BUZZ
Key Takeaways
- The University of Missouri Students Association passed a resolution supporting the Legion of Black Collegians' (LBC) racially exclusive event names, and condemned the Mizzou for creating a hostile environment for Black students.
- Mizzou President Mun Choi had suggested that the LBC's ‘Black 2 Class Block Party’ was racially exclusive, leading to its cancellation, which the LBC labeled a 'deliberate act of erasure.'
- The LBC reported ongoing racial incidents affecting Black students, including derogatory remarks, and issued demands for the university to publicly condemn racial harassment and improve campus climate.
- President Choi stated the university would not respond to the LBC's demands, while the Mizzou Students Association committed to collaborating with the LBC to address the rising incidents of racial harassment.
The University of Missouri Students Association earlier this month passed a resolution supporting the Legion of Black Collegians’ racially exclusive monikers for events that it organizes.
Bill 65-02 passed by a vote of 24-1 in favor and “condemns the University of Missouri for ‘contributing to a hostile and inhospitable learning and living environment for Black students,’” The Maneater reports.
Mizzou President Mun Choi had “suggested” that the name of the LBC’s annual “Black 2 Class Block Party” was “exclusiv[e] based on race,” which ultimately led its cancellation last month.
KOMU reports Choi said in a statement that “[w]hen holding events using university facilities, student organizations must avoid excluding individuals based on race.”
The LBC responded on its Instagram account, calling the school’s decision a “deliberate act of erasure,” and saying it “refuses to be complacent to irresponsible and senseless decisions such as [this].”
The LBC further claimed that after having to change the name of its “Welcome Black BBQ” last year, it was told by Mizzou officials it was “allowed to plan something similar, to restore that lost piece of tradition in the name.”
Black students continue to be treated as less than human.
“On top of limitations, the racial incidents still continue,” the group said. It claimed there have been “dozens” of racist incidents since the fall of 2024, including students being called the n-word “on their way to class, leaving organization events and practices, [and] going downtown.”
It added “Black students continue to be treated as less than human.”
The LBC then issued three demands of Mizzou: a “public condemnation” of racial harassment and profiling, that it hold a town hall discussion within 60 days to “address cultural identity” and campus climate, and “mandatory campus-wide messaging” that addresses harassment and potential discipline.
President Choi said the university “will not respond to demands.”
In a September 18 statement, the Mizzou Students Association said it “and [the] Legion will continue to work together in finding solutions to further the next steps over the following months to address the uptick in incidents of racially-motivated harassment and hate speech seen across campus.”
The MSA also called on other organizations, such as the Graduate Professional Council, to “declare their support” for the LBC and to “assist them” in seeing its demands come to fruition.
The historically black fraternity Phi Beta Sigma already noted its support for the LBC, saying the cancellation of the Black 2 Class Block Party “erases a cherished tradition” and that Mizzou puts up “unnecessary barriers to visibility and belonging” for black students.
MORE: Mizzou’s LBC ‘heartbroken’ over having to change racially exclusive event name
