Last Thursday, the Stanislaus State’s Black Student Union (BSU) kicked off their second meeting of the year with Stanislaus County’s NAACP chapter president Wendy Byrd in attendance.
The meeting was conducted in a warm circle of chairs occupied by students, members and faculty as issues surrounding the black community in the Central Valley were discussed.

BSU member Sasha Thompson told her story of feeling out of place. Thompson was born in Jamaica and moved to the U.S when she was fourteen years old. 

“I never knew what racism was until I came here, until I learned it in history. Even then, everyone stared at me for not knowing,” said Thompson. “To cope, I have to carry two personalities trying to find [myself] in society.” 

President Wendy Byrd shifted the conversation by asking, “Other than Black History Month, what do you do?” 

“Make your own happiness. Don’t let school limit what you can do. We have a lot of work to do within ourselves,” Byrd encouraged.

Bryd lifted the spirits of the audience by expressing the advantages of being a minority. 
“If you walk into a room, everybody is going to remember you. If a white person or anyone else [walks in], they’re just one of many, but they’ll always remember that one black person. Use it to your advantage,” said Byrd.

Byrd began explaining how committees love having the addition of an African American in their photos. She is always being picked to promote diversity.

“It’s an advantage because once you get your foot in the door and you get a seat at the table, then that’s when you begin to influence,” Byrd explained.

The audience was informed to stay connected. The relationships you build here are more important than the mission. 

BSU secretary Alliyah Johnson hopes for more members to attend meetings and events. Johnson understands that most black students are a part of the first generation in their families to attend college. Therefore, being in a club isn’t a priority.

Dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences James Tuedio elaborated on efforts to try and bring more representation for African American students to our campus.

Tuedio explains that there are constantly groups of Hispanic students in his office in efforts to better their representation on campus. However, he rarely has African Americans demanding for a change.

“Black Student Union should be helping us with who we should invite to speak here on campus. Instead, we will be here guessing. They won’t feel represented. We can’t interpret the importance of that, it has to be experienced,” said Tuedio.

Working together may bring more important figure like Byrd to our campus.

Towards the end of the BSU meeting, Byrd played an informative video explaining the crucial topic of systematic racism.

The purpose of the video was to show the unequal opportunities given which leads to the harsh unemployment rate purely based on race.

Through all hardships in life, Byrd encourages everyone to stay united.

“We are brilliant people. Use the University’s resources to your advantage. Just look for every opportunity you can and get whatever you can out of being here,” said Byrd. 

This meeting initiated the start of a new collaboration between BSU and members of the NAACP.

BSU’s next event “Black Art Inspired Paint and Sip” will be on February 18th at the Diversity Center.