°®¶¹´«Ã½ÊÓƵ

02/15/2021 12:00 AM

The significance of Black History Month should serve as a reminder for everyone to hold themselves accountable for recognizing black history year-round.

Being culturally competent, diversifying faculty and curriculum and expanding students’ knowledge of minority activists and leaders are effective ways to support marginalized students and promote acceptance in the classroom.

To commemorate Black History Month in the classroom, we asked student leaders, “What does it mean to be Black at °®¶¹´«Ã½ÊÓƵ?” They said…

“Being black at °®¶¹´«Ã½ÊÓƵ means you are a part of another family. It means you are a part of a community that’s going to constantly challenge and encourage you to become better. That’s my favorite part about being black at °®¶¹´«Ã½ÊÓƵ.” – Charles Myers ‘21

“Black culture at °®¶¹´«Ã½ÊÓƵ is vibrant and vivacious. Although we are a small group, we are a big family. Being Black at °®¶¹´«Ã½ÊÓƵ means to be connected to and have awareness of how deep our culture runs. We embrace the values of the °®¶¹´«Ã½ÊÓƵ community but also find ways to contribute/influence its overall culture. Why? Because the °®¶¹´«Ã½ÊÓƵ community must embrace all that °®¶¹´«Ã½ÊÓƵ is which includes a wide variety of cultures.” – Nailah Brown ‘22

“Being black at °®¶¹´«Ã½ÊÓƵ for me is more than just being a part of a smaller group in a crowd. For me it is about paving the way for diversity through leadership and examples, and promoting inclusion through compassion and understanding. Getting to know people that look like me on campus is really amazing but getting to know about people from all walks of life that don’t look like me may just be the better part.” – Aniekeme “Ahni” Unah ’23