Students celebrate Black History Month following DEI repeals

Community members are considering how Black History Month may feel different on campus this year after the UNC System’s Diversity and Inclusion policy repeal last spring and the lower number of Black students on campus, compared to years past.

With the lack of DEI initiatives at the institutional level, UNC sophomore and Historically Black at UNC President Addison Truzy said Black student organizations now have to “go above and beyond” to ensure their community outreach is effective. 

“So, I think we just made our organization have a broader impact on campus because of the need for communities like this,” Truzy said.

HBUNC is a student-run media group that aims to highlight Black culture and keep its community informed through social media, according to its Heel Life website.

Truzy also said the decrease in Black students due to the elimination of affirmative action will be noticeable and disheartening during this year’s Black History Month.

The class of 2028 saw an approximate 25 percent decrease in Black students enrolled compared to the class of 2027.

“I think my class of ‘27 was one of the larger classes for the Black community,” she said. “So, because of that, I think that’s going to be a little bit of a shock factor when we see the turnout rates for these events coming up.”

UNC African Student Association President Ruth Uzochukwu said the organization is co-hosting a new event with the UNC Black Student Movement to unify the two groups during Black History Month.

She said the Family Feud-style event is meant to bridge the cultural gap between the African and Black communities. This kind of community-building, she said, is something no longer being facilitated at the institutional level due to the DEI repeal. 

In addition to the ASA-BSM collab, she said that ASA and other Black student organizations are hosting an Afro Caribbean Festival in the Student Union on Feb. 3. The event is in partnership with the Carolina Union Activities Board to “kick off Black History Month,” according to Heel Life.

Uzochukwu said this is another event which she hopes will cultivate community among Black students.

“It's kind of in our own hands to establish those systems for ourselves and really lean on each other,” she said.

For Black History Month, the Campus Y will host two sessions of “Tools for Combating Racism.” Participants will be coached by members of A Long Talk About The Uncomfortable Truth , a global organization that states on its website that it provides an “anti-racism activation experience.”

ALT Chief Empowerment Officer Kyle Williams said he thinks Black History Month events are sometimes hosted “performatively,” and delve into topics that should be discussed year-round.

“I think it’s more important during white history month, which is every other month,” he said.

ALT spoke to students virtually in January and will speak in-person on Feb. 5 at the Campus Y. The program features preparation materials on the history of racism in the United States that must be reviewed by participants prior to the first meeting.

“Really, what I'm trying to do is talk to white people about what's going on in the country and show them what they can do to help,” Williams said.

He said it’s inspiring for him and his organization to visit places where DEI is under attack because he wants to facilitate uncomfortable conversations. It’s important, he said, for the Black community to encourage white people to use their voices and platforms for social change.

Ariyan Byrd, a UNC sophomore and executive social justice advocate for the Residence Hall Association, said that the University’s week-long celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day from Jan. 19 to 23 felt like a “Band-Aid over a bullet hole.” 

She said she presumes Black History Month will feel similarly disingenuous on campus.

“I would say that it just makes the month feel like a quota to reach,” Byrd said. “And we just feel like a statistic.”

UNC senior and Asian American Students Association member Elizabeth Ballou said that even non-Black identity-based groups on campus feel hushed by the University on topics surrounding DEI. 

Ballou said that from an outside perspective, she thinks it will be difficult for Black students to celebrate their heritage at a University where it feels like they aren’t welcome.

Similar to Truzy, Ballou said the decreased number of Black students admitted to UNC could also contribute to this feeling.

“I think it's just gonna be a call for us to do so much more to encourage kids who have a community here,” Truzy said.

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