The Black faculty and staff on campus at the University of Idaho have decided to come together to create an organization. The conversations began last spring, but they have not quite defined what type of group they would like to be and will be referred to as an association for now.
“We’re still deciding, so our temporary name is just the Black Faculty and Staff Association,” Rochelle Smith, one of the two unofficial co-chairs of the group, said. “We’re still having conversations about how best to describe what role we want to play.”
They have considered defining themselves as a coalition, a task force or a caucus but have not fallen in love with anything definitive yet.
The group has thought about tying itself to the Black Lives Matter Movement in description and title and almost called themselves the BLM Faculty and Staff.
The goal of this association is to support those on campus who need help having tough conversations about race and sexuality. They also hope to provide resources to those seeking a safe space.
“We feel like it’s really important that kind of support be internal and shared and then able to reach out and support others,” Smith said.
The group aligns itself with others on campus that are working on issues of equity and justice such as Native American and Indigenous peoples’ groups.
The co-chairs of the group are in the process of drafting their mission statement and have been taking cues from other Black Faculty and Staff Associations across the nation. Smith believes they are not the first iteration of a Black Faculty and Staff Association on the UI campus, but their revival stems from an overall sense of need on campus. They believe that despite the presence of several other diversity and inclusion efforts on campus, Black faculty and staff need their own specific representation.
“We talk about promoting and enhancing identity communities; safety, wellness and professional development among faculty staff and students at the UI; and we talk specifically about supporting and advocating that large group of people, regardless of gender or sexuality,” Smith said.
She also explained the importance they would like to place on the history and the legacy of Black people at the university.
“There is lots of history that’s not very visible history and one of the things we want to work on, as well as working on providing support and safety and mentoring in the present moment,” Smith said. “We also want to really celebrate that history of diversity.”
Paige Fiske can be reached at [email protected].