Accountability and Concerned Students of Middlebury (formerly "Black@Midd")

Words have power.

Even with the best intentions it is still possible to cause harm to even those we aim to represent and provide space for. We at Concerned Students of Middlebury find personal accountability to be important. As we examine ways to combat the systemic oppression and marginalization of underrepresented and underserved communities, we must also turn this critical lens on ourselves and analyze ways we may contribute to this cycle.

While there are certainly instances we may have missed, we do want to address two of our previous transgressions.

1. In our June 3rd, 2020 email to President Patton and the Senior Leadership Group of Middlebury College, we used the phrase "tone-deaf". While the intention to do harm was not there, we recognize (albeit far too late) that this statement was insensitive and ableist in nature. Our goal is only to uplift members of our community and we absolutely fell short of this mission in this situation. We will be more conscious of our use of language in the future and implore others to re-examine the language they use colloquially, as well.
2. In the conception of our group to address the transgressions made historically towards Black community members at Middlebury, we assumed the name Black@Midd. In subsequent meetings with community members, it was brought to our attention that our assumption of this name seemed as if we were attempting to represent what it means to be Black at Middlebury in a broader way than intended. Our aim is to help represent Black students, as well as all other students of color and marginalized communities. We do not wish for people to equate our cause to representing the voice of all Black students (nor students of any other community). We also do not want to be a gatekeeping entity that allows people to fight for what they believe will benefit the campus community. We simply aim to do the work to help benefit these communities and collaborate when we are asked. While our name change has nothing to do with these factors (it has been planned since two days after our initial conception), we still wanted to address these sentiment publicly.

We want to be held accountable.. ​We all have a responsibility to learn and grow as conscious community members. We implore all of you to do the same and join us in our mission to both grow and support our campus community as a whole.

In solidarity,
​The CSM Founders