Black Student Unions Are Under Pressure – here’s What They Do And How They Help Black Students Find Community
Members of the Black Student Union at Johns Hopkins University pose for a portrait in Baltimore in 2004. JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado/Getty Images BY ANTAR A. TICHAVAKUNDA ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA Black student unions have been a vital part of many Black college students ’ lives for more than 60 years. But since 2024, Black student unions have lost their institutional support, campus space and funding with the rise of anti- diversity, equity and inclusion laws in Utah and Alabama . Black student unions now face a new wave of pressure, as more than 400 colleges and universities under the Trump administration have rebranded or eliminated programs and centers that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Amy Lieberman , education editor at The Conversation U.S., spoke with Antar A. Tichavakunda , a scholar of race and higher education, to better understand what Black student unions are and how they influence Black students’ experiences...
