Armani Brockman
contributing writer
Black students at Dominican have always made an effort to represent our history, culture, identity, heritage, and passion for social justice on campus. One of the ways we have been doing this at Dominican University is through the student organization, Black Student Union.
BSU seeks to show our past and current generations that we will take charge of our future, dismantle the negative stereotypes about our people, build and secure our sense of community, and influence the world. We focus heavily on black identity within the African diaspora by understanding how it operates in the world and within those who identify as black or of African descent.
This year, BSU is looking forward to putting on different events, dances, and programs to educate our community on black identity, and explore the complexities and uniqueness of black people.
We understand and embrace how diverse black identity is. Therefore, this year BSU will be collaborating with other student organizations like the Organization for Latin American Students (OLA), Common Ground, Creative Writing Club,
Black culture is rich with diversity in religion, spirituality, arts, ethnicity, and identity, which is why we are committing to connecting with other student organizations. The purpose is to build community so the diverse variations of blackness are represented here on campus.
Black people also have deep roots in activism across the nation that continues to manifest itself within black people in every generation. This year we will explore activism on campus through various events including one in inner city communities on the west side of Chicago. This activist work will not only encourage us to advocate for black people, but for others in America and around the world experiencing oppression.
We are having our first open mic event co-sponsored with the Creative Writing club on Oct. 12, at 7pm in the Coughlin Commons. Our open mic events in the near future will be themed, and we are looking forward to people presenting their talents through dance, art, singing, poetry etc.
Within that same month, we will have our Halloween Costume Dance Party that will be in the Underground on Oct. 26 , at 8p.m.
Community is a huge part of our organization. We seek to build community, especially with our members through our various events. We welcome all of the Dominican community to participate in our events and learn about Black culture, history, activism and identity.
brocarma@my.dom.edu