Black Student Admits Hanging ‘White Only,’ ‘Black Only’ Signs near School Bathrooms

Cries of racism broke out across the campus of the University of Buffalo this week when students found Jim Crow-esque signs in a building on campus.

Someone had posted “White Only” and “Black Only” signs near several bathrooms and water fountains in Clemens Hall.

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More than 100 students turned out to a Black Student Union meeting to discuss the signs.

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And then, Ashley Powell, a black graduate student, stood up in the meeting to admit she had hung the signs, claiming it was part of an “art project,” The Buffalo News reports.

Students were reportedly “outraged” and “walked out” of the meeting. Other students denounced Powell’s project as “racist” and “an act of terrorism.”

According to the News, “the project was for a 400-level art class titled ‘Instillation: Urban Space.’ Powell said the goal of the signs and project was to see what people’s reactions would be to them.”

“I apologize if you were hurt, but I do not apologize for what I did. Once again, this is my art practice. My work directly involves black trauma and non-white suffering. I do not believe that there can be social healing without first coming to terms with and expressing our own pain, rage, and trauma.”

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