Princeton University’s black students conduct sit-in over racial discrimination

Why are black students across the country deciding that they want so-called justice now? It seems like the Black Lives Matter movement and the incidents at Mizzou have inspired these students to take action against racism on their respective campuses.

Princeton University students organized by the Black Justice League on campus protested at Nassau Hall Wednesday, rallying against the lack of visibility for students of color on campus and demanding that the administration make immediate changes.

The group eventually met with university President Christopher L. Eisgruber and then staged a sit-in at Nassau Hall, refusing to leave until their demands were met.

The organizers, from the Black Justice League on campus, say it’s been a long time coming and follow a series of student demonstrations over racial discrimination and a lack of diversity on college campuses across the country recently.

A letter from Black Justice League to Eisgruber called for the administration be accountable for improving “the social and academic experiences of its black students at Princeton.”

The letter also calls for three specific changes.

The league wants the university to acknowledge the “racist legacy of Woodrow Wilson and how he impacted campus policy and culture,” the letter stated, calling attention to the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

The group said Wilson, a Princeton and U.S. president, was widely known to support segregation. They called for the name of the school to be changed and his mural to be removed from a student dining hall.

The group also demanded cultural competency training for staff and faculty at the university and, in conjunction with that, mandatory classes for students on, “the history of marginalized peoples,” the letter said.

Finally, league members wrote, they want a marked cultural space on campus for black students.

Just light night, Towson University’s black students had a similar sit-in.