If you’ve been following the news lately, you know that students in my home state at the University of Missouri, affectionately known as Mizzou, have been through a lot lately. A group of students calling themselves Concerned Students 1950 — after the year the University of Missouri became integrated — ramped up peaceful protests against an administration that they believe hasn’t done enough to prevent systemic racism from rearing its ugly head on campus. In recent days, one graduate student went on hunger strike and a group of black football players refused to play; their head coach Gary Pinkel, the most-winning coach in the history of Missouri, supported their actions and tweeted, “The Mizzou Family stands as one. We are united. We are behind our players. #ConcernedStudent1950 GP.” As much as I hope Missouri is on a progressive path toward a world where all students are cared for equally, it will take more than just removing the president to accomplish this.

After gaining the support of Missouri Governor Jay Nixon and many members of state government, the group successfully pressured the university president, Tim Wolfe, into resigning and stating that he took responsibility for failing to take enough action on issues of race. At a press conference, Wolfe said, “What was starting to become clear was the frustration and anger was evident, and it was something that needed to be done that was immediate and substantial for us to heal.” Gus T. Ridgel, an economist and an African American member of Mizzou’s class of 1950, said, “Anything that affects the bottom line is going to get the attention of the leaders; I have to commend them on accomplishing what people this time last year would have considered an impossibility.”

But as Ridgel knows well, change does not come easily. The issues Concerned Students 1950 are protesting will not disappear overnight. As those of us from the Show-Me State know quite well, racial tensions still run deep. On Tuesday, a student on Yik Yak, an app that allows users to send anonymous messages, posted “I’m going to stand my ground tomorrow and shoot every black person I see.” Mizzou students last night reported on social media that some white students were “riding around in pickup trucks terrorizing black people” and chanting “White power.”

Change requires supporting groups like Concerned Students 1950, but also acknowledging the bitter reality: Missouri is not backwards, but its progress on issues of race has been painfully slow. If we hope to overcome this, removing the president is only the first step of many substantial changes that we must make.

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Email Laura Adkins at [email protected].