Dwight Hamilton, former Vice President of Inclusion and Equity, delivered the verdict of the Mike Brown case. 2015 /Courtesy of the GVSU Black Student Union
Students listening to the decision for the Mike Brown case and standing in support of all the victims of police brutality. 2015 /Courtesy of the GVSU Black Student Union
Student Diversity Coalition speaking with the senior executives of Grand Valley State University about Campus Climate and the im /Courtesy of the GVSU Black Student Union
On Wednesday, January 20, Grand Valley State University (GVSU) will host Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) organization that began in 2012. Cullors is based from the Los Angeles area and is known as a freedom fighter and organizer.
“I identify as an organizer versus an activist because I believe an organizer is the smallest unit that you build your team around. The organizer is the person who gets the press together and who builds new leaders, the person who helps to build and launch campaigns, and is the person who decides what the targets will be and how we’re going to change this world,” says Cullors on her website. Under the guardianship of Cullors, and the other co-founders, the BLM movement is still alive and growing from residential communities to college campuses, to larger metropolitan demonstrations that demand justice and the end of the systematic demise of Black bodies while also working to (re)build the Black liberation movement.
Black Lives Matter as a movement isn’t just a movement to cease the killings of Blacks in America. Along with creating change for the ways in which Black lives are consistently deprived of basic human rights and dignity, Black Lives Matter broadens the conversation to include all of the ways in which Black people are intentionally left powerless at the hands of the state. Black Lives Matter was created to affirm the lives of those who have been marginalized in the ongoing liberation efforts to end systematic oppression of Blacks in America while also calling upon action to be made to create real, meaningful change in the United States. It is an uplifting campaign for the Black community, encouraging us to support one another with love, to support Black owned businesses in the community in order to reestablish and strengthen the community. Black Lives Matters gives a bullhorn to those who were marginalized due to gender, sexuality, ability and other intersecting identities to tell their truths and claim their representation for lives that were not once acknowledged or declared.
Michigan has a history of overt and covert racial and social class segregation tactics that have shaped this state in a number of ways. This includes West Michigan. Recognizing current state policies that oppress certain citizens is the first step creating change. The next step is working together to make that change a reality and create an equitable environment for all. Having Cullors as a guest speaker gives community members and GVSU the chance to speak directly with a national organizer who understands the importance of grassroots community work, social justice and the acceptance of all people. Cullors’ presence also speaks to Grand Valley’s dedication to providing students and the greater community the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue with individuals that are current in their efforts for equity and justice.
It is imperative that leaders like Cullors come to West Michigan to work together with community leaders and teach efficient and effective ways to organize and advance the community agenda. During her visit, Cullors will offer a keynote speech at 4:30 p.m. on January 20 and she will also facilitate a workshop on organizing strategies for local community activists and student organizers.
These events are free and open to the public. Cullors will be at Grand Valley State University on Wednesday, January 20. She will be directing a workshop at 3 p.m. in Kirkhof Center Pere Marquette and will be delivering a keynote presentation in Kirkhof Center, Grand River Room at 4:30 p.m. It will also be simulcast to an audience in the Eberhard Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus. Visitors to campus can park in Lot H and will not be ticketed.
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