April 17, 1988
Concerned Students of All Colors (CSAC) holds press conference, protest march
Concerned Students of All Colors (CSAC), a group of Smith College students who had organized to address racial issues on campus, called a press conference to share their grievances and demand change. Ginetta Berloso ‘90J and Wambui Mwangi ‘90 listed CSAC’s eighteen grievances to the assembled audience of local newspaper reporters, Smith community members, and parents. Some of their grievances included the lack of student voice in the affirmative action officer search process, the low number of people of color in faculty, staff, and administrator positions, and the absence of a racial harassment grievance procedure. Most importantly, they wanted to establish “a system of accountability…a binding contract” with administrators. Organizers emphasized that if their grievances were not redressed “immediately and effectively,” they would take further action. Part of CSAC’s further action would be to file a formal legal complaint with the Hampshire County District Attorney and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. The press conference was immediately followed by a protest march that started at Lilly Hall, home of the Ng’endo Mwangi Cultural Center. Protesters marched to President Dunn’s house, where they spoke with President Dunn herself for a short while, and looped back around to College Hall where they hung their banner and reiterated their demand for the College to implement a “policy which is consistent with civil rights legislation.”
The group’s grievances can be found here (1, 2, 3).
The full Sophian article on the press conference and protest march can be found here (1, 5).
[Last updated on October 21, 2018]