AICAD Stands with HBCUs Against Violence and Intimidation

AICAD Board Chair and SAIC President Elissa Tenny Issues Statement with AICAD President Opposing Racist Threats on HBCU Campuses

Between January 31 and February 1, more than 20 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were subject to bomb scares. While these threats have not materialized into violence, many schools faced academic disruption and students, faculty, and staff at these institutions endured emotional hardship. As Spelman College President Mary Schmidt Campbell succinctly and directly put it, “These threats are despicable.”

On February 3, The Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), of which the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a member institution and where SAIC President Elissa Tenny serves as board chair, issued a statement of solidarity to express support for the HBCU community. 

In the statement, the AICAD organization acknowledges that structural, systemic, historical, and intersecting forms of oppression require ongoing attention and action. The statement goes on to implore individuals to “oppose racist threats and protect opportunities for students, particularly those from historically underrepresented groups, to thrive. It’s the right thing to do for today as well as tomorrow. As laboratories of creative expression and the built environment, arts and design schools know that a plurality of voices, variety of experiences, and full range of humanity makes for a richer culture, bolder ideas, and a better world.” 

To read the full letter, go here.

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