Hashtag BlackOnCampus Highlights Claims of College Racism Nationwide

Students shared experiences of feeling unsafe and alienated.

By
Avianne Tan
November 12, 2015, 1:26 PM ET
12 min read

— -- The claims of racism at the University of Missouri are not isolated incidents at that campus, according to over 105,000 tweets with the hashtag #BlackOnCampus.

Tweets of alleged racism in campuses nationwide reveal that many black students fear for their safety and believe they are racially profiled.

The #BlackOnCampus hashtag was created Wednesday afternoon by Mizzou's ConcernedStudent1950 organization, which says it's represented every black student at the university since 1950, when the first black student was admitted.

Thousands of black students and supporters across the country responded to ConcernedStudent1950's call, and the hashtag was one of the highest trending topics on Twitter by Wednesday afternoon. More than 11,100 posts tweeted the hashtag between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET.

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders also joined in the dialogue, saying in a tweet that he was "listening" to the #BlackOnCampus conversation and that it is "time to address structural racism on college campuses."

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Here are some of the most common issues black students said they face being #BlackOnCampus:

Not Feeling Safe

Lack of Diversity

Being Seen As Inferior

Dealing With Microaggressions*

*Microaggressions are the "everyday insults, indignities and demeaning messages sent to people of color by well-intentioned white people who are unaware of the hidden messages being sent to them," according to the American Psychological Association (APA).

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