Featured Photo by Kailee Shores
Story by Reggie Johnson
On Friday, February 4, Middle Tennessee State University sophomore Kristin Blake, a journalism advertising major, was heading home to Cummings Hall after meeting with an administrator. Upon arrival, she noticed a vulgar slur on a whiteboard shared by her and her roommate.
“My roommate and I have a whiteboard on our door, and we usually draw pictures or polls on the board. And I noticed that there was a racial slur on the door. I immediately told my roommate. After all, no one goes, ‘Yeah, that was someone committing a hate crime against us,’ but of course, she didn’t know anything about it, and neither did any of our friends.” Kristin shared.
Blake was born and raised in Memphis, TN. Growing up, she went to schools in “all black spaces,” she said. “This is my first time at a predominantly white institution. I kind of prepared myself for the possibility of something like this happening because I knew that I would be the minority here, as opposed to being the majority.”
President Sidney McPhee said in a statement from the university, “This is a reprehensible act at any time, but it is especially despicable as our campus celebrates Black History Month. This behavior undermines our values and ideals as a university community and has no place on our campus.”
Blake expressed that her parents and relatives “were very upset.” Her uncles called to ensure she was okay. She said, “My roommate and I do feel safe. The main reason why we feel so safe is that they wrote it on a whiteboard. And to us, that was like saying things behind a computer screen. So, you’re bold enough to say it when no one else is looking, and it can’t be traced back to you, but when it’s time to face the consequences of what you say, you’re not ready to face that.”
Reggie Johnson Jr. is a lifestyles and concert photographer for MTSU Sidelines.
To contact News Editor Kailee Shores and Assistant News Editor Alyssa Williams, email newseditor@mtsusidelines.com.
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