Tatiana Whitlow
In their 3rd year at Western Oregon University majoring in Psychology with a double minor in Art and Sociology, Tatiana Whitlow, 20, has found themselves making decisions on what to wear in public and how to act to appear less threatening to those in the community. Whitlow, also the Membership Outreach Coordinator for BSU, is well-educated on the racist history of Oregon and believes that the lack of acknowledgment of Black voices in the community is a huge boundary that Monmouth needs to overcome.
Logan Jackson
Logan Jackson, student and President of BSU, highlights an issue that a few others addressed, the lack of Black representation within the community. Having been only one of three Black students on the track program during her first year at WOU, she’s experienced first-hand the biases that are constantly used against Black people in the community. Jackson expresses that the lack of Black participation within the BLM/M4J protest could be due to mental fatigue. Being Black and being expected to go out every day and fight for other people to treat you with respect and decency is exhausting.