The Elm

In June 2020 amid racial justice protests across the United States and throughout the world, the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) founded the Intercultural Center, an initiative spearheaded by the multicultural center task force. The task force was established as a result of advocacy from students like Vanessa Gonzalez-Wright, MSW ’19, who were demanding a space at UMB where historically underrepresented students from the seven schools could connect with one another, receive support, and build a sense of belonging and community. A quick look at history tells us why spaces like the Intercultural Center are aligned with the demands for racial and social justice and play a vital role in the personal and professional development and well-being of students, staff, and faculty.  

Today’s historically underrepresented students, such as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), low-income students, women, trans, and gender non-conforming students, are groups who were systematically denied and excluded from higher education. Similar to the history of voting in the United States, only white wealthy heteronormative Christian men could access higher education in the 200 years after the first colleges and universities were founded in the 1600s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, historically Black colleges and universities and women’s colleges were established not only in response to their exclusion from white male institutions but as spaces where the knowledge of Black people and women would be validated and uplifted. Initiatives after World War II, such as the G.I. Bill, would begin to democratize higher education and grant thousands of working-class American veterans the opportunity to access college and move up the socioeconomic ladder. However, these opportunities were often afforded to white veterans only, resulting in most higher education institutions in the United States to remain exclusively white.  

The demographic landscape of higher education would begin to shift in the mid- to late-20th century, when the civil rights movement resulted in federal policy changes such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited race, color, and national origin discrimination, and Title IX, which prohibited sex discrimination in any programs receiving federal funds, including higher education institutions. While these policies resulted in more students, staff, and faculty from marginalized backgrounds attending, teaching, and working at predominately white institutions (PWIs), there continues to be overt and subtle ways that remind marginalized groups of their “otherness” in higher education. Eurocentric-based curricula, policies that make name and gender changes difficult, and out-of-state tuition costs for undocumented students are only some of the ways higher education institutions continue to exclude historically underrepresented students, staff, and faculty.  

In response to the hostility experienced at PWIs, student activists during and after the years of the civil rights movement founded cultural centers as a safe space for marginalized students on college campuses. Research has shown that culturally affirming programs that are typically offered by cultural centers can reduce isolation, support identity development, and increase retention among marginalized groups. Cultural centers also provide brave spaces where individuals with privileged identities can raise their critical consciousness and develop as allies and advocates. As sites of social justice education and community building, research shows that cultural centers can increase student engagement in social justice activism, community outreach, leadership development, and peer mentorship.  

Like the cultural centers that were founded in the years during and after the civil rights movement, the Intercultural Center at UMB is proud to have its roots in student voice and advocacy. We look forward to partnering with students, staff, faculty, and community members across the University to develop initiatives and resources that foster a sense of belonging and acknowledge the needs and lived experiences of historically marginalized students, staff, and faculty at UMB. We are also deeply committed to developing anti-racism and anti-oppression educational programs that will inform the practice of our current and future health care, law, and human services professionals. Through these collaborative efforts, the Intercultural Center serves to both guide the University in its work on diversity, equity, and inclusion and hold itself and the University accountable for committing to become an anti-racism institution.  

If you would like to learn more about the Intercultural Center, please join us on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, at 2 p.m. for our virtual launch. Register here.  

You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter where we share insights, events, and initiatives that promote intercultural education at UMB. 

Greenberg, M. (2004, 18 June). "How the G.I. Bill changed higher education." The Chronicle.

Patton, D.L. (Ed.) (2012). Culture Centers in Higher Education: Perspectives on Identity, Theory, and Practice. Stylus Publishing. 

Rentz, L.A. and Howard-Hamilton, M. (2011). "Student Affairs: An Historical Perspective." In Naijian Zhang & Associates (Eds.), Rentz’s Student Affairs Practice in Higher Education. (pp. 30-62). Charles C. Thomas Publisher. 

Zang, C. (2020, 22 Jan.). "UMB students get their wish with the Intercultural Center." UMB News.