They say where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Rewind to Sep. 25, 1992, and you’ll find both at the Brickyard of NC State as some 200 students burned copies of the Technician in a rally for an alternative black newspaper. The protest came two days after inflammatory opinion pieces containing racial slurs, one of which suggested an impending race war, were written and published by white writers at Technician. Criticizing demands for an African-American Cultural Center at UNC Chapel Hill, blatant ignorance and racism bled through the pages of NC State’s predominately white newspaper responsible for reflecting the views of the collective student body. According to a Technician article responding to the alleged bias, protest leader Greg Washington wittily pointed out, “How are we going to have a race war when the army is black?” Washington continued, “We need a black paper on this campus that will give coverage to give a black perspective…This is not separationist. This paper will give us a voice.” Thus The Nubian Message was born with the release of its inaugural issue on November 30, 1992.
“To All My Nubian Brothers and Sisters, WHAT’S UP?” wrote the first Editor-in Chief, Tony Williamson, in a message that cemented the goal of Nubian “to represent the African-American community at NCSU totally, truthfully, and faithfully.” Henceforth, over the course of thirty years, The Nubian Message has blazed a trail for Black representation at NCSU uncensored by those simply unable to relate. In the year of its 32nd anniversary, Nubian’s impact has proven to be everlasting and expansive, offering a diverse range of content with inclusive coverage for all minority groups. Nubian continues to keep it real with NC State students from current news to hot takes and everything in between so whether you like it or not, you’ll know what’s up. No matter the subject, this publication has been a platform for marginalized students to express themselves authentically and truthfully, and continues to amplify voices that may otherwise go unheard.
While great progress has been made, the issues that sparked our birth a mere thirty years ago continue to run rampant in society and on campus, such as the lack of Black faculty members at NC State. According to the previously cited Technician article, Washington and other protestors also shared discontent with representation in faculty thirty years ago, “They lied to us five years ago about hiring more Black faculty and professors,” said Washington.
NCSU is a predominately white institution meaning a majority of its faculty are also white, however, I was not prepared to walk into classes such as African-American Cinema and find a white professor explaining “antiquated language” to my majority white class. According to an article by INDY, “Black faculty are most present in the lowest levels of academia (about 1 percent of assistant professors at NC State are Black) and least present at the highest levels (only 0.4 percent are full professors).” Furthermore, Black and minority educators have been resigning from NCSU at alarming levels with at least ten Black professors leaving just this year. Representation for minority faculty, who often do not receive tenure at the same rate as their white counterparts, is unsurprisingly on the decline at NCSU making it clear that the issues of the past have persisted into the present.
The lack of minority faculty means it is important to celebrate those that not only teach, but often carry the incredible burden of representing minority students. Let’s go back in time once more to Augustus M. Witherspoon who was the second Black student to earn his Ph.D. at NC State and then returned to become the first Black professor in NCSU’s history in 1971. While producing groundbreaking research in his field, Dr. Witherspoon also helped found the Eta Omicron Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first Black Greek Letter Organization on NC State’s campus, and spearheaded efforts to break down racial barriers at NCSU. In 1994, the Student Center was renamed in his honor and the “Witherspoon” building is now a beacon of community for Black and POC students. Home to The Nubian Message and the African American Cultural Center, freshmen can get embarrassed by upperclassmen in a game of Spades at the AACC, and then vent about it in an article for Nubian.
Some may wonder if Nubian is still a necessary publication and to those readers I pose this question: is it not only natural to seek representation for the communities you align with? Whether it be religion, gender, sexuality, or even robotics club, we all have facets of our identity we wish to see represented not only on campus but in society as a whole. When our sense of belonging is stifled especially by discrimination, change is not only necessary but inevitable.
NC State has made admirable progress in diversifying the university, however, every year the graphics for incoming freshman classes read the same in touting and possibly overrepresenting the true amount of BIPOC students at NC State. The university has a clear interest in pushing diversity rates, yet has failed to publish its diversity data for the 2024-2025 school year.
Thirty years ago and long before, revolutionaries had to demand the change we see today. The Nubian Message quite literally emerged from the flames of oppression as over 200 students stood their ground on the Brickyard and fought for equal representation at State. Their efforts were not in vain and never will be as Nubian continues to represent Black and minority students totally, truthfully, and faithfully.
