Georgetown Student Club Hosts Black Lives Matter Panel Discussion for Qatar Foundation Community

The Black Student Association (BSA) at QF partner Georgetown University in Qatar hosted a webinar titled “Black Lives Matter: Police Brutality and Racial Injustice in America.” The online event was moderated by the BSA’s student co-founders and featured GU-Q faculty; African American Studies expert, Professor Maurice Jackson and American and Comparative Politics specialist, Professor Clyde Wilcox. 

Attended by an audience of students, faculty, staff, and members of the QF community, the panel took an unflinching look at the wave of protests that have swept across the US and around the world, and answered audience questions about race, police reform, and the divisive politics that surround issues of social justice.

Dr. Wilcox, whose research interest includes religion and politics, public opinion, and electoral behavior, noted that the broad public reaction to the latest of many cases of racialized police brutality has been driven by many intersecting factors. These include the ongoing pandemic which has decreased public trust in institutions and highlighted the racial inequalities in healthcare. Dr. Jackson, a prolific author on African American history and culture and an inductee to the Washington, DC, Hall of Fame for his social activism, described the events as unprecedented in his lifetime. He highlighted pivotal moments in US civil rights history, noting that each successive effort builds on the previous generation’s struggle. 

The BSA student club was launched in the fall of 2019 by third year students Tsedenya Girmay, an International Politics major, and Lina Hajo, a Culture and Politics major. The club aims to encourage Black student unity, support, and cultural exchange in Doha, and to create awareness on issues faced by communities worldwide. “It's very important that we recognize that the Black Lives Matter movement may have started in the US, but these are global issues,” said Tsedenya.

The club, which has already attracted over 60 members in its first year, has hosted several events, including a collaboration with Words and Strings, a Black-led initiative in Doha that aims to enrich the local art scene. 

The dean of GU-Q, Dr. Ahmad Dallal, said: “As a university with longstanding commitment to foundational values of diversity and social justice, Georgetown is committed to ensuring a safe campus environment where students, faculty, and staff can come together for critical conversations on issues of race and inequality. This moment in our history represents a turning point, and demands that we not only bear witness to the systemic violence and inequality faced by Black community members, but requires us to step up and live up to the responsibilities afforded us as institutions of scholarship and service.” 

Noting that conversations about race and inequality are often difficult for students to have, Tsedenya hopes institutions of higher learning expand and increase opportunities for positive and constructive engagement on these issues.  She says the panel is the first of many discussions the club hopes to host, in a community where “the nature of Georgetown’s liberal arts education attracts students who care about social awareness and community engagement.” 

The panel discussion is available for viewing on the GU-Q BSA’s instagram page.