“No Question” About Black History Month Events Continuing
Friday, February 11, 2022
Last Thursday, during a virtual panel discussion about Black-owned businesses in Kansas City, guests and members of the Black Student Union were subjected to racist hate speech and obscene images from individuals who hijacked the event.
In the aftermath of that intentional disruption, one of a number scheduled by BSU in recognition of Black History Month, organizers say they were shocked, but undeterred.
“On Friday, we spent the majority of the morning with our adviser just talking about what was happening,” said Bri’Yana Merrill, BSU’s president, before the members took some time to process it all in their own ways. “When Sunday came around, we already had ideas of what we wanted to do.”
They worked simultaneously on a statement to campus and the community about the incident and a “Stand for Solidarity” event that drew hundreds of students, faculty and staff to the quad Tuesday. It was important for BSU to take the lead in that response, Merrill said. It was also important to the members, she said, that they proceed as planned with the remainder of the Black History Month events they had been working on since the beginning of the fall semester — even rescheduling the panel of business owners that had been disrupted earlier.
“There was no question of stopping or hindering those events,” Merrill said. “What happened on Thursday was a lot to process. But we knew we wanted to especially give those businesses a space and to hear from them.”
Upcoming events:
- Feb. 11, 6 p.m., Rock Room: “For the Love of Spades” card tournament
- Feb 13, all day: social media challenge
- Feb. 15, 8 p.m., Arrupe Hall room 220: “Spill the Tea” roundtable discussion
- Feb. 17, 9 p.m., Rock Room: Open mic night
- Feb. 21, 7 p.m., Arrupe Hall room 210: “Mental Health Stigmas in the Black Community” discussion
- Feb. 22, 7:15 p.m., MAC multipurpose room: BSU alumni networking event
- Feb. 25, all day: BSU Day (fundraising for community organizations and BSU)
- TBD: Rescheduled Black-owned business panel
More information and updates are available on BSU’s Instagram page.
