Center increasingly ‘committed to serving all OSU students’ — on campus and online
Flashback: It’s 1975.
The Black Cultural Center opens at Oregon State University thanks to years of student activism to combat discrimination and racism. That activism is fostered by Lonnie B. Harris, an Oregon State administrator whose goal is to increase the recruitment and retention of Black students at OSU.
Flash forward: It’s present day.
The Lonnie B. Harris Black Cultural Center is considered “the hub for Blackness at Oregon State University.” The center’s mission aligns with that of its namesake: to provide resources that Black students and students of the African diaspora need in order to succeed, feel supported and remain at Oregon State.
Most importantly, the LBHBCC gives students, faculty and staff an opportunity to “just be.”
“We are unapologetically Black,” said Terrance Harris, who served as the center’s director from 2016 to 2022. “What that means is we’re able to be ourselves without regard for others’ opinions and without having to put on faces in front of people.
“Being at a predominantly white institution as a Black person, there’s no reflection of you. So the BCC is a community where you can just be yourself, and we come together to learn about ourselves, to educate, to inspire and to have fun.”
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Stay in the know on all things related to Oregon State’s Black Cultural Center and learn how you can engage from a distance by following the center on Instagram.
The Black Cultural Center is also becoming increasingly accessible for students who learn online through Oregon State Ecampus. The center regularly hosts events that are streamed live online.
Expanding outreach to distance students is one of the many efforts that the BCC staff makes to help Black students feel supported. Here is more of what Terrance Harris said about the value the BCC brings to the Oregon State community; what needs to be done to dismantle systemic racism in higher education; and more.
The BCC’s mission statement directly mentions serving Oregon State’s online students. Why is it important to serve this growing population of students?
“We’re committed to serving all OSU students as best as we can. We have a platform to reach more broadly and serve people who are not able to physically be here. Because as an Ecampus student, you’re still an Oregon State student.
“We know there are other Black-identified students who are seeking community and want to be involved with us in whatever way they can. We’re working to be more inclusive in that regard and still learning how to modify what we do in a way that is supportive of everybody.”
How important is it to have the BCC serve a means of representation for Black students at a predominantly white institution?
“Representation matters when you’re a marginalized population of people, but it’s not the only thing that needs to happen. You have to recruit more Black faculty, staff and students, then do the work to retain those people. You have to have the services, knowledge and support systems in place to sustain those people.
“At OSU, we’ve been making some great strides, but we can still improve the depths of what the institution can really do to knock down systemic walls that were put in place long before we got here, but we’re still feeling the ramifications of those systems.”
What are the main benefits of engaging with the Black Cultural Center?
“I think it makes students overall more culturally aware and appreciative of not only Black culture but other cultures too. Black people have a linkage to every culture there is on the planet.
“A lot of people think they know so much, but there’s so many things that you don’t know about Black culture because it has been forbidden. The BCC offers an introduction to that knowledge and a lot more.”
How does the BCC help confront forms of systemic racism and oppression in order to create clearer pathways to student success?
“As a community, we talk a lot about resilience, but it’s not to brag about our resilience. We’ve had to be resilient due to the oppression that has come against us historically and that we’re still facing today. But resiliency is a key characteristic in order to understand our history and to knock down forms of oppression.
“That means speaking out, advocating, not being silent anymore and not allowing others to silence you. It also means supporting each other. It can be mentally exhausting to always have to speak out and explain. It’s important to let students know that it’s OK if you need to take a step back for your own mental health.”
How can Oregon State and society as a whole do a better job of celebrating the achievements of Black people beyond Black History Month?
“Black history is 365. We celebrate Black history every day because Black history is American history. We have continuous conversations about inventors, scholars, horticulturalists, politicians, pioneers, activists — all these and more, these people who we are as a culture and how we’ve had to overcome.
“People always want to look at the negative when it comes to Black culture. But it’s about changing the context of your language, how we say things, how we view Blackness and how anti-Blackness shows up in your daily lives. How do you dismantle that? You have to educate yourself each day.”
