The summer of 2020 will go down in history. Over the summer at NCC, the racial pandemic reflected on multiple easily offending topics. The summer 2020 NCC #BlackLivesMatter (#BLM) revisited awkward racial conversations that need to happen. Stories worth sharing, such as Mynk Richardson-Clerk’s. The demands of Black students and alumni are finally being heard, and change is underway.
What happened on June 1?
President Troy D. Hammond released an email about racial issues following the shooting of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. “These incidents are causing harm and pain to many members of our own campus community and remind us that as a nation and an institution, we still have so much work to do,” said Hammond. Hammond continued the email by listing resources NCC has for black students. He also encouraged allies to listen to their black friends about their experiences.
Then, Mynk Richardson-Clerk, ’20, released an Instagram video in response to Hammond’s email. “The email would have meant something to Black students and Black alumni if the institution, especially Troy Hammond, had supported me in my protest and actually punished the lacrosse team (for what they did to me),” said Richardson-Clerk in her video. She finished her video by sharing her experiences with racism at NCC.
The Richardson-Clerk viral Instagram video calls out the hypocrisy of Hammond’s email. Her video now has over 14,000 views and over 200 comments. Richardson-Clerk’s video has received many positive reviews comments from students, faculty and alumni. For example, an Instagram user under laura_monica1001 showed her support for Richardson-Clerk’s ’20 story and strength.
After the Richardson-Clerk ’20 video, Upasna Barath, ’19, created a petition to demand changes for students of color. The petition title is “Demands To North Central College For Black Students.” The petition set a goal of 15,000 signatures, and now has over 11,000 signatures, hoping that the signatures will bring awareness and create change at NCC.
