DEI at Manhattanville
BAM!
INTRODUCING "BLACK AT MANHATTANVILLE ALUMNI" It’s been more than a decade since alumnae Danielle Summons ’11 and Erica Green ’11 graduated from Manhattanville, but as of since 2020, these close friends have begun forging deeper connections to their alma mater than ever before, as co-creators of BAM Alumni, the Black at Manhattanville Alumni group. The idea for the group came about in the summer of 2020 amid the global outcry protesting the murder of George Floyd. Summons issued a call to action with a letter and petition on behalf of Black students and alumni, detailing their concerns about equity on campus and demanding change. Among their list of items, they called for the creation of a Black alumni mentorship organization. According to Summons and Green, the murders and uprising of protest movements in 2020 not only
compelled them to speak up about racial injustice but also connected the alumnae to their own traumatic encounter with law enforcement, which occurred during their junior year. “We’ve carried [that experience] with us for a very long time,” said Green. While neither of the young women felt the emotional or physical stamina to speak out at the time, Green said “now, it’s a brandnew day.” Summons and Green began to talk over the phone about what they could do to make a difference in the lives of Black Manhattanville students. “We really wanted to ask ourselves ‘How can we uplift and promote the equity of Black students?’” said Summons. “We want to make sure that we create a space for Manhattanville students to feel safe, to feel seen, and to feel supported,” said Green. They pitched their ideas to the Alumni Board at the June 2020 meeting,
Putting the “act” in activism: Danielle Summons ’11 (left) and Erica Green ’11 (right) worked to make change happen. Today, they are co-chairs of the BAM alumni group working to create supportive and sustainable connections between Black students and alumni.
to unanimous support. By the beginning of the Fall 2020 semester, the Alumni Board established a task force with Summons and Green to create BAM Alumni.
group’s intent: “to foster, maintain, and support a mutually beneficial relationship between Black alumni and the College.” To that end, the women and the task force have been busy reaching out to Black alumni to further cultivate the BAM Alumni association, establish a mentorship program, and to appoint a BAM Alumni executive board.
“NOT EVERYTHING THAT IS FACED CAN BE CHANGED, BUT NOTHING CAN BE CHANGED UNTIL IT IS FACED. ”
Polly Schmitz, director of Alumni Relations, noted that it was paramount to everyone involved that BAM Alumni would be a permanent “standing committee” of the Alumni Board, meaning that “even when all the current players are gone, BAM Alumni will remain.” Setting up a blueprint for the future, Summons and Green established three pillars of BAM—Purpose, Connection, and Community—as well as a mission statement laying out the
– James Baldwin
If you are interested in getting involved with BAM as an advocate or ally, please contact alumni@mville.edu.