‘Wake up and read the stories.’ Banners describing racism at UK were swiftly removed.
A student-led group pushing for reforms to benefit students of color at the University of Kentucky hung banners around campus Saturday morning, but the signs were promptly removed by the UK Police Department, the group’s founder said.
The four banners, three of which were painted with anecdotes describing racism on campus, were hung by the Movement for Black Lives University of Kentucky at the student center, parking garages on Rose and Limestone streets and outside Maxwell Place, the historic home of the university president.
Khari Gardner, who founded the group, said the stories of “marginalization and discrimination” that were painted on the banners had been told to him by other students.
“It’s move-in weekend,” Gardiner said. “We wanted people to wake up and read the stories.”
He said it’s also important to amplify the students’ voices “because the university had taken a stance of ignoring us.”
He said the campus police responded while he was hanging the banners. Aside from questioning him about what he was doing and running his license, “they didn’t give me any trouble,” Gardiner said.
The Movement for Black Lives has issued a number of demands to the UK administration, including calling for more scholarship funding for minorities and women, limitations on the campus police and increased Black faculty representation. The group wants the Kirwan-Blanding space to be renamed for Breonna Taylor.
Gardiner said the group is scheduled to meet with UK administrators again in the coming week.
Asked about the removal of the banners and the university’s response to the group’s demands, UK spokesman Jay Blanton issued a statement Saturday night, saying, “The core of the issue is the well-being of our students, faculty and staff. When members of our community hurt, we all hurt. When members of our community are marginalized by hateful speech or discriminatory actions, we need to act; we must act.
“It’s our responsibility to protect and support our community. We can’t be a community when people are victimized. As such, beginning this summer, we announced dedicated efforts to spur cultural change and combat racism; efforts designed to take bold and decisive actions. Some of that change will take months and years. But the urgency of our work will be seen this Fall semester. Our collective work is to move forward together and now.”
The anecdotes on the banners included stories of students being called racial slurs by fraternity brothers, a fellow student in the School of Music and people on the street.
“I walked from Canes to my dorm,” one banner read. “I was followed and called a n-----. I was terrified as everybody stood on the street and did nothing.”
“I was called a n----- multiple times by people in my fraternity,” another banner stated. “Whenever I brought it up I was laughed at and called a ‘half blood.’”
This story was originally published August 15, 2020 at 9:07 PM.
