The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) sponsored a rally on
the steps of the Johns Hopkins University campus on November 5th in protest of a racial incident that occurred the weekend before Halloween. Reverend 'Doc' Cheatham, 7th President of the Baltimore City Branch of the NAACP, led the mass of students and advocates on hand, chanting slogans and waving yellow clappers. Christine Chapman, President of the Black Student Union (BSU), expressed her gratitude for their show of support.

The rally was in response to the incident on October 28th where the Sigma Chi Fraternity
sponsored a Halloween party called "Halloween in the Hood." The Facebook Web site invitation encouraged students to dress in "ghetto" stereotypes such as "macks", or "hustlas", or "hoochies". But the most blatant symbol of the affair was a skeleton of a pirate, which to many students looked like a black person hung from a noose.

Concerned over this incident, the university held an open forum on November 2nd, suspending
the fraternity pending a full investigation. Justin H. Park, who initiated the invitation, was expelled from the fraternity. The following Thursday, Hopkins announced there will be diversity training and other programs designed to combat racial insensitivity on campus. President William R. Brody made a commitment to hold another forum. In a letter he wrote, "I commit to you that attention to those issues will not fade when that forum has passed or when this unfortunate episode recedes from the front pages."

Cheatham pledged to form a chapter of the NAACP at Hopkins, and called on Hopkins to recruit
more black students and faculty. Chapman stated since 1968 the BSU at Hopkins has been
making these demands but, "we feel [response] hasn't come quickly enough." Verna Jones, a
Hopkins graduate and chairperson of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus echoed that
sentiment. "It sounds like today that nothing has changed."

Out of the current 413-faculty member body, there are only six black members who are tenured
and the current black student population is 5.3 percent, which many believe does not constitute much of a change for one of the most prestigious universities in the country, a university that was founded by a wealthy philanthropic Quaker who himself was an abolitionist.

Erich W. March, who graduated from Hopkins in 1974, spoke at the rally about the racism black students faced during his matriculation, and the need to continue the fight against it. "Racism is like a weed, and if you don't keep pulling it, it will ruin your garden."

There were several lively discussions after the rally. Scott Ladd, one of the few white students on hand, expressed his shock at the racial insensitivity remarks the NAACP made, asserting that the incident was simply a prank and that it was blown out of proportion. There were students of color who expressed concern over the potential backlash they would face. One student claimed there was already tension on campus. Although there were a number of students present, very few were willing to be interviewed out of fear of repercussions from the administration or from the student body.

Topacio Cruz of the Latino Student Union (LSU) spoke about the significance of the rally. "The significance [of the rally] is that the Baltimore community has given a lot of support to the students, and that this issue will affect the Hopkins Community." She also spoke about the protest the BSU and the LSU conducted the Monday after the weekend's incident, specifically Sigma Chi Fraternity's reaction. "They [Sigma Chi] wanted to brush it off and they were surprised that we would go that far to represent ourselves."

On November 9th, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
met with federal officials, community activists, state legislators, and students to discuss the fallout from the NAACP rally that took place on November 1st protesting the Sigma Phi Beta racial incident on October 28th. President Marvin "Doc" Cheatham called on all parties involved to act on the students' behalf to protect the students from further retaliation. He announced the NAACP would hold 'Rally Against Racism' at the JHU basketball game on Saturday November 18th at 5pm at University Parkway and Charles Street.

"We're sad to say that Johns Hopkins University has not been as actively involved in this process as we would like," Cheatham commented. "What they're basically doing, from our vantage point, is to squash the whole issue, let the media go away, and let the students know they'll deal with it in time. Well, that's why we're here again," Cheatham added, referring to a similar incident in 1993 where the NAACP met with university officials, with no results.

During the meeting it was revealed only three of the 27 fraternity members apologized to the
black students. President William Brody has not apologized. Additionally, the President
announced a list of policies to rectify the situation, yet there have been no target dates for which the policies will be implemented. "The university has not addressed this appropriately and we are going to force them to address this appropriately," Cheatham asserted.

State Senator Nathaniel McFadden of the 45th Legislative District was very candid. "I think it's in the best interest of Johns Hopkins to put this behind them as quickly as possible. There will be members of the Legislative Black Caucus who will be concerned about how students are treated at the university, especially African American students."

Tom Saunders, Supervisor of the Community Education Division within the Community
Relations Commission, the official anti-discrimination and human rights agency for Baltimore
City weighed in. "Depending upon the threat, it may be considered a hate crime. So those are things that can be addressed immediately."

Black Student Union (BSU) member Philip Roberts spoke about the campus climate. "There are
very clear instances of people being insensitive to the situation. We've heard derogatory remarks and then individuals run away. It's a difficult time. We want to see a change. And if we're just doing this right now to finish school and change for all the new students that are going to come in, then that's what we want to do."

Christina Chapman, President of the BSU has been under intense pressure. "People are sending
her emails that are slandering her character. It's just crazy. No one is allowed to basically judge what you feel is insensitive," Roberts asserted.

"Hopkins is not the only place where these issues are going on. Any predominantly white
institution that you go to, you're going to deal with these issues. But I feel that just because it is something that we have to deal with, we shouldn't have to be forced to deal with it on campus," Angela Alexander, a junior, remarked.

Even more disturbing are the minority students who side with the majority opinion. "A lot these [minority] students have issues within themselves. It's really sad to hear a lot of them talk. A lot of them that I've talked to that I know personally have denied their own history, their own heritage, their own culture. Maybe that's a question they don't really understand because they're feeling it doesn't affect them," Alexander explained.

At the Rally Against Racism, members of the local NAACP, local activists and students in front of JHU addressed their purpose. "We are here this evening to say there must be a change. We're supporting the students. We want these students to be taken seriously, and we want the administration to address their issues," stated Rodney Orange, Chairman of the Political Action Committee and past President of the NAACP.

Several students have defended the issue. "Just in recent publications in the [Baltimore] Sun, there are some students who think they have a right to be insensitive, under their free speech. Well, if they have any understanding of constitutional law, they can't walk into a theater and yell fire. There are some things that should not be said," Orange asserted.

Louis, a BSU Member, stated their demands. "Right now we're asking for continued support
from the community and we're asking for written statements from the administration and a
written timetable from the administration that's to benefit all groups not just African Americans, but to Hispanic groups, Gay and Lesbian groups, and other ethnic minorities on this campus."

Both the NAACP and the BSU demanded that not only the administration institute sensitivity
training for all faculty, staff and students, they create places for the various ethnic groups to thrive. "What you have on John Hopkins' campus is a fragmented student body because of the institution. There is not a space for Indian students, for Asian students, for African American students, for Hispanic students, for Gay and Lesbian groups. What you have is that all these groups scatter to different areas of Baltimore because there's not a space for them on campus, so that creates the climate that we are trying to address," voiced Louis.

Some students at the rally expressed their gratitude. "We're appreciative of the NAACP of all the organizations that we have here in the city out here supporting us giving us the continued support, letting us know that our voices are not going unheard," commented David, a JHU student.

However, some BSU members prefer to handle the matter themselves with the NAACP in a
support capacity. Others do not want their involvement at all, including other minority students who accuse the organization of grandstanding and troublemaking.

Betsy Oakes, a white social activist and teacher at Villa Julie College, weighed in. "This is supposedly one of the leading universities in the country. My daughter goes to a little college in Western Maryland, and [she] can major in black studies. I went to college in the 70's. We fought for black studies, we fought for women's studies, and we made that happen. Why in 2006 don't they have black studies major at Johns Hopkins University? That's just an outrage. When you don't have a black studies major, when you don't have diversity training, when you have very low numbers of minority students, when you have an administration that allows these things to go on, that makes white elitist students think that they can behave in any way that they want."

Note: An earlier, shorter version of this report appeared in The Baltimore Times, 11/10/06.