In the midst of the June protests for Black Lives Matter, a website emerged called saicsolidarity.org. The two letters posted there — one by students, and one by faculty & staff — demanded “that leadership at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago address how the institution is failing to prioritize equity, diversity, and the public good by perpetuating observed institutional racism and unethical organizational practices.” Below, members of the SAIC community were invited to sign. The letters and website spread quickly — at the time of publication, the website has 718 signatures.  

“This is not just an admissions issue, this is not just an SAIC issue, this is an issue of institutionalization and indoctrination of Black and POC students.”

On June 29 the two letters — one one on behalf of students, and one for faculty and staff — were published on saicsolidarity.org. The organization demanded “that leadership at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago address how the institution is failing to prioritize equity, diversity, and the public good by perpetuating observed institutional racism and unethical organizational practices.” Below, members of the SAIC community were invited to sign. The letters and website spread quickly — as of July, the website has 718 signatures.  

A week later, a letter from Black faculty and staff was added, also published on Sixty Inches from Center.

“Try to remember what side you want to be on
when this is all over.”

As part of a new series of interviews co-sponsored by Freeradio and F News, we sat down with two of the student organizers in the group, Nadia Frierson (BFA 2020, Fiber and Materials Studies), and Nicholas Zepeda (BFA 2021, Painting and Drawing). We discussed some of their goals, such as establishing better student body-faculty-administration communication, and adding units on segregation and Chicago art history to the core curriculum. We also discussed how they got started, what complaints they received in their survey, including racism in the Fashion and Art History departments, and the highs and lows of their Zoom meetings. 

Listen to the interview on Soundcloud above. For a transcript, click here.