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Thirty years ago the United Black Association (UBA) led the efforts to open the African American Cultural Resource Center (AACRC) on the University of Cincinnati campus.  

Since that time, past president’s include Harlan Jackson, Reginald Brazzile and Byron Stallworth.   

Former members of the UBA and generations of student leaders who experienced programming in the AACRC have come together to found a new non-profit organization to raise funds to support African American students who can’t have programming in AACRC due to President Trump’s Executive Order, banning diversity, equality and inclusion from institutions and businesses that receive federal funding, and Ohio Senate Bill 1 that supports the President’s Executive Order.

The first phase of the campaign is to raise $500,000 for programming that the AACRC used to produce over the course of the year.

A few African American Alumni have created a nonprofit called The Cincy Cultural Resource Center Foundation, which is evaluating an off campus site for  the African American Resource Center due to President Trump’s Executive Orders banning  Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) and the supportive Ohio Senate Bil1 1, which reinforces federal DEI prohibitions.

The University of Cincinnati will make changes to comply with the laws, as the landscape for African American students will change this fall.

President Trump’s from January 21 as well as the February 14 “” letter from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) call for the elimination of DEI in higher education.

Nicole K. Mayo, EdD, Vice Provost for Student Affairs, said, “To that end, we are evaluating how we can enhance our student-centered spaces on campus, including the Steger Student Life Center and 60 W. Charlton, where the African American Resource Center (AARC) is housed, to promote further connections among students and strengthen our university community overall. To be clear, these spaces may need to transition in terms of programming, but will remain in use for and by our current and future students.’’

In this light, Byron J. Stallworth, a founding member of the recently formed Cincy Cultural Resource Center Foundation and Secretary of the Foundation, said Foundation members are seeking an off-campus site for the resource center.

“We met with student to let them know we and the African American community will continue top support them in three key areas,” Stallworth said. “Those areas are programming, scholarships and safe haven locations.’’

The Foundation recently launched a fundraising campaign. Attached is the link for donations and information about why changes are being planned by the University:

Harlan Jackson, President of The Cincy Cultural Resource Foundation, added, “The Cincy Resource Center’s dynamic culture is at the heart of our success, and at the heart of our culture are our people.  Our highest priority is student growth.  This is a foundation to building focused, effective and empathetic leaders to help create a thriving community and social environment.  The Cincy Cultural Resource Center Foundation will offer exceptional benefits for student’s personal and professional development, including training programs, mentoring, leadership opportunities, and community engagement events.’’

“Student growth and development is critical to all successful communities and societies. We take care of students first,” said Stallworth. 

The AACRC Transition Task Force includes Harlan Jackson, Byron Stallworth, Yasmin Chilton, Darrick Dansby, Ashley Nkadi, Chris Steward, Reggie Brazille, Patrice Barnes and Thomas Brame. 

The founding Officers of The Cincy Cultural Resource Center Foundation are Harlan Jackson and Byron Stallworth. 

The Cincy Cultural Resource Center Foundation’s Board of Trustees is being established to help oversee the mission and functioning of the nonprofit.   

Last year, UC President Pinto made a specific case for UC’s inclusive strategies during his testimony in front of the Ohio Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee, chaired by Sen. Cirino, in which he stated: “Our students have become more diverse, with 27% of our population being students of color, an increase of 6% since 2017. Our growth, and our increasing diversity, is driven by our public mission. In fact, we believe increasing our diversity is a strategic imperative.

• “However, since the fall 2024 elections, shifting state and national political landscapes have resulted in new iterations of legislation, including Senate Bill 1, which further restricts programs and practices focused on inclusion. As you are no doubt aware, the federal government has effectively outlawed DEI programs and practices within government entities, including public universities nationwide. Taken together, these federal actions are sweeping in their scope, categorical in their conclusions and pressing in their timing. The OCR letter specifically states that we must comply with these new rules by February 28, after which OCR will begin holding noncompliant universities accountable.
• “Given the extent to which our university, like most educational institutions, relies on federal funding to deliver and sustain our core mission, it is untenable to operate as if noncompliance with these directives is an effective option. Ohio public and federally supported institutions like ours have little choice but to follow the laws that govern us. Meanwhile, we will continue to work through our state and federal Government Relations channels to encourage legislators to support policies that honor the mission of public higher education, which is so essential for the development of citizens for our democracy.
• “Our leaders have begun evaluating jobs and duties related to DEI and examining our DEI programming, initiatives and projects to bring all areas into compliance. In addition, we have begun removing references to DEI principles across university websites, social media and collateral materials.

Interested individuals can contact this group at Preservethecenter@gmail.com