The Syracuse University chapter of the NAACP has been fighting for marginalized students through rallies recently, but is now using a different method to continue its #itooamSU campaign.

On Monday, the organization unveiled photos of students holding a sign with the hashtag #itooamSU and a personal note. Around 30 photos will be displayed in the Panasci Lounge in Schine Student Center until Oct. 13.

The “I Too Am” campaign originated at Harvard in March of 2014 and has spread to over 30 campuses since. The SU NAACP chapter adopted the campaign after a video of Hanna Strong using racial and homophobic slurs was posted online last month.

The video was just a tipping point, however. Students needed a forum to respond to the Hanna Strong video, as well as other micro-aggressions or subtle stereotypical comments, said J’lessa Wallace, the vice president of external affairs with the Student African-American Society.

“This is about awareness of a bigger movement, this is bigger than Hanna Strong, this is bigger than cuts to certain programs,” Wallace said.

Anthony Orendorff, a graduate student, took the photos in coordination with the NAACP for the event. The NAACP recruited students prior to the photo shoot, but Orendorff said even more students asked to join the photo shoot while he was taking photos.

“With unity, the minority population on campus gets the courage because they see other people, they get inspired and they’re not that scared to voice their opinion,” Orendorff said.

Students put wide-ranging messages on their “I Too Am” signs. Many students at the unveiling thought Frediqua McCullers’ sign that read “brown skin, orange blood” was particularly powerful.

McCullers, a sophomore communications and rhetorical studies major, said she wanted something that was simple and straight to the point, but also emphasized that she was part of the campus.

“Those two things go together, skin and blood, my skin is brown, I am a brown-skinned woman, but I do have Orange blood like any other student here,” McCullers said.

So far, NAACP members think the campaign has been a success. The NAACP has promoted the campaign on Twitter with the hashtag #itooamSU as well as on Tumblr and Instagram through photos. The organization has also sold #itooamSU buttons to students. In addition, 95 photos were put on the grassy knoll between Newhouse and Schine Student Center.

Wallace said she thinks the campaign has gained even more buzz than the NAACP and SAS expected.

“I’m very pleased with the outcome of just how viral things have been going with #itooamSU, from Twitter, social media to the visual campaign on Instagram,” Wallace said.

The campaign has had its difficulties though. On Oct. 2 two students were seen with signs from the knoll. A fellow student educated them on the campaign and took the signs from the students.

The NAACP was prompted to remove the signs on the knoll to prevent any other signs from being taken. When the NAACP removed the signs, less than half of the initial 95 remained, said Danielle Reed, the event and programming chair for the NAACP.

The stolen signs are a minor bump in the road for the NAACP, who has no plans of stopping the campaign soon. The NAACP expects the campaign to extend through the semester and would like to see it last through the rest of the year and even become constant, Reed said.

Reed added that she wants to expand #itooamSU and other campaigns beyond organizations the NAACP is familiar with.

Although the campaign has gotten attention, Orrendorff, the photographer, said he hopes the campaign extends beyond protests and pictures and can result in something being done.

“We want this to be an ongoing conversation and hopefully go into some action,” Orrendorff said.

Published on October 7, 2014 at 12:50 am

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati