What is AFRO?
AFRO is a four-part mission that works to improve the experience of Black students in Predominantly White Institutions. AFRO stands for Access, Funding, Representation, and Opportunity.
Access
Access is about ensuring Black students’ needs are met and not overlooked, as they often can be in an environment where people do not look like them.
“Needs” most closely refer to Black haircare products, because African hair is not only a defining feature of Black people, but it often requires more attention than those without it may recognize.
For this reason, one focus of AFRO is to ensure that Black students have access to the products and services they need for their own well-being.
This issue is more heavily present in boarding school environments.
Funding
Funding for products and services for Black hair can be quite costly, and Black haircare products are expensive. Though access to these products is not the only thing that makes up the Black experience.
Activities run by a school’s BSU, conferences such as the National Society of Black Engineers or the People of Color Conference, or even Black student retreats, make up a large part of a Black student’s sense of belonging and experience.
The AFRO framework looks at solutions for funding these endeavors.
Representation
Representation is a large driver of this project. The reason I launched AFRO was due to the significant underrepresentation of Black students in my school environment.
Representation is not just what you see in your community, but how you feel in the community based on those who are around you. Without Black friends, mentors, teachers, or leaders in one’s community (or perhaps very few), it is difficult to see an appropriate model of what success looks like.
Opportunity
The former three pillars work towards creating an environment where Black students feel that they have the opportunity to succeed.