Since the first enslaved Africans arrived on the shores of Virginia, we have been shedding our blood in the pursuit of freedom. For 400 years, our ancestors and elders fought for our humanity, rights, and dignity. They fought for our freedom. Now it’s our turn. We have inherited this legacy of struggle, and it is our turn to pick up the torch on the long road to freedom. And as students of a Black University – a university built in stolen Native land and founded on the principals of the creating the “good, respectable Negro” – we have a special duty to use our privilege for the benefit of Black liberation. We are blessed to be among the few people to attend college. We have access to resources and opportunities that will never be afforded to many Black people. Because we have this privilege, we have a duty to utilize it for the collective good. It’s not about the individual; it’s about the community, the community being the entirety of the African diaspora. Above all else, we have a special duty to serve the community in the struggle for Black liberation. We should be on the front lines, fighting for our people. We have been afforded the privilege of attending college only through blood shed by our ancestors and elders, and therefore it is our responsibility to honor their sacrifice and struggle by doing all we can to create real change and serving the community that has supported us.
