“We Are Not Victims”: Unmasking Black Queer and Trans Student Activism at HBCUs

• Published in: About campus 2021-07, Vol.26 (3), p.24-28
• Main Authors: Mobley, Steve D., Johnson, Ramon W., Sewell, Christopher J. P., Johnson, Jennifer M., Neely, Amon J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activism; African American Students; Black Colleges; Blacks; College Environment; College Students; Gender Bias; LGBTQ People; Minority Group Students; Social Bias; Social Justice
• ISSN: 1086-4822; 1536-0687
• DOI: 10.1177/1086482220953221

In recent years, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been in the midst of student unrest that is derivative of the surging racial turmoil across the country. HBCU students, fueled by a desire for change have been less inclined to acquiesce to campus administrations whom they believe do not have their best interests in mind. In bold and unapologetic manners, queer and trans* HBCU students are calling attention to how they have been silenced within their respective campus contexts. Black queer and trans* HBCU students are now insisting that their campuses begin to atone for and recognize how they have been affected by and also participate in white supremacy via anti-black practices. These errant customs often manifest in various form(s) of respectability politics and other intraracial tensions (e.g., classism, anti-queer sentiments, misogyny, etc.). As such, contemporary black queer and trans* HBCU student activists are demanding for HBCUs to openly embrace free and bold blackness that is not stifled by antiquated notions surrounding how blackness should converge with gender, gender identity, religion, sexuality, or social class. This article examines what HBCUs campuses have done to address this issue.