UW-Madison students and community members gathered at Union South Wednesday evening to hear Angela Rye talk about taking responsibility of next generation activism.
Rye is a Haitian-American attorney, a liberal political commentator on CNN and an NPR political analyst. She is the CEO of IMPACT Strategies, which is a political advocacy firm in Washington, D.C.
Before Rye spoke to the audience of over 100 people, UW-Madison junior Payton Wade sang the Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing.
Following, Rye was welcomed to the stage where she began by thanking the community and sponsors for the event.
She made each person in the crowd turn to their neighbor and tell them “you are the real MVP.” She said that this was her way of making sure that everyone in the audience felt acknowledged.
In the beginning of her lecture, Rye discussed her goals for the night which involved expanding on the 13 demands that were made in 1969 at UW-Madison during the Black Student Strike. She asked the audience to think about how those demands could be expanded today.
“I want to ensure that we continue to have evolving demands beyond the 13 that were made 50 years ago,” Rye said.
She added actions that students could continue to do while being on campus.
“We must continue to have evolving asks, continue to be responsible for our own destinies and also hold people accountable for those who are receiving our tuition dollars, receiving our taxpayer dollars and also receiving your service and jobs” Rye said.
Rye shared data regarding disparities and inequalities that black communities and individuals face in wealth, housing and education in Wisconsin.
“In 2016, the median household income for black people in Madison was $25,000, but $60,000 for white households,” Rye said.
She also discussed statistics in regards to unbalanced education rates across the nation.
“In education, white students have the third-highest graduation rate in the nation during the 2015 to 2016 school year while their black peers graduated at the second lowest rate in the country at 65 percent,” Rye said.
She discussed racist stunts that have been pulled in the media by certain corporations and companies, saying it shouldn’t take racial controversy in advertisements or products in order for people to stop supporting these organizations.
“What’s really frustrating to me is that after what H&M, Burberry and Gucci did, people are up and armed saying ‘we need to support the black businesses,’” Rye said.
She asked the audience, “What kind of mentality do you have where it takes a crisis with a Eurocentric brand to support yourselves or your local black businesses?”
Rye shared changes and demands that she hopes to see in the near future for black individuals and black communities.
“We need to have our rightful seat at the table,” Rye said. “Companies need to work on hiring and retaining black talent and senior leadership.”
Rye said it’s time for a change and an evolution of the 1969 demands.
“We have to remember 400 years later after slavery, it is time. It is way past time,” Rye said. “We are not whispering, we are demanding and we are clearly enunciating all of the words.”
