role of legal observer, students protected the rights of protestors—particularly when dealing with law enforcement.
When the protestors finally left Blackburn to meet Fredrick, the president of Howard responded to The Live Movement’s request for legal and academic immunity by stating that, “he did not have the power to grant exemptions on behalf of faculty,” the publication writes.
The Live Movement is a national student coalition that advocates for Black education and HBCU students. Many organizations showed their support of #BlackburnTakeover and the HBCU protests, including Freedom Fighters DC, Claudia Jones School for Political Education, Harriet’s Wildest Dreams and the Howard University chapter of the NAACP.
“Things that may seem minimal like a little mold, transportation, or ‘just go get an apartment because you didn’t get no housing,’” said Morehouse student Sid King in an interview with theGrio. “These are things that break us down mentally and cause us to perform poorly and then ended up getting kicked out of school. So, we’re stuck in a cycle that we’re trying to break and that’s why we’re out here right now.”
The latest post from the Atlanta Student Movement Takeover Instagram account suggests things are looking up.
“With nearly all demands being met or acknowledged, we are moving forward with a positive spirit. Administration was very understanding with the concerns of the students and agreed that there was a need for improvements,” reads the post.
