“Because that convo showed that we need each other, the news everyday is too much. Is there a way we can come together… then again, the burden of supporting marginalized people is continually on our- but especially both of your backs, especially at EMU” Maya texted at 11:17am last Wednesday.
“What would it look like to hold space on Election Day? How can we control the narrative? Campus is polarized-yes. How can we lean into that tension?” I replied.
“Could we rent out Common Grounds?” Mariana asked.
In an email sent to affinity club leaders and advisors 24 hours later Mariana writes these words: “We discussed our frustrations with folks’ seemingly never ending tepid response to the effects of the upcoming election. ‘Safe spaces’ continue to be centered around calming the masses instead of tending to the needs of those directly impacted by the year’s election. I do want to recognize that there is a task force working on election safety, and I know BSA is organizing events for two support groups. However, regardless of how it may look, students sometimes still feel like we are the ones expected to organize and plan and execute these spaces on our own. We wish to organize an event in Common Grounds from 5-7pm on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this next week for students of colour and LGBTQIA+ folks”.
Then Friday night we hop on zoom, jot down some bullet points and dream.
1) A safe space designed by and for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ …
2) For folks who need time and space to just be
3) White Supremacy, Xenophobia, Ableism, Transphobia, Homophobia will not be tolerated.
4) Something to hold and visualize hope
5) This is not a space for centering white supremacy and heteronormative, ableist, etc. ideas.
We get access to Common Grounds for free (an offer made when the BSA Barbershop was made into the COVID testing center), and Maya and I donate our barista labor. Our costs for the multiple days go from hundreds to zero. We discuss how to get the word out, and decide against all campus emails to ensure safety and mitigate possible retaliation. We text our friends, send emails, add to our snap stories and utilize residence life communication structures. LSA offers to fund ½ off drinks. As we talk through all the necessary COVID precautions, Maya reminds us that we have to be extra careful because if COVID did break out it would be on all the Black and Brown kids. We curse about the unfair standards which we always are conscious of.
On Monday, we get to Common Grounds early. We hang up pride flags and protest signs. We tape rainbow stickers to the counter, and write “Safe Space for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals” on the door. “If you don’t identify with those groups please respect this space and don’t come in,” we add. We blast Beyonce, Megan, and Marvin. And the people come.
They come on Monday, they come on Tuesday and again on Wednesday. The BSA event gets moved to Common Grounds and they come again on Thursday. We color, we cry, we dance and it is holy. Because for two hours each day, in a nation bent on destroying us, there is nothing but love, resistance, coffee and laughter. We tape our artwork to the walls, claiming space and demanding recognition.
Those hours in Common Grounds, they saved me that week. As I watched people I know and loved vote for a future that doesn’t include me, I found myself surrounded by beauty and hope. I poured my heartbreak and rage into lattes and was met with affirmation of my dignity and worth.
As I sat in Common Grounds I wondered if our nation, our EMU community, will ever find common ground. I hope to God that we will. However, what I know for sure is that justice and accountability must come before calls for reconciliation and unity. Those hours in Common Grounds prioritized us, and until this nation and this world does, there will not be peace.