Harvard minorities inspire students of color around the world

theGRIO REPORT - The student group I, Too, Am Harvard at Harvard University, which celebrates diversity at one of the nation's top educational institutions, is inspiring other students from other universities around the world to form similar groups...

carrieheals

Mar 14, 2014

The student group I, Too, Am Harvard at Harvard University, which celebrates diversity at one of the nation’s top educational institutions, is inspiring other students from other universities around the world to form similar groups.

I, Too, Am Harvard is a play based on interviews with African-American students, exploring their experiences at Harvard College. The play was the inspiration behind the I, Too, Am Harvard photo campaign.

Throughout the photos on the campaign’s Tumblr, students hold dry erase boards with things written on them that they believe or that they have been asked or told by students of different races. This campaign provides students of color with the opportunity for their voices to be heard on campus.

Last year African-Americans accounted for 11.5 percent of admitted students to Harvard.

Since I, Too, Am Harvard went viral, students at England’s Oxford University have developed their own version, entitled: I, Too, Am Oxford.

The students of color from Oxford held up chalkboards with messages they’ve received from students of different races, similar to the Harvard campaign. The students note on their Tumblr, that while there is the greatest number of students of color studying at Oxford now than ever before, they still encounter situation on a daily basis that reaffirm their difference.

Click to check out more photos from these two groups — I, Too, Am Harvard Tumblr and I, Too, Am Oxford’s Tumblr.

Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals.