Black Culture Awareness rough draft
Black Culture Awareness
How Black Culture Awareness can bring students together at High Point University.
by: Airion sanders
Q news
3/24/22
High
Point University is a predominantly white school. According to Jay Lowery, the
total enrollment is 4,910 students. 7.1% are black, 2.4% are Asian, 6.7% are
Hispanic, and 76.4% of students are white.
Since
the percentage of the black student population is low, compared to the
population of white students, HPU has almost 100 clubs and organizations
providing diverse opportunities to get involved, and the Black Culture Awareness
organization is one of them.
The Black Culture Awareness organization was established
in 1990, which promotes awareness of black culture and black heritage, at HPU
and throughout the High Point community. The main goal of BCA is to bring
students together that have a common interest in black culture and provides a
safe space for free expression of views on the social, economic, legal, and political
aspects of issues that are affecting the black community.
How it Began:
Lanita
Williams has helped students at High Point University for almost 30years. In
1987, she helped students form the organization. She gave insight on the organization
and how it came to be.
“We
probably have not had a black organization since late 70s, early 80s,” she
said. “There was a group of students in the late 80s that realized that we
didn’t have one and they wanted to form one.” she said.
“Mainly
the goal was to promote the black culture on campus, so they approached me and
asked me if I would be their advisor.” “So, we officially became a organization
in 1990”.
When
she was asked about whether there were any struggles that may have been within
the organization, she explained the proper steps that needed to be taken in
order to fully form BCA.
“It was a matter of getting the organization.”
“I think we had to have a mission statement,” “I believe SGA had to look at
it”. Williams stated.
president of BCA:
President of BCA Aleah Hayes, who is a senior
at High Point, opened up about her experience and how she got introduced to BCA.
“It
happened during my freshman year, during the involvement fair, where they had
all of the clubs come out and display everything.” “The woman that was running
the club seemed very intelligent, very likable.” “So, I asked for about it and
they said, “the first club meeting this and this date make sure you come out”.
“So,
I did, and ever since I was hooked because, as a black student going to a predominantly
white university, I want to make sure I find my group of people, and make sure
I got connected with my black culture.” she said.
“At first,
I wasn’t confident in my black culture, being black and what that really meant.
So, I thought this group would be the best place for me to find my blackness
and more so be comfortable in that.” Hayes stated.
Hayes chimed in on the overall message that
she and other members of BCA wanted to bring to the table.
“I
would say that the essential value that we try to convey to our members is
unity in the black community.” “Even though we are black, and we are the minority
in the university, we want to make sure that we are not divided as black
people.” she said.
She
continued to express how she wants to encourage students to talk to any black
students they see on campus and be friendly towards each other.
“In terms
of what we want to convey towards just the majority of people on campus that
are white, is that you can come to BCA even though it Black, we do welcome
everybody no matter what skin tone, racial background you come from, we open it
up because we want to share our culture with people and we don’t want to seem
exclusive or prejudice in any way being a black organization.”
“Our
doors are opened to everybody; white people are more than happy to come to
learn about us and to see us in a different light they may have not seen.”
“There
are about 36 members give or take, we try to gain members continuously
throughout the year.”
“Black
culture is viewed in a very negative light in America, we are known as thugs,
or being ghetto, loud especially through the movies that are shown in a very
stereotypical way,” she said. “The whole point of this organization is to bring
light to the situation, to show that we are multidimensional people, and we
don’t just fit into one box of stereotypes.”
“We want to show that we are different, and we
are intelligent, beautiful, bright black people, and people should get to know us
on an individual basis rather than generalize us to stereotypes you see on tv.”
she said.
SGA rep of BCA:
SGA representative, K’Lynn Ware, a Junior at
HPU, also opened up about her experience with BCA and she was also introduced
to the organization.
“Freshman
year, I came into college with a mindset of meeting so many people in my major
but unfortunately going to a predominantly white school, I didn’t find a lot of
people that looked like me, or people that I could relate to.” she said.
She
expressed how at the time, she wanted another outlet, even though she felt that
she could relate to people outside of her demographic, which further explains
how she found BCA.
“I
was only a member at the time, so I would go to the meetings, they would host
club meetings twice a month, and I would go and have a great time, go with my
friends that I met that semester, and it was always just a good time.” she
said.
She indicated
that when she would go to these meetings, they would have conversations about
black experiences on campus and what to expect since there were mostly Freshmen
that were trying to get to know each other and build relationships. She talked
about the impact of COVID 19, as she transitioned to her sophomore year.
“Well, COVID hit, and I guess furthering into my sophomore year, I was inducted to be
Student Government Association Representative.” “I would go to the SGA meetings
every Thursday; we would talk about the bills and what we needed for the club
as far as events went.” she said.
Ware
opened up about the enjoyment of BCA and how it allowed her to have a voice and
have the black experience on campus.
“I
really enjoyed being a part of a black club on campus that allowed me to have a
voice, and have that black experience even though, it's not a full black experience
just because were are on a PWI campus, it's still nice to know that I have
people to get to, and talking to them about life, school, and different other
things.”
Like
Hayes, Ware also wants to encourage the majority of Students to understand that
minorities are present, and how important it is to make sure that everyone
feels included in regard to campus events, and different organizations on
campus.
“I
just want us to be heard, and to feel important, to feel like we are showcased
in a good light, and always striving for the best.” “I just want us to be more
highlighted on campus.”
She
also talked about how she wants to encourage more students to join BCA.
“Anybody
can join BCA, even though we target minorities on campus, we include everybody
on campus.” “I think the club is important to have on campus just because there
are little number as far as minorities on campus.” she said.
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