About
The Irate 8
Meet the highly acclaimed, award-winning student activist movement that has been used as a template across the country and praised by the University of Cincinnati's faculty, staff, administration, and Board of Trustees.
Mission
The mission of The Irate 8 is to push for a more diverse and inclusive University of Cincinnati and seek equity through our social action. We aim to raise awareness of the experiences of Black students at the University of Cincinnati, and how they connect with the #BlackLivesMatter movement nationally. We accomplish our goals through education, collaboration with the University's administration, and by reforming some of the systemic policies that result in a negative experience for a number of Black students on the University of Cincinnati campus. In our efforts, we are mindful of the Student Code of Conduct and are working to maintain respectful dialogue while aiding the University in its diversity efforts, particularly the inclusion of Black students, staff, and faculty.
Syllabus
Click on the link below to view the Irate 8 Syllabus, which was crowdsourced by the University of Cincinnati's faculty and staff. It includes links to articles, books, and videos about topics such as: Intersectionality, political ecologies of race, critical race theory, schooling, Black families, race in the media, perceptions vs. realities of race, legal and policy perspectives, and structural understanding of racism.
Support
The Irate 8 is supported by many faculty, staff, and students at UC. We are additionally supported by the President and Board of Trustees of the University in Cincinnati, along with its administration. Some supporters have gone above and beyond to pledge their solidarity.
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230 UC Faculty members signed a petition in support of our mission. Click here to view it.
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940 individuals signed a petition to support our demands. Click here to view it.
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88+ Black alumni penned a letter to the then President of UC (Ono) in support of our mission, they affectionately called themselves the Irate 88.
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Students for Survivors and Where Is Reclaim are dedicated allies to the Irate 8, we serve as allies to them
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25+ UC Student Organizations came out in support of the Irate 8, including but not limited to: UC Junoon, CWEST, Men of Metro, GlobeMed, and more.
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Buttons, scholarship donations, and more have been donated by Marcus Bethay, the Nkadi family, and various alumni.
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Various departments (especially the Sociology and Anthropology departments) and offices (especially the AACRC, Women's Center, EPS, and the LGBTQ Center) are extremely vocal and hands-on in their support of the Irate 8.
Milestones
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The Irate 8 presented a $500 Scholarship to Mindy Bediako at Kuamka this past January
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The AACRC's Expansion - including a new kitchen, student lounge, computer lab, and study room was unveiled.
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The Irate 8 & UC Admissions Cincinnati Public School Ambassadors Program kicked off with 22 high school participants who will be paid to recruit students - they are additionally given admission and a grant to come to UC
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Per the demands of the Irate 8, the University of Cincinnati has hired an Associate Director for Strategic Populations and an Assistant Director of Multicultural Recruitment
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Per the demands of the Irate 8, Student Government now reports their composition (race, gender, etc) annually
Awards
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(2017) The Leisan Smith Founder's Award presented by the LGBTQ Center at UC
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(2016) Award of Appreciation presented by the African American Cultural and Resource Center
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(2016) The Undergraduate Social Action Award presented by Sociologists for Women in Society
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(2016) The Spirit of Cincinnatus Award presented by Cincinnatus Honorary Society
In the Media
The Irate 8 has been featured in over 30 publications locally, nationally, and internationally. Many of these articles detail the history of the movement, and trace our growth. Some articles exemplify how we connect to movements at other campuses. Most importantly, almost all of the articles shine a light on the reason we formed - in response to the murder of unarmed Samuel Dubose by one of UC's police officers.
