Black Voice: Past, Present, Future
Chris Mosley
Issue date: 2/2/07 Section: Opinion
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As the president of Students for Black Culture (SBC), it is my ultimate responsibility to increase awareness of Black culture in the Hendrix community, when the opportunity occurs. Since February is recognized as Black History Month, it is traditional for SBC, and has been since its birth in 1986, to host an event called "BlackVoice," which is intended to accomplish that goal. Upon hearing this phrase, an individual typically thinks it is solely the voice of blacks, once again, speaking for their rights. However, it is quite the opposite. If anything, BlackVoice encourages blacks and whites to see themselves, first and foremost, as Americans.
I remember my freshman and sophomore years at Hendrix witnessing no more than 15 participants coming to the event. However, during my junior year, when I was nominated as the coordinator for BlackVoice, I decided to change that. My goal was to get as many people as possible to attend the event and to break the "black" connotation people have of the program, by viewing a play called "The Mechnoism." The attendance was at least 300 people.
"The Mechnoism" ventured into how racism doesn't reside only in whites, but in blacks as well. It revealed how one mechanism, lack of education, was a major factor in cultivating racial discrimination. Lack of education is when you say a bunch of whites came to West Africa and captured a bunch of slaves. Lack of education is when you also say only blacks contributed to the freedom of blacks. Lack of education is when you do not recognize the hundreds of whites who fought against slavery and sacrifice their comfortable lives. Lack of education is when you presume a person from another race hates you because of the past. Lack of education is when you judge someone because of the color of their skin. Lack of education is when you do not recognize black contribution to America's development as a nation.
When I was in the third grade, my white best friend and I always played the same games together every school day. When you saw him, you saw me. When you saw me, you saw him. When February of that school year approached, our teacher showed the class a short excerpt from the film Roots and depictions of blacks being beaten by whites, and then said, "Well there you go, that is black history…next subject!"
From that moment on during recess time when children played, you saw blacks at one end of the playground and whites at the other. And I never talk to that fellow anymore, and neither has he talked to me. This is what I call "lack of education."
This year's coordinator is junior Ryan Williams. The 2007 BlackVoice event will consist of dance movement, poetry, and storytelling; and will not be misleading by any means. I invite everyone to come. Hopefully, we as a student body could come out to support this and to leave with a good outcome.
I remember my freshman and sophomore years at Hendrix witnessing no more than 15 participants coming to the event. However, during my junior year, when I was nominated as the coordinator for BlackVoice, I decided to change that. My goal was to get as many people as possible to attend the event and to break the "black" connotation people have of the program, by viewing a play called "The Mechnoism." The attendance was at least 300 people.
"The Mechnoism" ventured into how racism doesn't reside only in whites, but in blacks as well. It revealed how one mechanism, lack of education, was a major factor in cultivating racial discrimination. Lack of education is when you say a bunch of whites came to West Africa and captured a bunch of slaves. Lack of education is when you also say only blacks contributed to the freedom of blacks. Lack of education is when you do not recognize the hundreds of whites who fought against slavery and sacrifice their comfortable lives. Lack of education is when you presume a person from another race hates you because of the past. Lack of education is when you judge someone because of the color of their skin. Lack of education is when you do not recognize black contribution to America's development as a nation.
When I was in the third grade, my white best friend and I always played the same games together every school day. When you saw him, you saw me. When you saw me, you saw him. When February of that school year approached, our teacher showed the class a short excerpt from the film Roots and depictions of blacks being beaten by whites, and then said, "Well there you go, that is black history…next subject!"
From that moment on during recess time when children played, you saw blacks at one end of the playground and whites at the other. And I never talk to that fellow anymore, and neither has he talked to me. This is what I call "lack of education."
This year's coordinator is junior Ryan Williams. The 2007 BlackVoice event will consist of dance movement, poetry, and storytelling; and will not be misleading by any means. I invite everyone to come. Hopefully, we as a student body could come out to support this and to leave with a good outcome.
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