Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Community Housing

Josephine Mabel Jackson (JMJ) is the name of the community.

 

"We wanted to create a community where every BIPOC student at IWU felt welcomed and safe"

                                     - Jessica Flores & Marlyn Sanchez, Creators of JMJ

 

The JMJ Community was created by Jessica Flores '22 and Marlyn Sanchez '21 in the fall of 2019. They created the community to provide a safe space where students of color can live on campus and emphasize unity by having the opportunity to live with other diverse learners. They wanted to create a support group that functions like a family and encourages vital skills to work with others. And they have done just that and more.

The JMJ Community allows students to have the opportunity to create friendships with people who are not necessarily within your major. Students that participate in this community will be comfortable to express themselves and their culture. 

The community is housed in Kemp Hall, which is one of our small halls, mansion-like house, where students can feel the comfort of home while studying at Illinois Wesleyan. They work a lot with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and with their advisor, Dr. Courtney Irby, in the Sociology & Anthropology Department.

If you are interested in living in this community, please contact the Director of ODI, Sharla Brown-Ajayi (sbrownaj@iwu.edu) or the Office of Residential Life (orl@iwu.edu).