{"id":7823,"date":"2017-07-20T16:29:26","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T10:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pahichan.com\/?p=7823"},"modified":"2017-07-20T16:29:26","modified_gmt":"2017-07-20T10:44:26","slug":"gay-rights-group-gathers-leaders-of-black-colleges-and-universities-to-discuss-path-to-making-them-more-inclusive-of-lgbtq-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/gay-rights-group-gathers-leaders-of-black-colleges-and-universities-to-discuss-path-to-making-them-more-inclusive-of-lgbtq-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Gay rights group gathers leaders of black colleges and universities to discuss path to making them more inclusive of LGBTQ students."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kathmandu (Pahichan) July 20 – In a speech to presidents, chancellors and leaders of historically black colleges and universities, a Georgia congressman told them what has already been widely acknowledged — that their institutions historically have been slow to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The message from Representative Henry Johnson, a Democrat, was not a critical one, nor a rebuke, but a call for campus culture at HBCUs to improve for these students, to stamp out homophobia and develop resources for them.<\/p>\n

Administrators attending the event where Johnson spoke Wednesday, the first-ever HBCU summit organized by the largest and most influential LGBTQ lobbying group, the Human Rights Campaign, said in interviews they agreed. Though their institutions to some degree have adopted pro-LGBTQ initiatives, which is why they were asked to Washington, they said continuing to do more is critical. Those historically black colleges not invited hadn’t pushed much for their gay students, participants said.<\/p>\n

Human Rights Campaign\u2019s strategy is this: invite and pay for the leaders from the larger and more progressive of the historically black institutions to fly here, and sit them down for a daylong discussion of the benefit of LGBTQ-inclusive practices, said Leslie Hall, manager of the HBCU project for the Human Rights Campaign.<\/p>\n

Sixteen representatives from HBCUs attended out of the close to 50 that were invited — historically black institutions number a little more than 100. Hall picked colleges and universities with bigger student populations, but also in conservative-leaning states with perhaps unfriendly laws toward the LGBTQ community.<\/p>\n

Hall\u2019s hope is that the institution\u2019s leaders who came Wednesday would model for the smaller, more old-school colleges and universities and nudge them toward inclusive measures. HRC spent roughly $15,000 on expenses for the event, including lodging, food and travel.<\/p>\n

Hall has visited many of the HBCU campuses and said he\u2019s found people dedicated to improving policies and the climate for LGBTQ students, but said they been tangled up in red tape — they are willing but need to convince the presidents and governing boards.<\/p>\n

LGBTQ students at HBCUs often seek more mental health resources in the guidance centers, said Hall, or complain frequently about requests for funding for queer student groups being rejected.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was important for me to shoot right for the top and bring these leaders here,\u201d Hall said. \u201cWe are very serious that these leaders know this an important investment they need to make and expand on their campuses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Historically black institutions haven\u2019t always supported the LGBTQ cause wholeheartedly, or at least have made missteps in the community. Morehouse College, an all-men\u2019s institution, adopted a dress code in 2009 forbidding women\u2019s clothing, which gay men on campus called a slight. And in 2007 Hampton University refused recognition for a student group there that promoted an alliance between straight students and the LGBTQ population.<\/p>\n

About 30\u00a0percent of HBCUs have LGBTQ clubs affiliated with the universities, and only three have designated a full-time position for support of LGBTQ students — Bowie State University,\u00a0Fayetteville State University and North Carolina Central University.<\/p>\n

Though many of the institutions in the more urban areas have dedicated space for gender-neutral bathrooms — or, in Fayetteville State\u2019s case, an LGBTQ center that the chancellor created by shutting down one of the dormitories — a cultural shift is required, said Walter Kimbrough, president of Dillard University.<\/p>\n

Kimbrough pointed out that many predominantly white institutions maintain spaces just for black students, but that doesn\u2019t necessarily make them \u201cinclusive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we aren\u2019t dealing with the culture, these strategies of just spaces, policies, they don\u2019t mean a thing. We have to figure out how we\u2019re going to make a bigger engagement in changing the culture on campus. That\u2019s what I wrestle with in mind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At Fayetteville, Chancellor James Anderson made a public speech about changing the university\u2019s \u201cbrand\u201d — it would preserve its legacy as a traditionally black institution but embrace more inclusive values. In this way, Anderson \u201cgot out in front\u201d of more conservative alumni who might chastise him, and he could compel them to explain why the university shouldn\u2019t be more accepting.<\/p>\n

If the Human Rights Campaign plan doesn\u2019t make headway, it will appeal to other institutions\u2019 business sensibilities, Hall said — all institutions are concerned about enrollment and graduates’ ability to find jobs, both of which can be affected by negative publicity about not supporting LGBTQ students.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, HBCUs have mulled whether their graduates will be accepted into the working world because they are people of color, said Michael Lomax, the president and chief executive officer of the United Negro College Fund, a philanthropic group representing more than 37 private black colleges and universities.<\/p>\n

In a session with JPMorgan Chase, a representative from the banking behemoth told leaders that graduates with experience in diversity issues are valued more, Lomax said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat really is a kind of different thinking for historically black colleges,\u201d Lomax said. \u201cI think the other issue we\u2019re challenged now to think about is if our graduates are bringing experience and the kind of proficiency in terms of diversity and inclusion in their own behaviors and outlooks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copy :\u00a0https:\/\/www.insidehighered.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kathmandu (Pahichan) July 20 – In a speech to presidents, chancellors and leaders of historically black colleges and universities, a Georgia congressman told them what has already been widely acknowledged — that their institutions historically have been slow to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.<\/p>\n

The message from Representative Henry Johnson, a Democrat, was not a critical one, nor a rebuke, but a call for campus culture at HBCUs to improve for these students, to stamp out homophobia and develop resources for them.
\nAdministrators attending the event where Johnson spoke Wednesday, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":7824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,621,490,11],"tags":[447,446,445,1106,458],"class_list":["post-7823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news","category-slider","category-world","tag-bisexual","tag-gay","tag-lesbian","tag-lgbtq","tag-transgender"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7823"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7825,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7823\/revisions\/7825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}