This February, the Black Student Union at WNMU has a series of events planned to celebrate Black History Month.
“Our Kings and Queens Social is our first event,” said BSU President D’esha Epps. “Everyone gets to meet up with each other and talk.”
This social event is not just intended for students. “We also invited all of our Black staff and faculty,” explained club advisor Breya Brown, “so the students know who their mentors are and who they can reach out to.”
BSU Vice President Amina Brown noted that the social was also a good way to promote membership in the club. “We are celebrating the fact that it is Black History Month,” she said. “But we are also getting the word out that we are a standing club where everyone is welcome.”
While the club has a number of dedicated members, there have been some challenges to growing their numbers. “Many of our Black students are athletes,” explained Epps, “so working with their schedule is very hard.” Epps, Amina Brown and Breya Brown agree that the social is a good opportunity to foster more awareness about the club.
Other events planned for the month include a Historically Black Sip ‘n Paint that allows participants to enjoy mocktails while they create paint-by-numbers masterpieces depicting historical Black figures. BSU is also sponsoring a Valentine’s Day giveaway of roses and soda and a movie night featuring the Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence film “Life.”
The month of events culminates with a Black Unity Ball on February 28. The formal ball is not just about dancing, explained Epps. “We eat, we play music, and we award some of our students for the things they have accomplished,” she said.
The club has invited members of the community to the ball as part of BSU’s outreach efforts. “We really like to be part of not just our campus community but also the outward community,” explained Breya Brown. “We like to work with the Black-owned businesses in town and to get to know our health-care providers better.”
In addition to inviting area professionals, the club has also invited a group of Black students from La Plata Middle School—students that the members of BSU have been mentoring.
“Once a month we visit La Plata Middle School here in town, and we help mentor their Black students,” said Breya Brown. “They also have a small population of Black students just like we do here on campus, so we wanted to reach out to them and offer that olive branch of building community with them. This year will be the first year that we invite them to the Unity Ball to show them what we do and how they can be involved in community and campus events.”
The ball will be held in the WNMU Museum, a location that Amina Brown said felt very appropriate, given the museum’s concern with preserving history. “As we have kept the club going, we will be part of our campus’ history as African American students,” she said, “so to hold the ball in the museum is really amazing.”
For information about dates, times and places for specific events, please see the university calendar.