There is a new movement springing up on college campuses called Black Minds Matter, and its purpose is to prepare African-American youth to be leaders in the 21st century and beyond.
The Black Minds Matter movement has roots in the high-profile back to back deaths of Alton Sterling Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castillo in Falcon Heights, Minnesota in July of 2016.
A deluge of news stories saturated the media landscape after the stupid killing of both men.
According to the Commonwealth Times of Virginia Commonwealth University, students Brittney Maddox and Taneasha White sought help from their professors, after feeling noticeably tired and weary from watching the media coverage.
That’s when the students learned of a very real condition called “Racial Battle Fatigue” syndrome.
Please stop by the Office to get your tickets! This event will be held in The Commons Theater, not the Richmond Salons.
Posted by VCU Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) on Wednesday, April 26, 2017
“Racial Battle Fatigue” is a condition that was coined by a University of Utah ethnic studies professor named William Smith, in 2000.
The students delved into the Smith’s groundbreaking research titled “Challenging Racial Battle Fatigue,” which is a condition is brought on and students of color, who find it difficult to concentrate because of the lack of diverse city at PWI’s (Primarily White Institutions).
Professor Smith found discovered that the micro-aggressions that come along with being a minority were having an impact on student’s overall mental health.
“If I’m not taking an African-American studies class I’m still one of four black people in the class, sometimes the only one,” Taneasha White told the Commonwealth Times, pointing to one small example of the types of struggles African-Americans and people of color sees on campuses that are predominately white.
The students’ discovery of “Racial Battle Fatigue” compounded with the fact that most African-Americans do not take proper care of their mental health, prompted them to spring into action on VCU’s campus.
As a result, the Black Minds Matter movement was born, with the purpose of working with African-American students studying at PWI’s in the fields of art, education, and political activism.
BMM recently held a summit with the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, which featured rapper David Banner and roundtable discussions on race and how students of color can better cope better on campus at PWI’s.
