变革之声
作为加州大学为期两周的庆祝活动之一. 马丁·路德·金. 2017年1月, 罗纳德·斯普拉特林,71年, Janice Miles’74, 奥利弗·佩里74年, returned 去学校—some for the first time since graduation—to reflect on one of the most pivotal eras in UC history.
在一群加州大学的学生面前, 教师, 和工作人员, the alumni discussed the culture of activism at UC in the late 1960s and early 1970s, 黑人学生会的成立, and how their fight helped shape Utica College—and vice versa. “We broke the ground for further movement toward a college that was sensitive to the vital needs of its students,佩里对观众说. “In turn, I sincerely hope we have proven to the College that their investment in us was worthwhile.”
在这里,佩里回顾了他的旅程.
When Oliver 佩里 arrived at Utica College in the fall of 1969, he didn’t exactly feel at home.
这是他有生以来第一次, 佩里, 在布朗克斯长大的人, was surrounded by predominately “middle-class white people,他回忆道.
Everything from the plays put on by the theatre department to the songs on the Pioneer Pub jukebox (no R&B, but lots of Beach Boys) seemed out of touch with his own life experience.
“I felt the climate wasn’t necessarily inclusive,” says 佩里.
And it wasn’t long before he learned that other black students felt the same way—and had been fighting for change for years.
In the fall of 1966, a group of 20 black students came together to form United Students. Its mission: “to inform both black and white students of the Negro in this society and, 希望, promote more humanitarian attitudes toward the Negro in America.”
在两年的时间里, the group grew and became more visible on campus while developing a progressive list of demands: install a lecture series for prominent black speakers, 开设有关黑人历史和成就的课程, 在校园建立黑人文化中心, and make a more concerted effort to recruit minority students, 举几个例子.
“在过去三年里, several black students have left Utica College because the educational system has been grossly delinquent in responding to the modern needs of the minority students,他们的提议是这样开始的.
虽然一些要求得到了满足, 其他人则被大学管理部门忽视了, prompting six students representing the newly named Black Students Union to stage a historic sit-in in a campus computer lab. Because of their efforts, an agreement was finally reached with then-president Dr. J. 肯尼斯·多纳休.
那是1969年5月.
The dust had barely settled when Oliver 佩里 arrived on campus later that year, 他很快就加入了这场运动. He was elected the BSU’s minister of defense in fall 1970, one of six leaders (including minster of culture Janice Miles’74) responsible for branches of the organization. 他成为最有发言权的成员之一, often serving as the BSU’s representative in meetings with administration. 他组织讨论, where all students were invited to share their opinions on what changes still needed to be made.
“有一些阻力. There were people who felt they were losing their sense of belonging as [the BSU] became more powerful on campus,佩里现在说. “My guiding principle was that everyone had a right to be at UC and everyone had a right to be heard.”
1971年春天, 佩里 helped established UC’s first Black Cultural Weekend, an event that brought more than 100 black high-school students, 以及杰出的黑人演讲者, 剧作家, 诗人和音乐家, 去学校. 由佩里和迈尔斯掌舵, the BSU became one of the most active and visible student groups at Utica College.
After graduating from UC in 1974 with a degree in behavioral science, 佩里继续在安提阿大学获得硕士学位. His career path echoes his beginnings at Utica College; he’s spent decades working with youth cultural programs and non-profits in New York City. 今天, 他是纽约市城市希望组织的副执行主任, 一个举办夏令营的社区组织, 课外项目, 还有针对高危儿童和青少年的篮球联盟.
Looking back now, 佩里’s memories of that time at UC are largely positive. The 教师 and administration, he says, “recognized the value in what we were trying to accomplish.”
And learning to advocate for himself and his peers planted a seed in 佩里, he says. “I learned how to represent myself and stand up for others,” he says. “It began the growth process that led me down the path that built my career.”
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