What should St. Lawrence University’s responsibility be as allies against injustice? A question posed by members of the Black Laurentian Initiative this summer, amid the second wave of the Black Lives Matter Movement. “We truly believe that academia must be involved in addressing and finding solutions to our larger society’s problems,” wrote Hamidou Sylla’ 21 in an email to St. Lawrence students. “We urged St. Lawrence University to undertake the responsibility of being the candlelight that burns bright in dark times, illuminating the flames of hope, justice, equity, and reason for the rest of the world to follow,” he continued.

Following the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless others, members of BLI came together and drafted a host of action plans to address racial equity and justice on campus and beyond. On behalf of BLI, Sylla sent an action plan to the Board of Trustees calling for the University to invest in student-led research pertaining to racial injustices and inequalities. “To launch this initiative, the University will create an official BLI  Fund, the purpose of which will be to empower students and faculty to engage in research and propose projects around the issues of racial equity and justice,” the St. Lawrence administration wrote in response. 

$100,000 was initially allocated to the fund and will be utilized over a two year period. University Advancement is raising additional funds, from individual donors and foundations,  during this final year of The Campaign for Every Laurentian in order to support long-term BLI research and projects. “The Campaign for Every Laurentian is already aiming to build the BLI fund into an endowment,” said Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion Kimberly Flint-Hamilton.”  “It may take some time to do this, but we are all working toward this goal.” 

Flint-Hamilton further stated that projects aimed at addressing racial injustices and inequalities benefit students, their mentors, friends, and colleagues. She also commented on how infectious learning can be. “Courses will begin to incorporate new material and diverse perspectives,” according to Flint-Hamilton, “[and] this is an amazing opportunity to begin moving the needle on inclusion and equity in a tangible way.” 

The application for the Black Laurentian Initiative Fund for Racial Justice and Equity Project (RJEP) is due March 15 and consists of the following requirements: proposal essay, budget, positionality statement, a plan for presenting your results to the BLI and the SLU community as a whole during the Fall semester, and a letter of support from a faculty mentor. For more information regarding the BLI Grant, visit the St. Lawrence University website and attend the information session March 5 at 6:00 p.m. “I would like to thank Kimberly Flint Hamilton, Diamond McAllister 22’, Carol Smith, Dr. Ana Estevez, Dr. Melissane Schrems, Grant Currie, Dr. Mary Jane Smith, Marsha Sawyer, The Black Laurentian Initiative Executive Board and all of our wonderful members, for their contributions and helping put this program together. We look forward to receiving your grant proposals and embarking on this journey with you all,” wrote Sylla.

 In the age of Black Square and Hashtags, this is a practical way for students from all backgrounds to engage issues of race, equity, and justice. It is an opportunity to address the taboos of our society. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the educated to engage in these conversations from across disciplines — not just the social sciences, but the physical and mathematical sciences. Not only will the research conducted by students help address racial injustices and inequalities on our campus, it will also shape the ways in which students address larger social issues following our time at SLU. “By learning more about issues like racial equity and justice, our students have the potential to really make an impact on society, and even on the world,” stated Flint-Hamilton. “That’s part of the power of a degree from St. Lawrence and what it means.”