In a year when Americans decided they were ready to shatter the biggest racial barrier broken in the history of the U.S., students and staff members with minority advocacy groups at CSU are saying the same thing: There's still a long way to go on the road to racial equality.
Mike Dinwiddie, the public relations director for the board of United Men of Color, said last week that, while Barack Obama was elected President of the United States last year, much still must be done to bring an equal voice to the small black community here.
Dinwiddie cited efforts by the black student population this month to bring light to racial issues through displays in the Lory Student Center about black history –– initiatives he said saw thin support from the non-black community at CSU.
The lack of support exemplifies what student leaders said is an undertone of racism that is swept under the rug by a façade of activism.
Marlon Blake, an active student leader in CSU's black community, said, "Racism is everywhere. In the '60s and before, it was blunt. Now it's being channeled into more low key ways."
"You don't see it because people don't want to see it," he added. "(But) racism is everywhere –– even in lovely Fort Collins. Racism in Fort Collins comes in many forms and fashions."
Dinwiddie agrees.
"People who say racism is dead need to open their eyes," he said. "In reality, racism is alive and well."
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