As Black History Month (BHM) began on Feb. 1, students at Davidson College waited patiently to see how the institution would acknowledge and honor the occasion. As the month passed, student organizations such as the Black Student Coalition (BSC) worked tirelessly to plan events and honor Black history, including a spirit week and a gala featuring student performances and visual artwork. However, the Davidson administration remained noticeably quiet. Instead, the school’s official platforms promoted initiatives such as Body Positivity Week and National Kindness Day—two causes with incredible merit, yet ones that left many students on campus questioning where BHM fit into the institution’s priorities.
Looking through Davidson’s official social media platforms, the month of February has been filled with videos promoting random acts of kindness, a caption contest for the Davidson Journal and even photos from the first snow of the year. However, the College lacked initiative in recognizing BHM on social media. For instance, their first post of February spotlights the Katherine and Tom Belk Visual Arts Center across Main Street.
For many Davidson students, the silence at the institutional level has been quite loud.
“Everyone needs to have an open discussion about Black History Month, not just us,” Sophie Landers ‘26 said.
Despite the administration’s stated commitment to promoting Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in the College’s Statement of Purpose, many students and faculty members feel that BHM was not given the same institutional support as other campus initiatives. The lack of acknowledgment from Davidson’s official platforms raised concerns about how cultural heritage months are recognized and promoted, specifically on a broader scale.
“Obviously we make up a small demographic of the school, but I think the administration could do more to uplift us,” Vice President of the Pi Mu Chapter of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity CJ Jenkins ‘26 stated.
While the administration has taken steps to address its historical ties to slavery, students argue that ongoing programming and communication about Black history remain limited.
James B. Duke Professor of Africana Studies Dr. Hilary Green emphasized the need for institutional engagement, citing the upcoming installation of “With These Hands,” a memorial recognizing the enslaved laborers who built Davidson, as an example.
“If students weren’t in my class, they would not know [about the memorial] […] some of these events, including cultural heritage events, get lost […] which affects why some students know and others don’t,” Green said.
The College unveiled its plans to commission the memorial two years ago, along with other DEI efforts, in an email titled “Our Commitment to Education and Reconciliation” in November of 2023. Although the monument is set to be installed on campus this summer, followed by an official dedication ceremony in October, information remains concealed to the broader Davidson community.
Instead, Green has spearheaded a number of Davidson’s initiatives to redress the College’s history with slavery herself. According to Green, the campus community “shouldn’t have to rely on individual departments or organizations to do all the promotion.”
When asked about the administration’s role in promoting BHM, Dr. Chloe Poston, the College’s vice president for DEI, acknowledged concerns about communication gaps but pointed to already-existing institutional efforts. “Leveraging WildcatSync and the CSDI [Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion] newsletter creates opportunities for broader dissemination of information regarding events,” she stated.
However, students have noted that while campus-wide tools such as WildcatSync and newsletters are useful in raising awareness about events, they still do not reach the wider campus community in the same manner as Davidson’s official media platforms and email communications.
In reference to promoting BHM events, Mikayla Bowens ‘27—currently serving as BSC Publicity Chair and working in the Davidson Communications Office—remarked on her efforts throughout the month. “I make a post and sometimes it feels like, ‘Now what?’ There’s no one else helping us try to push out these events.”
Moving forward, students and faculty are calling for more intentional engagement from the administration. Suggestions include dedicated social media campaigns, greater funding for cultural events and direct administrative involvement in programming. Communication Studies Professor Issac Bailey ‘95 noted that issues such as these are “progress, not perfection” while recalling a time where he himself tried to start the first Black fraternity on Davidson’s campus. “We were trying to start it yet in terms of our really, really small numbers it was really, really hard to get it even started […] but now so many Alpha Kappa Alphas pledged. It’s just crazy, the culture is changing,” Bailey said.
While the College has taken steps toward recognizing its historical ties to slavery, students argue that true institutional support for Black History Month—and other cultural heritage celebrations—requires active participation, not just acknowledgment. “Davidson is an institution that prides itself on its efforts to promote diversity, but I don’t see anything on campus that highlights that commitment,” Landers said.
