Amid the nationwide protests and calls for change following George Floyd’s tragic death, the University of Florida (UF) intends to foster understanding and change among the campus community. On June 18, 2020, President Kent Fuchs released a statement to fellow students, and he outlined the university’s commitment to positively impact its black community.
In this statement, President Fuchs said the “2020-2021 academic year will focus on the black experience, racism and inequity.”
Central to UF’s initiative is the newly established Racial Justice Research Fund, a program intended to amplify black voices and stories of black students’ unique experiences. With funding of $400,000 from UF, the Racial Justice Research Fund will include the Racial Injustice Initiative (RJI) focused on collecting and preserving black students’ stories at UF. The program will select ten students, from a competitive pool of applicants, who will play crucial roles in the peer research. They will collaborate in the initiative with roles such as team leads, lab managers and production leads.
Students will participate by filling out an anonymous demographic survey and submitting an audio file, guided by a prompt, not exceeding ten minutes. The program designed the process to take no longer than 30 minutes in total, and this link details further instructions.
Ashanti Farrior, an 18-year-old Advertising major, serves as the communication lead for the RJI. She believes the project’s uniqueness lies within its ability to broadcast black voices. She hopes that every black student will participate in the initiative to amplify black stories.
“Storytelling is an important aspect of our culture that has passed lessons and history throughout generations,” she said.
The project’s aim to create an archive of stories will enable future generations of black students to understand and learn from the experiences of their predecessors. Notably, students will also have the option to decline to have their stories archived.
“This reserved history could be used to hold UF accountable in the future and memorizable our struggles and achievements,” said Farrior.
Amya Elison, a 19-year-old Sustainability major, helps lead the RJI research study. She maintains communication within the peer research team and establishes outreach guidelines. Elison notes that black student-led organizations often suffer from underfunding despite contributions to the university’s diversity efforts.
“It’s also a shame to see major organizations at UF only use black students as voices to add to their diversity quote,” Elison said.
Elison intends to highlight these issues to pave necessary changes for black students within the UF community. As the Racial Justice Research Fund continues its work, the transmission of black students’ stories will serve as a powerful instrument for understanding and reform.
