UNC Black Student Movement held a demonstration on Friday in support of Nikole Hannah-Jones, the acclaimed journalist who has not been given tenure by the UNC Board of Trustees.

Student leaders called for Hannah-Jones to immediately receive tenure and said they believe the Board of Trustees inaction is symbolic of a larger injustice to Black students, faculty and community members.

UNC Black Student Movement (BSM) and other demonstrators Friday demanded change and action from UNC administration.

Many, like BSM Treasurer Jorren Biggs, said the inaction on Nikole Hannah-Jones’ tenure was just the tip of the iceberg.

“I think Nikole Hannah-Jones’ tenure has brought to light the larger issue of Black students and faculty not receiving support on campus,” Biggs said. “I think it’s a little bit ironic that somebody whose work is grounded in exposing the history of race and slavery in this country is not granted a job at a school that was built by slavery.”

Biggs said the university consistently fails to reckon with its history. UNC Student Body President Lamar Richards, who was also at the demonstration, openly called for that reckoning in an open letter to campus leadership last week.

“This issue is about much more than tenure,” Richards said at the demonstration. “When I wrote my letter saying if you were considering coming here as an incoming student to reconsider, the Chancellor, others in South Building and colleagues on the Board said, ‘how dare you?’ and I asked them ‘how dare you?’. You sit me in front of donors and alumni and attempt to tokenize me, instead I turn it around on you and I tell you the truth.”

Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz held a meeting with BSM leaders last week to discuss the Nikole-Hannah Jones controversy and other issues surrounding Black student life at UNC. BSM leaders, including president Taliajah Vann, said that meeting alone was not enough.

“We take everything this administration says with multiple grains of salt,” Vann said. “You are not interested in action; you have not been interested in action for decades. If you invite us into your space and you tell us ‘I am here as your chancellor right now to listen to you and to help the Black community’, we challenge you to do just that.”

During their meeting with the chancellor, BSM leaders issued a list of 13 demands including a memorial to James Cates, better signage and acknowledgment of the Unsung Founders Memorial and improved retention of Black faculty and staff.

Vann also demanded the Board of Trustees to immediately grant tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones. She said the need for action is urgent because select members on the Board of Trustees are set to change on July 1.

“We demand that the board overturn their decision that they get together before the end of the month,” Vann said. “Before we start hearing the message from them, ‘Oh, we need to elect a new board so it’s going to take a few months.’ No, I urge you, I challenge you today. Taliajah Vann is challenging you today to schedule your next meeting.”

Inaction by the Board of Trustees has caused faculty of color to leave the university for other job opportunities. It has also angered many Black students who see this as a broader symbol of the university not caring for Black people. They said, however, the fight towards justice continues.

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