The University’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will be awarded the 2016 Chairman’s Award at the NAACP Image Awards Feb. 5.
The Chairman’s Award is given to individuals and organizations who use their distinct platforms to be agents of change.
Donald Cole, assistant provost and assistant to the chancellor of multicultural affairs, said the award is not only an honor for the students, but for the university as a whole.
“This recognition demonstrates the depth, breadth and openness of the dialogue taking place at UM in its training of the next generation of leaders,” Cole said. “Often we have student groups and departments noted for diversity work at the local and regional level, but seldom for national awards as this.”
Assistant professor of sociology and anthropology James Thomas began serving as the UM NAACP advisor in Spring 2015 and helps guide the chapter leadership.
“Our chapter leadership has been so phenomenal in how they have planned and coordinated meaningful activities on campus and how they have begun to create a culture of protest and progressiveness that is sorely missing on this campus,” Thomas said.
Since Thomas and the group’s current executive members joined, the chapter has received statewide recognition, including multiple awards, before the Chairman’s Award. Thomas said their work is not done, however.
“I think our leadership understands anti-racist work on this campus doesn’t end with the taking down of the state flag,” Thomas said. “Our chapter is committed to eradicating all forms of institutional racism on this campus. We will continue to challenge the presence of other symbols of white supremacy, we will continue to advocate for a more equitable distribution of space, resources and opportunities for minority students, faculty and staff.”
One of the leaders continuing to fight that battle is junior public policy major and UM NAACP president Buka Okoye.
Okoye said he felt ostracized on campus after the James Meredith noose incident in 2014 and wondered if anyone shared the same emotions and thoughts.
“After getting into the NAACP, you find out very quickly that a lot of people share the same thoughts as you,” Okoye said. “It’s one thing for people to share the same thoughts as you, but it’s another for people to want to take action and see changes happen.”
Buka Okoye, one of the speakers for the flag rally, stands on a makeshift podium in front of hundreds of onlookers. (Photo by Deja Samuels)
Okoye said since he has come into leadership, the UM NAACP has been actively planning and working toward a longstanding campaign of equity and change on campus.
“We saw that we needed change and we went about doing that,” Okoye said.
One of the first changes on campus was internal for the UM NAACP. Okoye said despite the chapter being established in 2008, when he came onboard in 2014, the president had walked out and the chapter was in disorder, not even having been registered.
“So, my first thing coming in was to get not only recognized by the University, but recognized nationally,” Okoye said. “That was going through a lot of paperwork and processes and really tiring, but we went about making sure we were official, then went about doing an initiative, which was taking down the flag.”
Despite being only a few months old, the newly official UM NAACP began its battle protesting symbols of white supremacy on campus. The chapter’s first major campaign was a success, removing the state flag from campus with the support of many large campus groups. UM NAACP has since received lasting attention, both locally and nationally, for their role in the events.
Okoye said interest in joining the UM NAACP has grown exponentially.
“A lot of people have been looking for a chapter like this,” Okoye said. “They were looking for something like us who were trying to change campus.”
Okoye said as the group grows, he and the other executive members want to make sure all members of the chapter have a role in and agree with what the chapter does.
“We take our time with things. We want to see actual progress on campus,” Okoye said. “At no point in time are we going to be dropping anything early, but we do have very tangible plans of what we do want to see happen.”
-Lana Ferguson
