http://www.voxmagazine.com/news/mizzou/it-s-not-over-activists-continue-to-call-for-improved/article_b88906fc-d9cc-11e5-8a6a-c388de880f79.html

It's not over: Activists continue to call for improvedrace relations at MUVox sat down with Kendrick Washington to talk about whether there have been changesregarding race relations at MU, CS1950 and more

BEN LANDIS FEB 24, 2016

Mike Krebs/MissourianKendrick Washington, a senior black studies major, leads a rally of black student activists in Speaker's Circle Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016. Thestudents listed demands for the UM System Board of Curators, including a 10 percent increase in MU's African American faculty and staff bythe 2017-18 school year.

As a group of students paused at Speakers Circle on their way to a UM Board of Curators meetingFeb. 4, one student’s voice could be heard loud and clear. That voice belonged to MU senior andBlack Studies major Kendrick Washington. He cleared his throat, and then he read the list ofdemands issued by Concerned Student 1950 last fall – demands that still have not been met bythe university.

MU made national headlines last fall with the hunger strike and protests that led to theresignation of former UM System President Tim Wolfe. It was a victory for the civil rights group,but they’re not done yet. Washington became a prominent voice for racial equality at MU at thedemonstration, and he sat down with Vox to talk about whether anything has changed withConcerned Student 1950 and race relations on campus.

WHAT PROMPTED THE DEMONSTRATION ON FEB. 4?

Signs that depicted a black fist and read “wake up” or “because y’all got too comfortable” wereclutched in the hands of demonstrators on Feb. 4 as a group of students made their way to aBoard of Curators meeting.

“It was the beginning of the semester, and there hadn’t been any talk about Concerned Student,”Washington says. “I think that people got lost in the moment in thinking that everything has beenmet when it really hasn’t.”

Washington says he has been involved with CS1950 since its demonstration during thehomecoming parade last fall.

Although some people assumed that the demonstration at the Curators meeting was organized byCS1950, Washington says it was not. The students were acting independently. Washington sayssome people see black students in a group and automatically assume that they are affiliated withCS1950. That is not the case, and it’s part of the problem, he says. Part of the reason for thedemonstration in early February was to show that the black experience at MU is not monolithic.

“We were black students sharing our voices on what it’s like being black outside of the nameConcerned Student,” he says.

WHAT’S CHANGED, AND WHAT HASN’T CHANGED?

Jonathan Butler, who led the hunger strike last semester, wasn’t at the Curators meetingdemonstration, but Washington says he and other original members of CS1950 are still workingwith the group. Washington says that the original 11 members are more involved than people

realize. He says that Butler and others are practicing “self care,” a topic discussed when two of thethree cofounders of Black Lives Matter, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi, came to speak at JesseAuditorium Feb. 18.

Another change is the choice of language used in CS1950’s public statements. In late January, thegroup released a statement that read: “We will remain committed to ensuring our demands aremet by any means necessary.” This was a transition from the nonviolent sentiment that was usedin October.

In Washington’s view, the narrative and the bigger message remains the same. “If anything, thosewords are used to amplify that we are not going to stop,” Washington says. “There isn’t anythingthat is going to stop us. We can keep saying this till we are blue in the face: We are not amoment.”

Washington feels that not much has changed in regards to the racial climate and attitudes at MU.The eight demands of last fall called for things such as an increase of the black faculty and staffcampus wide; increased funding to counseling and social justice centers; and mandatory“comprehensive racial awareness and inclusion curriculum.” A part of a demand was that Wolferesigned his position. That did happen, but no other demands have been met.

CS1950 still wants a handwritten apology from Wolfe. “You can’t just ignore that institutionalizedsystematic oppression exists and then think ‘Oh, I’m jut going to get away with it,’” Washingtonsays, referring to Wolfe. “You have to own up to whatever it is you say; we still will expect thatapology.”

Trust remains an issue for Washington. He says that the demands that are consistently beingvoiced are nothing new. The demands of the Legion of Black Collegians that were presented in1969 are still being sought in 2016. Both lists aim to improve race relations at the university.

Washington says the movement toward repairing race relations on campus is going too slowly.MU is attempting to name its Chief Diversity Officer and some diversity training has been put inplace.

Nonetheless, the level of distrust that Washington and others have is still high. CS1950 membersstill feel that they need to reiterate their demands so nothing is forgotten, Washington says. Hefeels that when attention is diverted from the demands – as with the Melissa Click videos – it is adistraction from the real issue. Washington says the group does care about Click but also says thefocus should remain on the needs outlined by CS1950.

A DV E RT I S E M E NT

Ben Landis

As for what is next for the group, Washington said that he could not discuss too much publicly.All he could say was that the drive to get the demands met was still in force. “We’re not done,” hesays. “We’re not ever going to be done.”

"We can keep saying this till we are blue in the face: We arenot a moment."

-Kendrick Washington

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