"During the 1978–79 academic year a coalition came together to actively deal with racial tensions at UMass that for too long continued unanswered. On February 8, 1979, a press conference was held to announce formally the Campaign to Combat Racism. It came about by a committed multiracial coalition of students with diverse backgrounds. Composed of both students and staff workers in various areas, they made a call and a challenge to all to join in a campaign against racism.
Endorsements came from the Student Senate as well as individual faculty and students. They supported a major effort because they recognized the deep need for one. The school year ended with numerous incidents that involved violence, property damage, and death. The campaign utilized the press, posters, forums, and petitions to heighten awareness of this pervasive and destructive problem. It called for, as a start, the renaming of the library and the Fine Arts Center after W.E.B. Dubois and Edward "the Duke" Ellington, respectively—two African Americans who, in their lifetimes, made great contributions to American civilization but gained little recognition for their achievements. Committee members presented a curriculum change proposal called the Human Awareness Core, designed to institutionalize antiracism as a necessary academic priority. The committee believes that the combatting of racism should be an integral part of our education.
The efforts during the 1978–79 year were only the beginning of a process aimed at affecting the quality of life on campus and at home. It must be recognized that racism is rampant in our society, that solutions cannot be diluted by compromise, and that a long and dedicated campaign must be waged.
Racism is not a social ill of the past; it is part of an uninterrupted litany of despair that America continues to reserve for those not born with white skin. Racism is not only an act of uneducated bigots, but is also perpetuated by and serves the interests of the highest incomes, government officials in the most crucial positions, and educators with the highest honors available.
The committee's dedication to this campaign is critical: "We cannot allow ourselves to leave school considering ourselves educated without recognizing the loss that this prevailing illness has caused. All of us must share the responsibility of eradicating this debasing social ill in order to secure for the future a just and humane way of life."
