Kyora Wallace, Staff Writer |
Last Wednesday, Feb. 23, the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center (GSRC) has teamed up with the club Black Engaged Enlightened Feminist (BEEF) to host a Kahoot event for Black History Month.
The Executive Board for BEEF wanted to do something special for Black History Month, so they decided to contact their friends in the GSRC for ideas. This is not the first time the two clubs have collaborated on an event. Around this time last year, they both hosted the first installment of the Beauty Breakdown Series. It was a virtual event where the organizations discussed the history of beauty standards and how it has impacted the African American community. Now they are back together again!
The event was called Queer Black Voices of History. It shined a light on the contributions that Black queer people have made to Black history and the world as a whole. Too often this group is overlooked and erased from conversations about change because of their identities. Queer Black people like Marsha P. Johnson, Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin, and many more were trailblazers and should be celebrated.
Michelle Schneider, the Student Coordinator of the GSRC couldn’t have been more excited. “This event brings awareness to the lives and work of some of the many Black queer people who suffered erasure by systems of discrimination and oppression. Their impact deserves recognition and celebration.” This event is one of many Black history celebrations that have taken place over the last few weeks. Schneider went on, “I love that our campus has numerous clubs that put on Black history month programming, and I like that the Office of Equity and Inclusion does this as well.”
Clubs such as the Pan-African Student Union (PASU), Black Student Union (BSU), and some Greek life organizations have been doing all sorts of Black history events like poetry slams and painting nights. Despite all of this, our campus still has a lot of work to do celebrating Black history all year round. Although February is where the bulk of celebrations take place, it’s important to remember that Black people have made significant contributions to society. Those contributions should not be limited to February. “There is always more we can do to bridge the gaps our educational system and society have created. More programming, especially educational events and ones centered on advocacy work, can have a monumental impact,” said Schneider.
As the Vice President of BEEF for two years now, I can say that I am ecstatic about this event. One of the mission statements of BEEF is to educate, so we love it when we get opportunities to teach the campus something new. Especially when it’s about groups that deserve the spotlight, even more so when we get to share the experience with our friends at the GSRC. They work so hard on campus and getting to collaborate with them is always a fun time.
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