Dear Siena Community,
Throughout February, the Siena Hall dome has glowed red, green and yellow in honor of Black History Month. The red symbolizes innocent blood shed. The green represents Africa’s natural resources, while yellow stands for optimism and equality. Those tri-colors brightly and boastfully project our allyship with Black History Month. Anyone, though, can flip a light switch. I’m happy for the symbol, but I’m more interested in the work we’re doing, as a community, underneath the dome.
A mural on the Siena Hall second floor wall, just outside my office, promotes our charge of Strengthening the Bonds of Racial Justice at Siena. I look at it each day, and I’m reminded that steady progress must be deliberate, and that to achieve momentum, we must hold ourselves accountable. For starters, we must show up and show support. In several ways this month, the Siena community has done exactly that.
Siena sponsored the Journey to Freedom Project, which recorded the personal stories of Capital Region community members who participated in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Their stories were shared at an event in the Sarazen Student Union on February 3 and drew hundreds of people from on and off campus. The College also hosted a Black and Latino Achievers Immersion Day on February 10 which was covered by Spectrum News.
Meanwhile, Siena’s Black Student Union has developed and executed many more outstanding programs in February. The weeks-long celebration culminates on Friday, March 1 with a fashion show of past and present trends inspired by Black culture. The event will take place in the MAC from 7-10 PM and HB Monte, who received national acclaim as a contestant on NBC’s America’s Got Talent, will perform. The night promises to be a celebration of cultural appreciation and creativity. I hope you are able to support the BSU and attend.
I’m pleased to announce that Dr. Stella Safo will be Siena’s 2024 speaker through the Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King Lecture Series on Race and Nonviolent Change. Dr. Safo is a Ghanaian-American, HIV primary care physician and public health practitioner. She speaks often about the systemic inequities rife within our healthcare system and has made it her life’s passion to advocate for equal access to quality healthcare. Dr. Safo will join us on Wednesday, March 13. More information to follow.
Also, in the coming weeks, the College will be honoring Siena’s first Black graduate, World War II veteran Albert Mattingly ’50. Mr. Mattingly served in the Marine Corp before attending Siena and completing his degree in chemistry. We will commemorate Mr. Mattingly’s service and his special place in Siena’s history with a plaque. Be on the lookout for an invitation to the unveiling ceremony.
The fourth color used to champion the observance of Black History Month is black. Because black is the absence of light, it’s missing from our light display in the dome, but its symbolism is important. Black, in this context, represents resilience. The pursuit for the inalienable right of equality – throughout American history – has always been met with resistance, but with unshakable resilience, the pursuit continues. This month, we can all stand with the Black members of our community, and together we can strengthen the bonds of racial justice at Siena.
Peace and all good,
Chuck