Brown Center for Students of Color

07/30/2022

Guess what is coming soon? TWTP 2022! Check it out & follow Third World Transition Program at Brown University for the latest and the new theme “Beautiful Monstrosities: Crafting our own Mythologies”

07/22/2022

Happy summer! We are prepping for TWTP with our amazing coordinators zooming in weekly from across the country and different time zones, our graduate student shirts came in and we are collaging our twtp booklets for a zine inspired look- it is a hot 🔥🔥🔥 summer with great POC centered events to come! Keep on the look out!

07/14/2022

Two great BAM articles to check out! 1. Afro Indigenous poetry at the Hay library-

A book of Afro-Indigenous poetry found in the Hay Library reunites two women across generations.

06/17/2022

Undergraduate class of 2026, get excited we have officially opened our TWTP application!

TWTP was created after protests led by Black women and students in 1968 demanded the University provide better support and resources for them. Students of color at Brown began using the term “Third World” instead of "minority" because of the negative feelings of inferiority and powerlessness with which the word "minority" is often associated. Although the term "Third World" may have negative connotations outside of Brown, Brown students of color continue to use Third World to describe a social consciousness which recognizes the similarities shared by socially and politically marginalized communities. Third Worldism reminds students of the power they have in coalescing, communicating, and uniting across their differences to create a safer and more free place for all individuals. This consciousness at Brown also reflects a right, a willingness, and a necessity for people of color and others to define themselves instead of being defined by others. To learn more, please visit https://www.browntwtp.com/about-twtp

Currently, TWTP is a pre-orientation program for incoming first-year students of color, creating an opportunity to find community, create meaningful connections before the start of the school year through workshops, community-building activities, and identity-specific confidentials that encourage students to ask honest and hard questions about life at Brown. We will cover different systems of oppression (such as Racism, Environmental Justice and Imperialism, Cisheterosexism and Sexism, Ableism, and Classism). During the program, we invite all participants to reconsider their history and aspects of their identity. We also connect students to resources on campus including the BCSC, LGBTQ+ Center, and UFLI Center in order to create a network of support that will last them through and beyond their time at Brown.

TWTP was created for first-years who self-identify as students of color and will run from Sunday, August 28th to Wednesday, August 31st, with an opportunity for a move-in on the Saturday, 27th.

The theme for this year’s TWTP is “Beautiful Monstrosities: Crafting our own Mythologies.” We want to emphasize the power of storytelling in preserving and transforming our ancestral legacies, working with the knowledge that we all have ancestors and narratives that build us. Alongside engagement with the myths, legends, and fantastic creatures from the traditions that our first-years bring, we hope to cultivate skills to build community as students of color, craft collective knowledge, and work towards futures that imagine worlds free from systems of oppression.

To apply, click here or visit bit.ly/TWTP2022. You will need to sign into your Brown Email to complete this form! Please feel free to be in touch with any questions or concerns. The TWTP participant application is a way for us to gauge potential participants’ interests and needs, so please answer to the best of your ability!

You can also click the poster to complete the application or scan the below QR code. Also visit our website browntwtp.com/ to find more information on TWTP, additional resources, including a digital copy of past years program booklets.

We cannot wait to start this journey with you all!

With warmth,

The TWTP Team

06/02/2022

Do not fear, the BCSC greenhouse will be well taken care of by resident gardener Anne Marie! 🌱

06/02/2022

The move has begun! These are the “before” renovation photos. “After” photos coming & newness in August 2022!

05/29/2022

More commencement goodness! A full crowd at Latinx, Onyx, procession and student speeches! The BCSC loves you current graduates & alumni (like our own Lehidy-Laura Frias& more! 🐻❤️)

05/28/2022

Latinx and Onyx rites of passage ceremonies prepped and ready to go! Thanks to all those who came to our open house reception last night, unity celebration and more. We love our graduates and alums! Congrats! 🎓💜🐻

05/24/2022

Commencement activities are officially starting! 2022 Asian American, SWANA& Multiracial student stole celebration kicks off senior week for the BCSC & Onyx & Latinx celebrations close us out on Saturday. Congrats grads!!

05/23/2022

On behalf of the entire Brown Center for Students Color (BCSC) team, we are pleased to announce an upcoming renovation to Partridge Hall, the home of the BCSC! Renovation of the first floor of Partridge Hall will start in early June 2022 with a completion goal of August 2022. As a result, the BCSC will be closed for renovations and not accessible to the greater campus community starting June 1, 2022 through August 22, 2022. (Note: Reopening dates are contingent on construction timelines)

As the legacy of the Third World Center (TWC) and the BCSC approaches our 50th Anniversary in 2026, our vision includes overall enhancements of The Center programs, support services, and student-facing spaces.

It is our hope that the first floor renovations will not only give our beloved Partridge Hall a burst of enhancements to our physical space but also increase the variety of ways our students can gather as a community. For example, the renovations will include transforming our current classroom space into a multipurpose room/informal student lounge which will allow the use of the entire floor for small physical, mental, and emotional health-related activities such as meditation or yoga; an opportunity to expand our artistic collaborations such as hosting small art shows; or for “just-for-fun” social engagements like group wellness activities and game nights on a variety of bean-bags and comfy floor cushions.

Additionally, we are excited to reimagine and finally utilize our outdoor space. For example, our rear garden and rear patio area will have enough seating for 8 - 10 students to socialize outdoors under a nice umbrella to hold interesting conversations, grab a bite to eat with friends, or help us till the soil of our new outside garden area. These are only a few of the new ways we envision utilizing our soon-to-be newly renovated first floor of Partridge Hall.

The scope of the 2022 renovation is comprised only of phase one of the first floor which will include the following areas:

Interior Renovations:
Entry and hallway
Formal Lounge
Main office/ Staff office space
Multipurpose/Classroom/Informal lounge
Kitchenette/Restrooms
Culturally relevant art
Furniture/Floors

Exterior Renovations:
Accessibility to first-floor/lift renewal
Front porch area
Front garden area
Rear garden area
Rear patio area

This Spring 2022, the BCSC Student Advisory Board (SAB) -15 student leaders representing more than 60 BCSC students- provided input regarding the above areas. SAB members were instrumental in the final renovations decisions and selections ensuring that both undergraduate and graduate student perspectives were central to finalizing each renovation detail. Once all renovations are complete, the entire BCSC Team (Anne Maire, Frank, Sage, and Lehidy) look forward to sharing our renovated first floor and exterior spaces with our current engaged students of color, supportive Brown campus community, and dedicated alumni in a Grand Re-Opening in the Fall of 2022.

These interior and exterior renovations are made possible by the generous financial support of Brown University’s Office of the President. We would also like to thank Eric Estes, Vice President for Campus Life, for his continued support of these forthcoming renewals.

Our Best,

Vincent T. Harris, Ph.D. (he, him, his, brother)
Associate Dean and Director, Brown Center for Students of Color

Loc V. Truong, Ed.D. (he/him)
Assistant Vice President for Campus Life Engagement

05/19/2022

It is raining, it is pouring and our flowers are showing out & in full bloom in May waiting for our 2020& 2022 graduates to come and bless us in fabulous in-person commencement festivities next weekend!

05/13/2022

Check out this fabulous exhibit "Not Never More (2022)" by Brown and RISD alum and local artist in residence Jazzmen Lee Johnson featured in News Brown University Providence, RI today https://sites.brown.edu/inheritance/exhibition/ now on display until September 10, 2022, at the Nightingale-Brown House. You don't want to miss it!

Les Vues d’Amérique du Nord: Artists Respond (2021-2023) is an artist residency inviting two Rhode Island-based artists, Jazzmen Lee-Johnson and Deborah Spears Moorehead, to create site-specific artworks that respond to the Center for Public Humanities’ historic wallpaper, Les Vues d’Amériqu...