Dear President Rabinowitz,
As I sit here and type this letter, I'm sure you are at home safe and sound. I'm sure you see what is happening around the country in response to the long history of systematic racism and oppression black people have faced since this country was founded. As everyone in America knows, this situation does not affect white people the way it affects black people. Those same black people attend your school. The same black people pay Hofstra's tuition, play on the basketball team and work at the university.
As an able-bodied white man, you will never experience the pain and anger those same black people feel because of what is going on. As a recent alumnus of Hofstra University, I am disappointed by the university and what it has shown students it stands for. Last year, you hired a chief diversity and inclusion officer. But ask yourself, is it diversity that are you trying to achieve? Is it inclusion that you are trying to achieve? In my eyes, no, it is not. You have one of the most important jobs right now as a president to admit the university’s fault in how it has failed its black students and faculty members. In your statement, you said that racism and prejudice exist in America. But please don’t be blind to the fact that Hofstra has aided in discriminating and oppressing the black population on campus.
You had every opportunity to put out a statement and take action on what has been going on around the country and your campus long before George Floyd's death. What actions will the university take to make the black students feel safe, heard, valued, celebrated and included on your campus? It's deeper than having an IEI office. It's deeper than admitting black students into your privileged university.
You mentioned in the next few weeks that you will continue to amplify the voices of students and faculty, alumni and community members, and to learn from and about each other. This is not about hearing from everyone. The majority of people who take up space at Hofstra and the surrounding community have had their voices heard for far too long, to the point where it drowns out the minority voices that are never heard. This is not affecting people of color: It’s affecting black people. Not once did you mention that black lives matter and that you stand with your black students and faculty. Being on your campus made me feel like my existence as a black person did not matter. Can you imagine how it may feel for someone to feel this way in the same place that promotes diversity and inclusion?
I sat in class at Hofstra for the past two years, and I never felt included or that I could be myself while I was there. I sat in class and watched white students get special treatment. I had to work 10 times harder than some of my white counterparts at Hofstra. I sat in class and felt like I was not good enough because of the culture that Hofstra promotes. I worked on campus and I felt my skin color made me get treated differently than my white co-workers. I sat in my room with my black roommates and talked about how every day we felt discriminated against because of the color of our skin. Every time something happens in the black community, Hofstra is silent on where they stand. Every time Black History Month comes, I wait for a post from University Relations. It never comes.
I graduated from the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication but have yet to hear from some professors who are communication leaders – the same professors you hire to teach students to be communication leaders and to control the narrative. When black people are killed at the hands of a white person, Hofstra is silent. When white students feel they are not being treated fairly or their voice is not heard, Hofstra jumps through hoops to accommodate their needs.
There are honestly no more words I can say to help you understand. This is a time when you can use your power and influence to amplify voices that America silences. It is time to make your university better for the students who are invisible to the school and to America. I don't expect you to have all the answers, but what the university has said and done so far is not one of them. Michelle Obama said, “If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's the power of using your voice.” President Rabinowitz, it is now time to use YOUR VOICE. It’s time to use your privilege and power and give a chance to the same people who have been asking you and the university to listen.
With anger, frustration and hope,
SaDiedrah Harris
SaDiedrah Harris is an alumna of Hostra University and graduated with a Master of Arts in public relations.
