Pomona College in Claremont is confronting a series of anti-Black incidents that have shaken the campus and raised urgent questions about race, belonging, and accountability.
Multiple students have shouted or sung the N-word at athletic events and in residential halls this year, according to a detailed report from the Los Angeles Times. Students also held a party where attendees were invited to dress as Black stereotypes. A professor’s use of the racial slur in class has drawn criticism, and vandals damaged a campus lounge popular with Black community members.
The college has confirmed the cases took place and are under investigation.
“Pomona College does not care or protect their Black students,” said a recent Instagram video from the Black Student Union that was shared thousands of times.
Kourtney Jennings, a junior majoring in media studies and politics, expressed her shock at the campus climate. “I grew up in suburban Indiana, so I thought I was used to being one of the few Black people around and the snickers and sneers,” she said. “What I did not expect is to encounter such in-your-face racism in Southern California.”
Pomona President G. Gabrielle Starr acknowledged the strain in a campus message this month, citing “deeply troubling accounts of racist incidents.” She added: “I take these concerns seriously, and I know our community does too. Addressing them requires sustained engagement.”
College administrators have said they are expanding trainings on bias reduction and cultural awareness for students, faculty, and staff, including athletics teams. Officials said they are working with the six other Claremont Colleges to weave anti-bias training into the rhythms of campus life.
The conflict is unfolding at a campus whose top leaders know what it is like to be Black on campus. Starr is among a small group of Black female college presidents in the U.S. The dean of students, the athletics director, and the dean of admissions and financial aid are Black.
“As a Black administrator, these concerns do feel close to home,” Avis Hinkson, the vice president for student affairs and dean of students, said in an interview. She acknowledged that “these kinds of experiences are happening more frequently, across both the higher education landscape and the country more broadly.”
Hinkson said campus investigations could end in probation, suspension, and possibly expulsion. “When concerning incidents don’t rise to the level of targeted threats, intimidation, harassment or discrimination, the college relies on more of an education-oriented restorative process,” she said.
Danielle Lynch, who is Black and started her job as the Pomona-Pitzer athletics director this month, said she has begun meeting with athletes because “sometimes we assume that people understand what they’re saying and what they’re doing and they, in fact, do not. Athletics can shift culture.”
Frustration is mounting over the pace of investigations. For some students, the visibility of Black leaders has sharpened expectations. Some believe administrators are focusing on teaching moments over discipline.
At a recent campus town hall organized by the Black Student Union, hundreds gathered to vent and strategize. Students described incidents ranging from micro-aggressions to explicit racism, including a Snapchat post depicting Black students as slaves and monkeys. Students said a professor’s use of the N-word in a classroom discussion after a documentary where the word was said was among the most disturbing.
In interviews, Black students said the climate has worsened since President Trump took office. Jennings described two experiences in downtown Claremont and on campus where people shouted Trump’s name at her along with racist slurs.
The Black Student Union has called for the college to create an office to independently respond to reported bias. It also wants greater transparency in investigations, stronger consequences, and more funding for Black student campus programs and Africana Studies.
Aminah Augustin, a sophomore studying public policy analysis, said the campus initially felt welcoming. But it shifted to what she described as a steady stream of comments by non-Black students about her appearance, hair, and demeanor. “I’m walking on eggshells because some of these people are my friends, and I have to see them every day,” Augustin said.
Marilyne Makendi, senior class president, recalled first arriving on campus excited by a strong Black community. But she saw the Black population shrink as fewer Black students were admitted and others left. With the recent incidents, “the climate has become worse,” said Makendi, an economics major.
The campus concerns also come as universities navigate the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision banning race-conscious admissions. Pomona reported a drop in Black students, who made up 9.8% of first-year students in 2023 and 5% in 2024. In fall 2025, 29 students, or about 7%, of the 420 full-time first-year students were Black.
According to the Daily Bulletin, students have pointed to incidents that came within the span of a few weeks in March. Also, a party whose title included the N-word was held on campus last semester, and the mostly White guests wore ski masks and perpetuated negative Black stereotypes, the Black Student Union students allege.
Jeremy Mitchell, the incoming Black Student Union president, said athletes often “get special treatment,” while he believes students of color “see an increasingly harmful environment” and are “treated differently.” He said he’s talked with incoming Black students “who don’t feel safe to come here.”
Some students see an opening for change. Augustin said recent meetings with Starr and other campus leaders made her “optimistic” that they were listening. “But when it comes to actual action, that’s where they’re falling short,” she said.
Tinarie Dacres, a Black Student Union member and sophomore who studies public policy analysis, said racism has felt more painful because of the close-knit, small campus where Black students are deeply involved in college life. He stressed that the issue was bigger than Pomona.
Racism, he said, “isn’t something that’s new. It’s, in fact, a broader societal issue that has long been present in America.”
The developments take place at a sensitive moment as admitted students weigh decisions and the college prepares to host a California gubernatorial debate on April 28.
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