Thread by @scorptini

After seeing all the post from #BlackburnTakeover, I have to contextualize the issues students have had at Howard because it is truly inhumane what undergraduates go through. This thread will go the history of civil disobedience and issues with the living conditions at Howard 1/

A group of student protesters have organized a sit-in at the Blackburn Center, to voice their concerns with administration to address housing issues, and the removal student, faculty & alumni representation on the Board of Trustees. 2/ #BlackburnTakeover

https://twitter.com/ReddIsAri/status/1448169404181712899?s=20

Howard is NOT new to student protest. In 1968, Howard University students seized the Admin Building and demanded that the school makes institutional changes, like teaching African American history, setting precedent to future protest 3/ #BlackburnTakeover zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/howa…

Over 1000 students protested by a sit in, in the then President, James Nabrit, office until their demands were at least addressed, if not met. This literally is why Howard now focuses on critical pedagogy and Black-centered education in general. 3/ #BlackburnTakeover

In 1989, Howard had another historic student protest. You can read about this in the book “We Are Worth Fighting For: A History of the Howard University Student Protest of 1989.” This protest was a 3 day occupation of the A-building. 4/ #BlackburnTakeover washingtonpost.com/archive/opinio…

This happened after the University appointed Republican strategist Lee Atwater (an advisor to Reagan 🤢) to the Board of Trustees. Students rightfully were upset & shut down campus because it was contradictory to have him anywhere near the institution, obvi 5/ #BlackburnTakeover

While there has been many request from students in between that time and today, in 2018 students AGAIN occupied the A Building, for 9 days with a list of 9 demands for admin to acknowledge. This was a group of 350 students over 9 days. 6/#BlackburnTakeover washingtonpost.com/news/grade-poi…

Some of the request included having adequate housing for all students under 21, transparency from the institution about money because of issues w/misappropriated financial aid funds and student representation on university decisions. 7/ #BlackburnTakeover

https://twitter.com/HUResist/status/981647726822744064?s=20

So for Howard to send an email to the student body stating that “there is a marked delineation between historic protests and what we witnessed yesterday,” is not only comical but it’s just incorrect. 8/ #BlackburnTakeover

Why are students protesting? Because they are living inhumane conditions that is NOT conducive to a healthy educational environment. Issue one: vermin. Howard has had a decades long issue with rats and roaches in the eating facilities and other buildings. 9/ #BlackburnTakeover

Issue two: mold. Howard also has had a documented issues with mold in the classrooms and dorms as well. In 2012, 19 students filed a lawsuit against Howard for having roaches, rats and mold. The issue remains today. 10/ #BlackburnTakeover hbcubuzz.com/2012/09/19-how…

Issue three: leaking dorms. It seems like every year a pipe burst at Howard and causes massive leaks and flooding in the dorm rooms. What happens when a dorm floods? Displacement of students and slow action from admin. 11/ #BlackburnTakeover

https://twitter.com/pyarkarda/status/1441100192925687816?s=20

In addition, there is not adequate housing for students to begin with, so pipe burst means MORE displacement. Inclement weather also causing piping issues, and has caused damages and sometimes suspending classes. 12/ #BlackburnTakeover nbcwashington.com/news/local/how…

Issue four: the removal of student, faculty and alumni representation on the Board of Trustees. The representation of students that was fought for, for DECADES, has been rescinded. Here is the full list of demands btw. 12/ #BlackburnTakeover

(I’m adding this issue) WE STILL DONT HAVE CONSISTENT WIFI OR ACCESS TO HOWARD LIBRARY SINCE THE HACK!!!! How are we supposed to do work, research, look up articles when you can’t even get access on campus to the library and the wifi is faulty like cmon!!! 13/ #BlackburnTakeover

For context:
• Howard just received its largest alumni donation in history ($5 mill)
• Our endowment is nearing $1 billion
• Our president earns the top annual salary in the greater DC area ($1 mill +)
• We exceeded our fundraising goal this year

14/ #BlackburnTakeover

So all this to say, @HowardU, meet the needs of your students!!!!
Please follow for updates: instagram.com/_thelivemoveme…
Donations: $thelivemovement

15/ #BlackburnTakeover