Eastern recently put the Black Lives Matter flag up for the second time on its recently introduced We Are EIU flagpole.

The first time the flagpole was used was to fly the Black Lives Matter flag. This came after a nearly two-year long effort from two students to have the flag flown.

The students’ original goal was to have the flag flown during Black History Month.

We at The Daily Eastern News believe having this flag displayed will be a good step for Eastern after years of Black students feeling uncomfortable on campus, facing discrimination on and off campus and being overlooked by administration.

Eastern has been taking initiative in many ways this academic year to have conversations about racism and how to support Black students and faculty on campus and we need more of this.

Eastern needs to not use a piece of fabric to display its support for its Black students, but focus on having those tough conversations regarding the difficulties and disadvantages those students have experienced and continue to experience.

This Black History Month comes in a time of great recognition about the issues people of color face in this country and we hope Eastern takes this month to dive deeper into the issues they have previously avoided.