Student Activism Archive collects history on Lehigh’s campus

The Institute on Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (ICRES) held an open forum to discuss the legacy of student activism on Lehigh’s campus. 

The event, titled Student Activism Archive Open Forum, took place Nov. 11 and used past editions of The Brown and White to showcase the work of student activists on campus. 

Kevelis Matthews-Alvarado, ‘20 ‘21G, a pre-doctoral research associate at ICRES, presented on the topic and used a series of old newspaper issues to discuss the history of student activism at Lehigh, dating back to the university’s founding.

The Lehigh Student Activism Archive was created by Alvarado, and is a digital compilation of photos, flyers, articles, student demands, blogs and other relevant documents. Included in the archives is a timeline of counter stories telling the narratives of marginalized students. According to its website, the archive is maintained by ICRES.

“This archive is meant to be a secure place of student activist memory which might begin to build a transgenerational bridge and remedy administrative amnesia of our struggles,” the website reads. 

Alvarado highlighted how The Brown and White has contributed to the creation of the archive.

“In terms of noting history, The Brown and White is an important tool that I used to create the archives,” Alvarado said.  

Throughout the presentation, Alvarado recited a series of her own poems to convey her message. 

Alicia Eskridge, ‘23, said she enjoyed the fact that Kevelis told a story. 

“She told us about her experience at Lehigh University as a Black woman and an activist, which I thought was powerful,” Eskridge said.

Nande Trant, ‘22, said she was impressed with Alvarado’s presentation. 

 “The archiving of activism at Lehigh University is really important because the history of people of color is a story often overlooked and not written in a textbook,” Trant said. “This project documents that story.”  

Although some attendees were impressed by Alvarado’s presentation, others felt there were moments in Lehigh’s activist history that should be added to the archive.

Travell Gardner, ‘23, said the town hall the Black Student Union held during the summer of 2020 should be included as well since it attracted over 500 people.

“I think that was an important event in terms of student activism that I feel should have been a part of the presentation,” Gardner said. 

 However, Gardener said they were overall impressed with the message of the presentation.