To All Those Who’ve Come Before Us

by Lekan Aleshe-Shittu, Staff Writer

A few weeks ago, in my Senior Seminar in Africana Studies class, we read a document titled “A Social and Psychological Analysis of Black Students at Oberlin College, and Suggested Institutional Adjustments to Meet Their Needs.” It was written by Professor of Sociology and founder of the Africana Studies department, A.J McQueen in 1968 in response to the influx of Black students pouring into Oberlin in the late 60s. It is of course news to no one that Oberlin was the first predominantly white institution in the United States to admit Black people in 1835. What people may not know however, is that these Black people were often treated like absolute dogshit. McQueen’s 1968 document was a plea to the College to enact certain changes that would ensure the safety and success of a continuously denigrated and marginalized people, especially against the backdrop of coastal elites and upper-middle class cultural hegemony.

I found the document particularly interesting for two reasons: one, is because much of the issues he discusses are still prevalent in our contemporary context, and two, is because some of the solutions he proposes, are quite literally the building blocks to so much of what we see at Oberlin today regarding the inclusivity of Black students. It was in this very document that McQueen pitched the creation of what was then called the “Afro-American House,” and what we now know as the “Afrikan Heritage House” or “A-House.” It was also in this document that he argued for the “establishment of courses in relevant departments on selected topics of Negro life” or, in other words, the Africana Studies department.

It got me thinking about the numerous people who have made it possible for Black students to learn, grow, and thrive in what could otherwise be a hostile environment. Being Black on Oberlin’s campus, I’ve found, is often an exercise in vulnerability. I’m living in North this year which is in stark contrast to my time in A-House—where I lived for the first three years of my Oberlin career. I was telling my friend Aurora about how uncomfortable I feel wearing my bonnet around North, and how uncomfortable I feel running my flimsy plastic comb through my thick, coily hair in the communal bathrooms. I feel uncomfortable not because anyone in the building says or does anything to elicit such a feeling (I like to think that we live in a kind, thoughtful, non-racist community for the most part), but because I find that I am frequently preoccupied with ensuring that I do not present Blackness in certain manners. This is obviously a me issue, but it is also my first time living in a primarily white space so these are all new feelings. In A-House, I did not care about my bonnet, I did not care about how I looked combing my hair, and I did not care about my presentation of Blackness because everyone else was Black too.

I rather enjoy living in North (it’s pretty nice, actually!), but I think my time there has elucidated what McQueen meant when he argued for the creation of the Afrikan Heritage House, or the Africana Studies department, or the “institution of certain programs in order to enhance the recognition and appreciation of Black contributions and culture.” It is important to have spaces where one isn’t constantly thinking about the ways in which they differ, and it is important to have spaces where these differences, when they do have to be actively thought about, are heralded and celebrated. I am deeply grateful to the many Black and African peoples who have spent their time and intellect ensuring that I and other Black students have an Oberlin experience imbued with kindness, humanity, and a deep-rooted feeling of belonging. I do not know what Oberlin would look like without the work of Professor A.J McQueen, or Professors Frank J. Satterwhite and William Davis who pioneered the “African-American Community and Student Development Program” in 1971. I do not know what it would look like without the work of Mozambican revolutionary Eduardo Mondlane (who I have spoken about constantly and consistently), or Professor Darko Opoku (who I have the privilege of calling my advisor). To the beautiful Black people who’ve come before us, thank you. Your work does not go unnoticed.