The Weight of the Warrior:

Student Activism, Practitioner Support, &

Self-Care

Tekita Bankhead, Kimberly Otchere, & Ayanna Williams

Session Overview
Personal and Professional Backgrounds
Managing the Weight: Self-Care
Social Movement Theory
Student Movements at the University of Illinois
Small Group Case Study
Recommendations & Reflections
Q&A
Campus as a Battlefield
Warriors Students, Faculty/Staff

War - Fight Problems NOT the People

Systemic Issues & Policies
Institutional Missions & Structure

Consider battle materials/ammunition

Prepare for victory, strategize for defeat

Terminology
Student Undergraduate, Graduate,
Professional

Practitioner Faculty/Staff, Administrators

Managing the Weight of Activism
Your activism is tied to your identity

Burnout Extremely common

Failure to consider overall wellness compromises the
effectiveness of the work

8 Dimensions of Wellness
Gives a framework for balanced and sustainable
activism
The Weight Student Warriors
Diseng
ageme
nt
from Feelin
Acade gs of
Psych mics
osom Hopel
atic essne
Symp ss &
Reco
toms Isolati
gnizi
on
ng
Raci Burn
al out
Battl Anxi
e Racial ety
Fatig Discu
ue ssion
Fatigu
e
Syndr
The Weight Practitioner
Bound
Warriors
ary
Settin
g in
Stude Increa
nt se in
Psych Suppo Respo
osom rt nsibilit
atic ies w/
Symp Reco Decrea
toms gnizi sed
ng Produc
Burn tivity
Racial out Repre
Battle ssing
Fatigu Identi
Racial
e ties
Discu
ssion
Fatigu
e
Syndr
Self-Care Strategies
Build TRUST!
Courage, Honesty & Vulnerability

Self-Care Soldiers
Build networks of accountability for
students and practitioners
Self-Care Strategies
Recognize signs of burnout in self and
students
Address and correct them immediately

Put Causes in Perspective

Identify and train the next generation of

activists
Warriors and the Battlefield

What battle are you fighting on your campus?

Who would you consider the warrior(s) on your

campus?
Battles at UIUC
Battles at UIUC
Activist Community at UIUC
Strong allyship among LGBT, Latinx, and
Black student leaders

Significant graduate student representation

Strong ties to C-U community

Social Movement Theory
The term social movement refers to a
deliberate, voluntary effort to organize
individuals to act in concert to achieve
enough group influence to make or block
changes. Social movements are power-
oriented groups rather than participation-
oriented movements, meaning that the group
actions of social movements are not
necessarily of primary benefit to individual
members, but instead serve the groups'
larger goals. Thus, coordinated group actions
are undertaken to make changes in the
Social Movement Theory
Birth of a Movement
Traditional theories of social movements argue that social movements form
from the personal grievances that arise from structural and social change

In contrast, resource mobilization theory argues that social movements

arise from the long-term changes in group resources, organization, and
collective action opportunities

The entrepreneurial theory of social movements, a sub-theory of resource

mobilization, argues that the major factor in the formation of social
movements is the availability of resources, not personal grievance
Social Movement Theory
Sustaining a Movement
Theorists stressed that movements require some form of organization:
leadership, administrative structure, incentives for participation, and a
means for acquiring resources and support

Social movements tend to be most successful in open, democratic

societies in which social mobility and social change are accepted
concepts.
Social Movement Theory
Substantial resources necessary to start & continue successful
social movements

Material Resources:
Financial Funding
Human Capital
Facilities
Organizations
People-power
Technology
Means of Communication
Mass Media

Non-material resources: legitimacy, loyalty, social relationships, networks, personal

connections, public attention, authority, moral commitment, and solidarity
Picture
This
The Shot Heard Around the Campus

Social Media
Chaos
Black Student
Outrage
Cry For
Help/Call to
Action
 You are an
administrator and
you receive the
following email from
a student
Dear Administrator,

I'm really getting fed up with being an African

American student on this UIUC campus. I'm glad that
there are university faculty/staff members that I can
talk to like you, Kim, Ross, and Rory. I was scrolling
down my timeline on Instagram and one of my black
peers posted a picture of what a black student saw in
class.

What can I, as an Illini student, do about all the racial

ignorance?! It's beyond frustrating! How does a black
student respond? We can't be violent. "Educating"
these ignorant students isn't that effective. Remaining
calm is becoming more and more unrealistic. Patience
is not a choice when things like this happen on a daily
basis. These students get a free pass all the time to be
so blatantly outrageous and racist! So what are we
suppose to do? What am I suppose to do? What can I
do to make an abrupt change?!
 There are all of these university initiatives for an inclusive
campus, microaggression assessments, and surveys.
However, on a daily basis I encounter racism directly and
indirectly more than ever. It is so frustrating that I feel like I
have absolutely no power to change the blatant disrespect
and racism from my white peers. It's to the point where it
even serves as a classroom distraction! Whenever I meet
someone outside of my race I automatically wonder if they're
racist. That's a shame that that's my initial thought.

I even thought about how Im a senior. Why should I care

because Ill be graduating soon anyway? Itll be someone
elses problem after Im gone. However, I just cant have that
mentality. This is a perfect reflection of the real racist world
and I have still not learned how to respond or handle these
types of situations. If black students have constant racist
experiences why would we ever want to give back to this
university when we graduate? Why would we want our
children to go here and experience the same racial
awkwardness we experienced. Were only 5% of the student
population but we still matter!
Administrator Responses
Personal vs. Positional/Political responses

Mixed responses or no response

Some provided referrals to resources

Some offered support in organizing least amount

The Birth of #BeingBlackAtIllinois
Phase 1: Call To Action meeting
Phase 2: Live student demonstration and social media activism
Phase 3: Mission statement and demands in response to
administration
Phase 4: Black student activism fatigue (doubts, academics, physical
health, emotional wellbeing)
Phase 5: Persevere through internal and external backlash
Phase 6: Mentor and guide younger classes to continue activist work
Phase 7: Continue activist work as alumni
Phase 8: Document and archive progress, successes, and
shortcomings
Recommendations &
Reflections
How do we intervene?
Best practices
Transactional effects
Self Care for students and staff
Recognizing boundaries and limitations in support
Allowing the student voice to be central to the movement without policing their
voice
Build strategic relationships before incidents and build collective action
Financing the fight or alleviating financial burdens
Create dialogic spaces for cross-racial student engagement
Intersectional identities in leadership
Continued Work
Chancellors Committee on Race and Ethnicity (CORE)
Renovations to African American Cultural Center
Resurgence of Activist Efforts now including graduate
students and community
Advising and Promoting Autonomy among Student
Organizations
Racial Justice Ally Training
Peace and Justice Grassroots Organizing Series
Cotton Club & Spring Game Campus Visit Day
 Thank You!

?
KIMBERLY OTCHERE, MSW
Program Director, Social Justice and Leadership Education
University Housing
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
kimhodge@illinois.edu

TEKITA BANKHEAD, RN, BSN, MS

Assistant Director, Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center
Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
tbankhea@illinois.edu

AYANNA WILLIAMS
Graduate Student, Masters of Education in Higher Education
Loyola University at Chicago
awilliamsazibo@luc.edu