“From Strength to Strength: Resiliency of the Global Majority Student Groups at LMU”

Who are the ‘Global Majority’?

“People of the Global Majority (PoGM) refers to Black people, Indigenous people, Brown people, Latinx peoples—particularly Indigenous and Afro-Latinos —Pacific Islanders, Native Hawaiians, the Inuit communities/Alaska Natives, Native Americans, Arabs, Western Asians/Middle Easterners with dark skin, North Africans, Southeast Asians, South Asians, East Asians, Africans with dark skin, and biracial and multiracial people who are mixed with one or more of the above, and people and groups who can’t access white privilege” (Hawthorne, 2023). The term is not perfect, but what “People of the Global Majority” does is challenges terminologies embedded in white supremacy culture such as “minorities.” Given that PoGM comprises approximately 85% of the global population, the term decenters whiteness and the United States (Hawthorne, 2023).

Utilizing the collections from the Inclusive History and Images Project (IHIP), the William H. Hannon Library’s Archives and Special Collections, this digital exhibition is an exploration of university life between 1968-1982, a time marked by cultural upheaval, social change, and the pursuit of equality. Against the backdrop of historic events such as the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Liberation Movement, the Gay Liberation Movement, the Vietnam War protests, inflation and budgetary cuts to education, and conflicts in the Middle East, the university was a center of dissent, dialogue, and determination. We delve into the experiences of student groups, the global majority at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) - specifically the Black student community and the Chicano/a/Mexican American student community - whose voices and struggles shaped the fabric of the university.

This was a period when activism intersected with academia, and where the global majority fought for recognition, representation, and rights. It was also a period when Loyola University and Marymount College merged, and Loyola Marymount University became co-educational. This period posed profound questions and demands for inclusivity, equity, and social justice, challenging administrators to reassess institutional policies and practices through a lens of diversity and empowerment. It also posed ongoing questions for student groups and their respective, collective identities, as they evolved and adapt to changes. The period forced LMU to ask the question “Who are we as a Jesuit university going forward?” and “Who are we as Catholics, in the increasingly diverse metropolitan that is Los Angeles?” In this exhibition, through archival documents, photographs, and oral histories, we invite you to explore the triumphs and tribulations from the experiences of the global majority student groups and from the university administration. From the establishment of diversity initiatives and affirmative action programs to the creation of multicultural centers and support student services, the exhibition sheds light on the efforts undertaken to foster a more inclusive campus environment. It is also important to acknowledge the complexities and contradictions that is part of this journey towards an inclusive and equitable campus. This includes strides made, bureaucratic barriers, institutional inertia, and resistance to change that presented as obstacles for students seeking recognition and representation.

The exhibition serves as a snapshot of a period, in which events and ongoing evaluation of identity we still see happening in the 21st century. We encourage the viewer to reflect and explore further and continue to see the value in community archives such as IHIP that reflect the communities of the global majority and their histories at LMU.

References

Hawthorne, B. (2023, March 27). “Who are the People of the Global Majority and why it matters.” Britt Hawthorne. https://britthawthorne.com/blog/people-global-majority/

Digital exhibition curated by Nicole L. Murph, '04, reference and instruction librarian and member of the Inclusive History and Images Project (IHIP) Steering Committee.

The Inclusive History and Images Project (IHIP) has been funded in part by the Network for Vocation in Higher Education (NetVUE) and the Grace Nixon Foundation