01/16/2018
As we observe and celebrate this Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we would like to share these words from Dr. King. While we celebrate the unity of Black students on campus, we recognize the pivotal role that allies play in these turbulent times. We seek provide a safe space for our Black students to discuss their own experiences and organize, we also seek to educate those allies who are willing to listen, and from there we can work together to mobilize. The role of the ally is not one that is complacent or passive, but one that is active; one that is outraged. We ask that those who consider themselves allies continue to listen to those who are personally affected by racial injustice and oppression and uplift those voices and those stories; not speak over them, not mince words, not discount their experiences. As you will read below, “Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering that outright rejection”.
"First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."
— Letter From a Birmingham Jail, 1963
Yours in power ✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿,
The Boston Conservatory Black Student Alliance
Garri Paul
Jazz Bynum
Laila Franklin
