The following is a statement written by University of Colorado student government leader Mebraht Gebre-Michael in response to the hate-filled, threatening e-mail she received Tuesday morning. Gebre-Michael’s statement includes excerpts from the anonymous e-mail itself. DenverPost.com has edited the first paragraph to omit expletives and racial hate speech, but an effort has been made to preserve the tone.
HATE, Still Prevalent To Me.
“Why don’t you and all of your (RACIAL TAUNT, EXPLETIVE DELETED)friends disappear off our campus. You guys don’t belong and you look so (EXPLETIVE DELETED) ridiculous walking around school with your stupid hair and ugly (RACIAL TAUNT) skin. You will die if you run for student government again. I don’t make empty threats so spread this along your (EXPETIVE, RACIAL TAUNT) buds!”
This is a message I came across Tuesday morning that was sent to my WebMail Inbox. “Black Bitch” is the subject of the message. My first thought? This has to be a joke, right? Someone is trying to play a game with me, right? With further reading and analysis, I realized someone was not playing a game with me. My life has been threatened, and I do not stand alone. Listen to me please, MY LIFE HAS BEEN THREATENED. There are two other members of the small Black community here at CU that have received similar hate messages within the past year that I know of, me being the first Black female that has received such a hateful message, again, that I know of.
A Colorado email address sent this message to me, meaning someone on the CU Boulder campus could have logged on to any internet connection and sent me this message entitled “Black Bitch.” I am angry. I am hurt. I am sad. I am confused. Why was I pin-pointed? Why has it become okay to send hateful, hurtful messages to students threatening their lives?! The climate of our campus has become unbearable for me and most students of color. Diversity training is mandated for several departments of the university. Forums are held to focus on how the university can create a more inclusive campus environment. Who attends these events? Students of Color and allies.
Students of color are born with diversity training and understand that this world is not a safe, welcoming place for us. So why is it that forums, committees and trainings are continuously held for the students that never attend? We don’t need training on how to be respectful towards individuals from different walks of life. How do you target the students that don’t care about diversity in its many forms? How do you make those students understand that messages threatening Black students and threatening an individual’s life also threatens their humanity? When has it ever been acceptable? Why is the word “nigger” used so loosely? What about the students who don’t understand the various definitions for the word diversity? When will they learn about respect? Will students of color and allies forever carry the burden of educating the broader community about respect? As Audrey Lorde says, “It is the responsibility of the oppressed to teach the oppressors their mistakes.”
“You guys don’t belong.” Is that the general sentiment for people on campus? Black people do not belong here? Please, someone enlighten me because I am asking honest questions that I would like to know answers to. Buck up and let your voice be heard, because I am prepared for what may come.
Black students on CU’s campus have never felt welcomed. Various organizations and departments continue to work together to create a more inclusive campus environment for not only Black students, but for all students. Whenever progress is made and students feel they are moving forward, detestable messages and actions, such as this, pushes all the hard work and efforts of the University community back several steps: NOT just persons of color, but ALL members of the Boulder community. I am a member of the Community United Against Hate and we have proposed a City Ordinance on Hate Crimes and Bias Motivated Incidents. If the City of Boulder had something like this in place, maybe there would be a process in tracking down individuals that commit these bias motivated crimes in which sanctions and repercussions can be a reality. I’m currently one of the Tri-Executives or Student Body Presidents of CU. Must I adhere to the threat “You will die if you run for student government again?” What if I decide to run again for a position within student government, do I constantly have to be paranoid? This is the life that students of color must live on a daily basis, on a predominantly white campus, within a predominantly white city. Am I safe?
Mebraht (Mo) Gebre-Michael,
UCSU tri-executive
The University of Colorado Student Union (UCSU) is the student government for the University of Colorado.
