The Fight, The Movement, and The Backlash: Columbia’s Reckoning with Racism in 1987
The Fight, The Movement, and The Backlash: Columbia’s Reckoning with Racism in 1987 Noelle Hunter / Staff Illustrator March 19, 2021, 9:13 PM
In many ways, March 22, 1987, was an ordinary Friday night. A crowd of students congregated in Ferris Booth Commons, with the usual noise and rush of excitement in anticipation of the weekend. On any other Friday night, you might not have noticed Mike Jones, a junior at Columbia College. Jones’ friends describe him as short and unassuming in build but with a toughness and sense of self-assurance. But on this particular night a night that would shape the months to come Jones walked into the dining hall with the urge to be heard.