Following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, there’s been a huge uproar over the fight for social injustice. People are protesting during the pandemic, tearing down statues, renaming academic buildings and creating petitions to better our community. NCC has sent out emails to students regarding the topic of social injustice and events happening in Naperville.
Back in 2018 and 2019, NCC saw a peaceful protest on racial inequality and police brutality when Women’s Lacrosse player Mynk Richardson-Clerk, ’20, took a knee during the playing of the National Anthem.
As a result, there was negative commentary and backlash from opposing teams and NCC. Because of this, she decided to cut her NCC athletic career short. Richardson-Clerk stated on an Instagram video posted in early June this year that she felt isolated in the locker room during that time.
A few days after the video was posted, NCC’s Athletic Department participated in the nationwide “Blackout Tuesday” event on Instagram. However, they received criticism for ignoring Richardson-Clerk’s video and disabling their comments for a brief stint before re-enabling.
“You can support my name and other athletes on game day when we make plays, but you can’t support us and say, ‘Black Lives Matter,’” said Cardinals Football cornerback De’Angelo Roberson, ’21. “We’re more than just athletes.”
Last week the Athletic Department created a statement article and issued an apology. “Our Black athletes deserved much better from us, and we now have a distinct responsibility to do the work required to create authentic change.”
NCC will create an Athletics Diversity Council and participate in anti-racism and allyship training. In addition, they will create a “Be the Change” campaign. As part of the campaign, athletes, coaches, administration and staff members can share their commitment to being anti-racist.
“I think as an institution their response was far too reactive, late and forced,” said Men’s Track and Field jumper Kendall Johnson, ’21. “It took personal stories and comments from their students pleading for proper acknowledgment for the school to simply say ‘Black Lives Matter.’ I think the school is taking steps in the right direction, but they always remain behind on the issues of social injustice.”
The Athletic Department statement highlights that they will commit to further diversifying their staff. This includes more Black coaches, assistant coaches and other athletics staff.
The department will identify and change systemic barriers in their recruitment and hiring practices. They will then train their search committee on preventing implicit bias in the hiring process.
“North Central College needs to hold themselves accountable for their actions and acknowledge they have failed in the past,” said Johnson. “Moving forward, they need to create and implement more concrete policies and structure that allow them to be proactive.”
As a result of COVID-19, it’s unclear what’s going to happen with sports. Nevertheless, one thing that is certain is that athletes will use their voice. In the past, the Football team has linked arms together during the National Anthem to symbolize unity. The track and field team are discussing ways to utilize their voices in the same way. Other teams aren’t sure what they will be doing yet.
“I want to do something that reflects positively on the college and the community,” says Men’s Basketball player Blaise Meredith, ’21. “We are a team first though. So, if we can come up with a demonstration that we could do as a team with the support of our coach and the athletic department, I don’t see why not.”
