University of Alabama shuts down magazines uplifting voices and stories of both Black and female students

The University of Alabama suspends Black and women-focused magazines, citing a Trump administration memo amid its anti-DEI crackdown.

Students at the University of Alabama are outraged after university officials suspended the publication of two student-led magazines for not being in compliance with the Trump administration’s guidance on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

On Monday, student members of “Nineteen Fifty-Six,” a campus magazine focused on Black undergraduates, and “Alice,” which focused on female undergraduates, were notified that the university would cease their publications immediately. In its communications, university officials cited a memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi that details the Trump administration’s unlawful proxies for discrimination, stating that the targeting of specific groups by these magazines rendered them noncompliant. Alex House, a University of Alabama spokesperson, says the decision aligns with its commitment to supporting all students and complying with its “legal obligations.” 

“This requires us to ensure all members of our community feel welcome to participate in programs that receive University funding from the Office of Student Media,” House told Politico, noting that student’s First Amendment rights “remain fully intact.”

“Nineteen Fifty-Six,” named in honor of the year the first Black students was allowed to enroll at the university, has been in publication for the last five years. In a statement following the news, its current editor-in-chief, Kendal Wright, shared his reaction to the news: 

“As Editor-In-Chief, I’m devastated but, regrettably, not surprised by the University of Alabama’s decision to suspend Nineteen Fifty-Six based on the current climate of our country. The students who have cultivated this magazine over its five-year lifespan have poured their hearts and souls into their work,” Wright wrote on Instagram. “The mission of the magazine was to educate students from all backgrounds on culturally important issues and topics in an effort to produce socially conscious, ethical and well-rounded citizens.” 

Similarly, “Alice” editor-in-chief Gabrielle Gunter told Politico the news was “pretty dumbfounding.” 

“I was under the impression that we were protected from being affected by any anti-DEI legislation and rulings because of our First Amendment right to freedom of press, but it appears I was wrong,” Gunter added, per Alabama Reflector, recalling the University of Alabama’s vice president of student life, Steven Hood, sharing the news with editors and citing Bondi’s memo. “These were spaces for marginalized students to create work that reflected their lived experiences.” 

Since entering his second term as president, Trump’s administration has made aggressive efforts to roll back DEI practices across industries, but especially on college campuses. Like many universities and corporations around the country, the University of Alabama has reportedly been dismantling spaces serving marginalized students, like the Black Student Union office, for the past year after state legislatures passed a bill banning publicly-funded diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. 

And like the physical spaces, “Nineteen Fifty-Six” magazine founder Tionna Taite says these publications were safe spaces for students on campus. 

“Truly, both 1956 Magazine and Alice are pivotal to the minority experience at UA. I am beyond disappointed in the regression UA has made since I created 1956 Magazine,” Taite said in a statement to the Alabama Reflector. “In 2020, UA made promises to be more diverse, inclusive, and equitable. Five years later, I do not see any progress, and their decision regarding both magazines confirms this.”