So much, for so many (pt. 2)

"Every race has a soul, and the soul of that race finds expression in its institutions, and to kill those institutions is to kill the soul...No people can profit or be helped under the institutions which are not the outcome of their own character." Edward Blyden 1903

- Khabyr Hadas

Just recently, the National Park Service removed an image and quote from our Beloved Saint Harriet Tubman. The national webpage about the Underground Railroad now leads with commemorative postal stamps of Black and white civil rights advocates, which includes the phrase “Black/White cooperation.”

The American campaign to eliminate or erase DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) efforts is in full operation around the country. To remove Saint Harriet’s image and quotes from any publication or public display about the Underground Railroad is cruel and a slap in the face to all Black people.

The sudden racist removal of Harriet Tubman’s likeness and words of encouragement highlight the importance and relevance of an institution like Cheyney University. These blatant, anti-DEI and anti-affirmative action maneuvers intensify the need for a serious commitment to learn more about Cheyney University and other HBCUs.

Today, Cheyney University sits on a land base that was once used as a station on the Underground Railroad. Cheyney University served as a safe haven to hide, protect, and help our enslaved ancestors who escaped from the blood-dripping grip of slave masters and the sting of their whips.

The campus building known as Glen Burnie was a station on the Underground Railroad. The historical building still stands today.