April 9–10, 2002
Brown-outs held in response to racist incidents in Gillett House
Students organized two brown-outs to address a long-standing racial conflict in Gillett House. The brown-outs were gatherings designed to show the student of color presence on Smith’s campus and their solidarity. According to the email announcement for the brown-outs, a student of color in Gillett House had been physically assaulted by a housemate in early December of 2001. Although that incident had been brought to the Judicial Board, both students still lived in Gillett, leaving the issue unresolved. Additionally, a call made to Public Safety with false insinuations about the student of color had exacerbated the situation. Both the April 9th and the April 10th brown-out were held at 5:30 p.m. in Gillett House.
The email announcement for the brown-outs can be found here (1, 2).
Note: Names have been redacted to protect students’ privacy. Non-redacted versions can be found in the College Archives.
[Last updated on June 26, 2019]