Can someone please tell me if any African American student(s) have felt unsafe on campus. Also, do African American students feel safe stepping off of campus?
I am not African American or female, so keep that in mind, but will comment on what I have observed. While not directly indicative of safety, the graduation rate for African Americans at UVA is one of the highest in the country, and that is probably significant. I lived in Charlottesville and can say that the events from 2017 are not really reflective of UVA or Charlottesville. The great majority of the white nationalists came from elsewhere, and the city wasn’t really ready to handle it in the way a city like D.C. might. Charlottesville is a pretty progressive college town in most respects. That said, I think there is a segment of the city’s African American population feels detatched or ambivalent to UVA.
While race relations didn’t seem to be a cause of tension while I was there, I don’t think racial interactions were as extensive as they should be. Perhaps that is changing.
As for stepping off campus, Charlottesville is not without crime, and there were a few high profile incidents in recent years, so you should always be aware. One of the incidents did have a racial aspect (a black UVA student with a fake ID was beaten by police when he was detained), but the others did not.
If you don’t get any other responses here, I wonder if there is a way to reach out directly, perhaps through the Black Student Alliance.