Bringing People Together

The University of Washington and the Office of Minority Affairs are proud to recognize Dana Ahmed for Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Day. Dana Ahmed is the Director of the UW Black Student Commission and the Past President of the UW Black Student Union (BSU). She’s an aspiring Human Rights lawyer, a native Arabic speaker, and the firstborn of an immigrant family. Ahmed is a passionate advocate for a strong Black community on campus and tirelessly leads meaningful initiatives aligned with her values. She will graduate in 2024 with a degree in Law, Societies, and justice with a double minor in Arabic and Human Rights.

Q: We would love to hear about your initiatives and experience on campus.

When I first arrived at the UW campus, I quickly became immersed in my community. I became involved with the Black Student Union when I saw how much work they were doing and came across their list of demands to the institution. I joined BSU and became President the following year, after two years on the board, I transitioned into my current position, Black Student Commission Director.

One of my bigger projects has been working with Housing to implement the Black Living Community Initiative where we will take one of the floors on the dorm and turn it into a Black Living and Learning Community. We need a space where Black students, particularly freshmen, can see each other all the time since there are so few of us. We spent the past year working on the project and it will be implemented into the 2024-25 school year housing application!

Another project I’m proudly part of is the diversity credit initiative which was one of those demands that received some of the heaviest pushbacks. The goal was to raise the diversity credit from three to five [credits] because all the other [required] credits at the UW start at five. Our goal now is to increase them even more, and we hope to see more diversity-based classes implemented into all majors.

The best part of the work and accomplishments is being able to collaborate with your board, interns, and friends. We create strong bonds and relationships in all of our Black RSO’s; it’s amazing seeing the support systems and collaborations across campus.

Q. What inspires you to build community?

When a group of likeminded and bright students come together wonderful things happen. I continue to be amazed by others’ talents and new ideas; it makes me happy to be a part of my community. Building community is important to me because we really do need one another. We do not just share similarities on the outside, but we also have similar internal experiences dealing with the world. Our community is our safe space, we help each other both inside and outside of our meetings and the classroom.

Q. How has your experience at UW shaped your future goals?

I think that the service that I’ve done in my community has motivated me and strengthened my passion for my career. Over the last few years, I have learned the processes and workload it takes to make things happen.

Black students and minorities on campus who are fighting for different rights must work harder and jump through obstacles to even be heard, it feels like. Seeing our hard work succeed has inspired me to go into a field where I can continue working for all the right things. UW has taught me what it takes to accomplish your goals on one institutional scale. I now have skills to execute in the real world.

Q. What is the legacy you hope to leave for other UW students?

I hope to leave things better than I found them. I want there to be more resources for Black students all around, and spaces for Black students where they feel comfortable on campus. I want students to continue creating and pushing their demands because if we do not continue to fight and advocate for ourselves then no one else will. I want students to see the accomplishments of the preceding Black community and know that hard work always pays off.

One of the projects I’m doing this year is a sculpture to commemorate the work that the founders of the Black Student Union did. Some of the themes we want visible in the sculpture are bravery, courage, collective will, and race. We’ve continued having conversations about trying to take the George Washington statue down. We have been offered an alternative; the creation of a plaque next to the statue with disclaimers of his slave ownership. We may still do that, but we want to do something to commemorate the work we have actually done. So, we are focusing on the statue this year, a symbol of appreciation and power instead.