Berkeley

Reflections on #BlackLivesMatter, from Ferguson to UC Berkeley

Published

12 years ago

February 17, 2015

By Cathy Cockrell, UC Berkeley News

As #BlackLivesMatter protests erupted and spread across the country late last year — everywhere from Ferguson, Missouri, to Sproul Plaza — African American scholars at Berkeley asked themselves how they might contribute to the national conversation and support campus activists. Their answer, in part, is Insurgency: The Black Matter(s) Issue, a collection of short-form works recently published online, with a print version to follow soon.

In the publication, a special edition of the Department of African American Studies periodical The Diaspora, campus scholars share their reflections — personal, poetic, analytical and historical by turns — “to help people think in different ways and more deeply about recent events,” says department chair Na’ilah Suad Nasir, who co-edited the issue with Ph.D. candidate Ianna Owen.

“The ‘ask’ was really open and porous,” Owen says of the call for short-form pieces on #BlackLivesMatter, which went out to graduate students and faculty on Dec. 13, in the midst of finals. By the deadline, a week later, many submissions had poured in; on Dec. 23 the issue launched online. “It’s exciting to see what people are capable of in the 11th hour,” says Owen.

“We were harnessing enthusiasm people had to be part of this,” adds Suad Nasir.

In style and focus, responses ran the gamut. In “Ferguson Will Not Let Me Rest,” grad student Ameer Loggins reports on how the Twitterverse — which did not exist, for example, in 1992 when Rodney King’s beating by LA. police was caught on videotape — responded to events in Ferguson in 2014. Suad Nasir, a scholar of education, connects police killings of African Americans with “the way our educational system dampens the spirits and potential of Black kids…”

Owen critiques the often-heard retort that “all lives matter” — a “deceptive little revision” she writes, “…that beams with the false polish of inclusion.” Historian Ula Taylor traces the roots of #BlackLivesMatter to civil rights leader Ella Baker, who advocated for collective leadership and empowerment of the poor.

Several think out loud about protest actions on the Berkeley campus: black students’ Dec. 4 rally and occupation of The Golden Bear Café (in essays by graduate students Jarvis Givens and Charisse Burden), and a controversial art installation at Sather Gate that referenced the history of lynching (in associate professor Leigh Raiford’s “On Effigies and Elegies“).

“While talking about very specific local events,” says Owen, these “help us think about this broader #BlackLivesMatter movement.”

A number of the issue’s 20 essays offer historical context – harkening back to “400 years of insurgency in the kitchens, the prisons, the battlefields, the illegal spelling lessons” for black slaves, as the co-editors write in their introduction.

Professor emeritus Robert Allen shares memories of the murder, in Mississippi, of black teen Emmett Till in August 1955. Seeing grisly photos of Till’s unrecognizable body “marked the end of my innocence,” and served as “a wake-up call for black America,” he writes.

Doctoral student Essence Harden and collaborator Jihaari Terry contribute a large art piece, which superimposes, on words from James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, the names of 50 individuals murdered by white vigilantes or police officers in recent years. Details from “In Memoriam” structure the layout of the online issue.

An expanded print edition of Insurgency: The Black Matter(s) Issue — to include pieces by undergraduates and additional faculty, along with the content of the online version — is due out later this month.

To request a free copy, email Ianna Owen (io@berkeley.edu).

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Girls of Color Face Harsher School Discipline Than White Peers

Don't Miss

OVO Offers “Eclectic Food with a Twist”

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Black Repertory Group Needs Volunteers to Help Shape the Next Generation of Artists and Leaders

Legendary performers such as Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover worked with and were inspired by BRG’s founders. More recently, Grammy award-winning artist Kehlani attended the Black Repertory Group Summer Day Camp for several years.

Published

3 months ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

Courtesy image.

By Sean Vaughn Scott, Special to The Post

For more than 60 years, the Black Repertory Group (BRG) has changed lives through the arts.

Founded in 1964 by educators and visionaries Birel L. Vaughn and Nora Vaughn, BRG has become one of America’s oldest continuously operating Black theater institutions. For generations, it has preserved culture, developed talent, and provided opportunities for young people to discover their voices and their potential.

The results speak for themselves.

Long before international recognition, Kehlani performed on the BRG stage. During a summer day camp production of “Princess and da Frog,” she portrayed Ray, the lovable firefly whose light guided others through the darkness. Her journey is proof that today’s camper may become tomorrow’s artist, entrepreneur, educator, or leader.

Located at 3201 Adeline St. in Berkeley, BRG continues that mission through its Youth Summer Day Camp of the Arts.

BRG is currently accepting applications and maintains an open enrollment program. Students may enroll throughout the summer as space permits and immediately become part of the BRG family.

We are also proud to be a multicultural opportunity program, welcoming children and families from all backgrounds, cultures, and communities. Through theater, music, dance, public speaking, visual arts, technical theater, and leadership development, students gain confidence, discipline, creativity, and lifelong skills.

As our programs grow, so does our need for volunteers.

We are seeking community members to assist with youth mentoring, registration, costumes, set construction, painting, props, ushering, photography, social media, marketing, technical theater, and fundraising activities. Whether you volunteer for a few hours or throughout the season, your support directly impacts the lives of young people.

BRG also partners with churches, civic organizations, alumni associations, fraternities, sororities, and community groups through theater party fundraisers, group sales, and buy-out performances. These partnerships have helped organizations raise funds while supporting arts and cultural programming.

The theater also serves as the home of the Berkeley NAACP Chapter, which meets every second Saturday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m.

For more than six decades, the Black Repertory Group has remained committed to one belief: every child deserves an opportunity to shine.

The next great artist may already be among us.

The next Kehlani may already be walking through our doors.

We invite you to volunteer, enroll, participate, and become part of the legacy.

For more information please go to www.blackrepertorygroup.com, call (510) 652-2120, or email info@blackrepertorygroup.com

Sean Vaughn Scott is the director of the Black Repertory Group.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Bay Area

UC Berkeley Named Top Public University in the U.S. and No. 7 in the World by ‘U.S. News’

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014. “A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

Published

3 months ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Photo by Keegan Houser/UC Berkeley.

The 2026 Best Global Universities rankings evaluated 2,250 research institutions from more than 100 countries

By Lila Thulin

U.S. News & World Report has ranked UC Berkeley No. 7 in its 2026 list of the best global universities, which assesses more than 2,250 research institutions worldwide.

Berkeley also claimed the honor of top public university in the U.S.

Released on Monday, the list evaluates universities from more than 100 countries on 13 metrics such as global and research reputation (as reported by academics and peers) and number of highly cited scholarly papers.

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014.

“A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

The rankings also assess a university’s strength in various subject areas; these assessments are separate from U.S. News’ 2026 Best Graduate Programs rankings released in April.

This year, Berkeley was named in the top three nationally in seven subject areas – environment/ecology, ecology, water resources, physics, computer science, chemistry, and engineering – and in the top five for a total of 17 subjects. Subject rankings are based heavily on scholarly publications and citations as well as reputation.

In September, U.S. News also released its 2026 Best Colleges list, in which Berkeley was also named the No. 1 public institution among American universities.

That honor joins other accolades judging campus to be the best public university in the country, such as those from Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Arts and Culture

Farwest Region Deltas Celebrate Centennial With “September Breakfast” Honoring Vivian Osborne Marsh

The region was established in 1925 under the leadership of Vivian Osborne Marsh, who became its first Regional Director. Marsh was a pioneering scholar and civic leader, earning recognition as the first Black woman to receive both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in anthropology from UC Berkeley.

Published

1 year ago

September 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Farwest Regional Director, Kimberly Usher, Mayor Barbara Lee, US Representative Lateefah Simon, and Farwest Regional Representative, Radiya Ajibade. Photo courtesy of Farwest Regional Photographer Vicki P. Love.

By Antoinette Porter

Hundreds of members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and their guests gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union at the University of California, Berkeley, to mark the 100th anniversary of the sorority’s Farwest Region.

Marsh went on to serve as Delta Sigma Theta’s 7th National President, where she launched the sorority’s National Library Project to expand access to books in underserved Black communities in the South. During her presidency, the organization also became a prominent voice in the civil rights movement, lobbying Congress to pass anti-lynching legislation.

Bak in the Bay Area, Marsh devoted her career to advancing educational opportunities, mentoring young people, and strengthening community life. That commitment continues to shape the region, which supports initiatives in education, social justice, and economic development. Current projects include raising scholarship funds for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, voter education campaigns, and health and wellness programs.

A century after its founding, the Farwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta remains active across California and other western states, carrying forward Marsh’s vision of service and advocacy.