Black History Month: A chance to honor Black history and the progression of diversity at a predominantly white institution
Krystal Carter uncovers a call to action for deeper, authentic engagement among the Black student body
Students raised challenging points about exclusion, willful ignorance, lack of effort and divisiveness affecting the state of the Black student body and leadership at the University of Nevada Reno, at the first few Black History Month (BHM) events.
Faculty members at UNR, such as Brandon Sanders, Coordinator of the African Diaspora Program and Student Advising and Development at The Multicultural Center have curated these events with the intention that students who show up are able to be their authentic self, express concerns, and feel safe.
Starting out BHM with a movie screening at the Joe Crowley Student Union Theater, students were able to view the Destin Daniel Cretton film “Just Mercy”. After the movie, Sanders and students had a discussion, sharing their reflections on the film and experiences on campus.
“I think the beautiful part,” said Brandon Sanders, “not only were there Black students there, but there were also other students as well who were able to gain a better perspective and understanding of someone else’s lived experience [which was effective].”
Following Movie Night was the Nevada Scholars of Tomorrow all day event for prospective UNR students on Feb. 2. It featured a panel of Black students from all realms of campus speaking to high school students about their experiences at a predominantly white institution (PWI).
Regarding the turnout at these events so far, Sanders said, “they have been decent numbers wise, the Just Mercy event was a very intimate and deep conversation.”
Trivia Night Sparks a Riveting Culturally Intimate Discussion
At the heart of these events is the opportunity for students to come together to discuss shared experiences and make suggestions for collective action to improve our community.
While the attendance has been generally low, these small groups have proven to bring more value to the BHM events. Small and intimate events can be more significant than large and performative ones.
Black History Trivia Night proved to be the most informative event yet, given the honest and joyous interactions amongst a small group of students.
Sanders wrapped up the trivia night with a quaint but intimate moment that fostered a transparently unified space for those present to talk about our experiences as Black members of the UNR community.
“A lot of division comes from within,” Abrie Smith, a sophomore said. The presence of this division has manifested from a GroupMe chat run by the Black Student Organization executive board. Several instances of hateful speech, directed at other BSO members have transpired. Members who have called out others for disrespecting peoples’ background, sexual orientation, and ideologies have been attacked for arguing for a safer space to interact without such damaging conversations.
After attending these events, a general consensus largely expressed by students in the GroupMe was that change needs to be made.
A number of students proposed having a forum this month addressing issues with exclusion, lack of effort, care, miscommunication and divisiveness concerning the Black Student Organization.
Those in leadership positions are expected to be held accountable for their lack of effort to acknowledge the hateful conversational habits in the BSO GroupMe and unify the Black student body.
Celebrating our Diversity by Acknowledging our Mistakes
“This is the first year the incoming class is majority minority,” said former ASUN Assistant Director of IDEA Helen Girma, “and [I] haven’t seen any celebration for that.” Students feel that our growth in population on campus should be celebrated, and this month is as good a time as any. However the current proliferation of unacknowledged division amongst Black students halts the progression of Black student unity.
Although these issues extend far beyond the university’s jurisdiction, students expressed the importances of starting small to consider what can be done now within the institutions we are working in.
As for the University’s attempts to honor BHM and Black students [speaking to ASUN and non-Black faculty], let it be known that students are not oblivious to the “University’s way of inciting unity through trauma,” said Abrie Smith, “specifically Black trauma.”
As far as improving the attendance at these events, students have requested that in the future The Multicultural Center and other student organizations consider releasing an early poll months in advance so they can have a say in what events happen.
It’s about time that students and faculty address what isn’t working and actively work to change and do better to preserve the Black community on this campus. Students and faculty ought to be collectively focused on creating safe spaces that allow the multifaceted aspects of Black culture to be acknowledged and thrive at the University, rather than dwelling in division and ignorance.
Reynolds Sandbox reporting by Krystal Carter
