The Black Africana Student Union (BASU) held an open event for students called the Social Hour which looked to help and encourage Grand Rapids Community College students through different hardships that Black people face on Tuesday, Feb. 6.
BASU president Tyrell Jackson spoke on why this event was crucial to kick off Black History Month for GRCC.
“My goal is not only for this event to be blasted off as solely BASU but to blast off Black History Month as a whole,” Jackson said. “We also partnered with ODEI, and it was a pleasure that we get this opportunity. And it’s only the first event of the month so we’re looking to get strong student engagement.”
Andre Walker, 17, from Grand Rapids, was one of the attendees and believes that the knowledge he gains from these events will help him in his future career.
“It feels great to attend an event like this because I get to learn a lot about other people and their upbringing which gets me closer to my community,” Walker said. “One thing I will always try to do is use the information I get and apply it to my rap career. So when I learn about what people have been through, I can connect to them through my rapping.”
The event started with a prompt of four questions:
- What’s your major and why?
- What’s something you wish you knew before attending college?
- What are some fun facts about you?
- What are three things on your bucket list?
The questions were intended for students to connect with one another while also serving as an icebreaker. There were also free refreshments and snacks provided including coffee, hot cocoa, cookies, and chips.
Jackson started the presentation by informing the audience of the upcoming events during Black History Month that the BASU and Office of Diversity Equality Inclusion (ODEI) will be hosting. That includes:
- Noche De Karaoke night, Thursday Feb. 8 from 5:30 – 8 p.m. at the Raider Grille
- Free tickets to the movie “The Color Purple”, on Feb. 15 at 5:15 p.m. at Studio Park Celebration Cinema
- Food 4 Da Soul Catering Feb. 20 12:30 – 2 p.m. at ATC Building Room 120
- “We Are Not OK” diversity lecture. Feb. 22 8 -9:30 a.m. and then 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
During another short intermission students were encouraged to connect with the panel-discussion board while thinking about questions they wanted to ask the board.
This led to the panel discussion portion of the event which touched on the difficulties of being a first-generation Black college student, not knowing what you want to do with your major, building connections, what code-switching means and how to do it efficiently, and what Black History Month is about.
The makeup of the panel included Associate Dean of Student Success Raynard Ross, Student Life Office Manager Sheena Weaver, Grand Rapids Learning Center Principal Rodney Brown, GRCC Professor and Counselor Dr. Andre Fields, and Interim Director of the Woodrick Jamillya Hardley.
Brown put an emphasis on persevering through hardship while also questioning if teachers are supporting their students enough.
“Young people who are persisting and trying to make it through college using determination and grit but us educators have dropped the ball by not coaching you hard or providing the support to you,” Brown said. “As a first generation student in my family, I wanted to quit and I called my Grandma and she said not to quit and was providing the support I needed. We need more of that in today’s society from the educators.”
Weaver disclosed a personal story and how she battled adversity but still managed to get through due to her motivations.
“Being an African-American female while also being a young mom, I did have the feeling that I had to prove people wrong,” Weaver said. “So having my son at a young age definitely was a motivation to go to college. And I’ll never forget the day I graduated from GRCC and my son was in the stands.”
After discussing their personal experiences through college to the present day, the panel switched to talking about code-switching. For those who don’t know, code-switching is when a person alternates between two or more varieties within a language, like switching between professional words and slang terms.
“I don’t call it code switching; I call it appropriate behavior,” Brown said. “In terms of being a communicator, you gotta communicate wherever you are… even there I said gotta. It’s not an appropriate use of English but it’s communicative. You don’t have to lose who you are or lose authenticity to be in any space.”
The last topic the panel board discussed is why Black History Month is essential. Ross wants people to think about those who came before him and the future generations of Black people.
“I think it encourages us to not be lazy and never forget,” Ross said. “At least for me, I looked into our history and I realized that it’s not just about me, it’s about who came before me and those who come after me.”
