Black Student Union Helps Suffolk Celebrate Black History Month

Black History Month has been one of the busiest and most eventful months for Suffolk University’s Black Student Union (BSU). They have planned a month’s worth of events from lectures, hands-on activities, to movie nights and ‘Backyard BBQ’s.’

Most of these events are being held Tuesdays and Thursdays during activities period, usually at Donahue. BSU’s advertisements are everywhere, you can’t miss them: facebook, e-mails, flyers, etc. Black Student Union has been trying to get the word out in order to raise more awareness about Black History Month.

BSU has invited a variety of different speakers to our Campus: Bakari Kitwana, Yaya Dacosta, Liz Drexel and Lenelle Moise. These speakers are talking about different issues in our world today such as: issues with our generation’s economy, pressure that hip-hop culture has installed in the generation, how to overcome stereotypes caused by the media and even sex education.

“With all of our events we just hope to accomplish a sense of unity between all of the black people on campus,” stated BSU’s Vice President Tabitha Egypt Cherilus. “We put on these events for the enjoyment of the students and to let them know that BSU is here for them!”

The students have definitely enjoyed the events. “I went to the opening with the poet,” said a Suffolk freshman, “and it was packed. Everyone loved it.” Not only are students attending and enjoying all the events, but according the BSU’s VP, they are bringing new faces with them all the time.

Lenelle Moise was the guest speaker at BSU’s first event, the Opening Ceremony. Lenelle Moise is known for her poems about race, class, gender, sexuality, and resistance. She is also recognized for her spoken word performances about Haitian-American identity. During her time at Suffolk, she spoke to the students about growing up in a Catholic school during the 80’s. She also opened up about getting pregnant, and how hard life was for her as a homosexual black female.

A week later BSU held the Black Heritage Trail and a lunch with the Black Studies Program. About a dozen Suffolk student joined BSU for the Black Heritage Trail led by the Museum of African American History. More students came when it was time for lunch during which they had the opportunity to meet and speak to the black faculty members on campus.

The Thursday before Valentine’s Day “Booty Calls and Hook-Ups Part II” took place. This sex education workshop featured Liz Drexel-Hines from the Health and Wellness Services. Ms. Drexel-Hines educated the students with a PowerPoint with facts and statistics about college students and their sex lives. The crowd was very engaged, offering opinion, questions and comments.

This week’s events started off with a lecture and ended with a film screening. The lecture was about how to stay financially stable during these hard economic times. The seminar featured guest speaker Bakari Kitwana an author, activist, journalist and political analyst. His lecture, “Young Americans in the New Economy” examined how the global economy and the recent ‘recession’ affect young Americans today.

On Thursday, BSU presented a screening of Spike Lee’s film, School Daze. This is a film about an African American college student and his experiences. BSU’s E-board chose this movie due to its popularity among African-Americans and its message. “Instead of showing a political black movie which I'm sure all of our black students have probably seen we are showing school daze which in and of itself struggles with its own political issues,” said Cherilus.

If you have missed out on any of BSU’s events this month, you have no reason to worry. On Tuesday, February 23rd BSU is holding the event “My Black is Beautiful.” During this discussion, Yaya Dacosta will be the guest speaker who will discuss the way beauty is portrayed by the media. Yaya Dacosta is one of the most memorable models of season three of America’s Next Top Model. She was also in "Take the Lead" with Antonio Banderas.

Black History Month would lack its meaning if it didn’t have the delicious African American Cuisine. Black Student Union hosted their Annual Soul Food Luncheon on the 17th. This year’s theme was ‘Backyard Barbeque.’ They offered fried chicken, BBQ ribs, and delicious rice.

Last but not least, to bring Black History Month to an end, BSU is holding a daylong event in which Suffolk University Students can volunteer and give back to the community. The event is momentarily postponed due to the Multi-Cultural Summit hosted by Diversity Services. Make sure to keep your eye out for a scheduled date.