For the students in TCU鈥檚 鈥淭he Genius of Hip-Hop鈥� class, a recent conversation with a hip-hop duo from the Northeast was a time to talk about life, politics and the struggle to get by.
While national politics and weren鈥檛 at the forefront of the event, it was part of the background.
Hip-hop artists Amari Mar and Jadin Shropshire talked about being real, their musical influences and how they compose their music.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really a feeling. I might find a sample,鈥� said Shropshire, who lives in upstate New York and grew up in Baltimore. 鈥淚 hear something, and I鈥檓 like, 鈥極h, that鈥檚 fire.鈥� Take that piece. Maybe do what I do with it, add my drums.鈥�
About 30 students listened to the duo in a TCU debate room. This semester, the class has been touching on art and politics at a politically charged time around diversity efforts, especially at university campuses, including TCU.
TCU rollback on DEI efforts
This semester following a Trump executive order targeting diversity programs on college campuses. The old webpage for the Diversity & Inclusion office now goes to the TCU Center for Connection Culture. The university removed mentions of its DEI efforts from prominent parts on the university鈥檚 About page, where there is still a mention of the university鈥檚 , which the university launched in 2020 in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.
Marcellis Perkins, a strategy and innovation fellow in the office of the chancellor and president, does not think the university has lost momentum in its diversity efforts. Perkins led a conversation with students during the hip-hop event.
鈥淭CU is trying its absolute best to stay in front of what鈥檚 going on and to protect as many people as possible,鈥� said Perkins, who recently received a doctorate in higher education administration from TCU. 鈥淭here are still people doing the work. It just will constantly look different. I think that鈥檚 just a reflection of the history of the work. It constantly takes new shape and form in response to something that鈥檚 restricting it.鈥�
鈥楲eftism and DEI鈥� at TCU
The Tarrant County GOP has recently put a spotlight on 鈥渓eftism and DEI鈥� at TCU, with a March email calling out the university for having a 鈥淒EI problem鈥� and saying the university鈥檚 DEI officers have veto power over potential hires.
鈥淲e want a school that reflects and honors the traditional Christian background,鈥� said Bo French, chair of the Tarrant County GOP, in a March 29 Tarrant GOP roundup email. 鈥淒EI is overtly racist and goes against everything the university used to stand for. TCU has drifted far off of that path, but we have some ideas on how we could help.鈥�
French and TCU officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Frederick Gooding, an associate professor at TCU who teaches 鈥淭he Genius of Hip-Hop鈥� class, doesn鈥檛 mince words in terms of TCU鈥檚 rollback of DEI efforts.
鈥淲e have an opportunity to demonstrate what it is that we stand for versus what it is that we cower to,鈥� said Gooding, who said he has not been privy to any community-wide dialogue on TCU鈥檚 DEI rollback. 鈥淭he idea that Tuesday, you have a website up and Wednesday it鈥檚 gone without a conversation, I think this is a missed opportunity to talk about, here鈥檚 why we鈥檙e doing it.鈥�
TCU students in 鈥淭he Genius of Hip-Hop鈥� say they think diversity efforts at their university are important. (Shomial Ahmad | Fort Worth Report) For many of the TCU students in the hip-hop class, diversity efforts at their university are important and essential.
鈥�(Gooding) is really teaching us how we as a country got to this point today,鈥� said Libby Dolan, a student majoring in nursing. 鈥淗e discusses the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in the field of music, but also incorporates that into our lives as a whole and our respective fields of study (once) we graduate.鈥�
For Tyla Robinson, the class is a chance to feel affirmed about her own personal history as a Black woman. The course addresses the Black perspective in a deep way, she said.
鈥淥ne thing that really drew me in once I was here (at TCU) was the Race & Reconciliation Initiative and seeing my own professors be so infused in that,鈥� said Robinson, a student in strategic communications and sports broadcasting.
The 鈥淗ip-Hop Convo鈥� at TCU was just another way for the students to engage in the Black experience in ways that go beyond the political buzzwords of DEI and race.
Discussing the Black experience
Mar and Shropshire, the hip-hop performers, talked about their musical influences 鈥� from A Tribe Called Quest to Sam Cooke to listening to Public Enemy on a cassette player. They talked about how hip-hop connects different generations, how to make money from their music and what makes their music have resonance.
鈥淚 have to be true to myself, like I can鈥檛 go against my nature,鈥� said Mar, who tries to avoid the same uniform sound. 鈥淭he elements of being a true hip-hop artist is being original.鈥�
For Corinna Bou, a Latina TCU sociology student, part of being authentic is doing what you say.
鈥淲e talk a lot about actions and words and which one is more believable. And how do you make a difference?鈥� said Bou. 鈥淎nd how are artists in hip-hop making a difference through their music, especially when they鈥檙e not always the face of hip-hop?鈥�
Bou would like TCU to 鈥渄o better鈥� around its diversity effort. But she knows that the university is in a tough spot.
Shomial Ahmad is a higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report, in partnership with . Contact her at shomial.ahmad@fortworthreport.org.
The Report鈥檚 higher education coverage is supported in part by major higher education institutions in Tarrant County, including Tarleton State University, Tarrant County College, Texas A&M-Fort Worth, Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan University, the University of Texas at Arlington and UNT Health Science Center.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy .
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