BSU hosts annual Umoja Ball for 2017.
With honor and remembrance, Black History Month has been recognized by every United States president since 1976, with February as its official designated month. For years, organizations across campuses and communities have devoted time and effort in raising awareness, concerning the impact that racial injustice has had on individuals in society today and throughout history.
Concord University became affiliated with People’s Right in Dreaming of Equality in 1996, and after a brief time of inactivity, Black Student Union was formed in 2012. Since then, the club has been raising awareness throughout the university and the Athens community.
James Kemp, President of BSU as of this spring semester, has been advocating for the club throughout the campus since his enrollment with Concord. “I became involved in the organization when I enrolled at Concord, my best friend from high school was President of the Black Student Union. Knowing how passionate I am about social justice, he encouraged me to join.”
Kemp’s personal goal for the club is to ensure that the entire campus is aware and informed of black culture and the issues that people have faced in America, and continue to face to this day. “We hope to be able to have some sort of open forum on campus where race relations are discussed. We also want to take the opportunity to celebrate lesser known black figures as opposed to the same ones we typically hear about in February.”
Recently, the club has helped promote awareness through various activities, including providing different films for students on campus to watch and then discuss afterwards. The latest film picked was Do The Right Thing, a 1989 Spike Lee written, directed, and produced film.
The story follows several very believable characters residing in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn, and provides a glimpse into their daily lives and the type of racial tension present in that time and place. Without being moralistic, the movie coolly shows the characters’ struggles straight up to the saddening climax.
“This film was picked because it showcases issues that still resonates with us in 2017 such as racism and police brutality towards black citizens. This film gradually builds up the racial tensions until the climax of the story seems inevitable, demonstrating how and why so many people within the black community are so impassioned when another Eric Garner of Sandra Bland come up in the headlines,” says Kemp. “My hope for the film is that the audience, especially the non-black audience, gained a better understanding of racial tensions in the U.S and how often it leads to violence.”
Matthew Thomas, freshman at Concord attended the film, “My overall reaction to the film was emotional. Walking out, I felt as though I gained an even broader understanding than what I did going into the movie. There were times where it was comical and the packed room was full of laughter, and other times when it just hit home with events going on today. I think the film drew lots of parallels to today’s society and how there’s still lots of race tension. I think it was a great way to bring awareness to BSU and their purpose. I hope they continue showing more,” says Thomas.
Kemp encourages all who may be interested in joining, or simply bringing awareness to the campus and community to come out. “The club meets every Sunday at 8 p.m. in the SSS study lounge. On February 24, we will be hosting our annual Umoja Ball in the Student Center Ballroom in celebration of both unity and diversity. A poetry slam may also be in the works, so stay tuned,” says Kemp.