The Black Student Union held an open forum discussion of issues addressing African-Americans called “Not In Your History Books.”President of BSU, Crystal Gatling started the night out by saying, “There are a lot of things that go on and happen that we don’t know about.”
Tonita Kirkpatrick began the night elaborating on the meaning of Sankofa. The concept is derived from King Adinkera of the Akan people of West Africa. Sankofa in the Akan language is “se wo were fi na wosan kofa a yenki,” which means, “It is not too taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot.” Kirkpatrick explained that the Sankofa emphasizes that we must go back to our roots in order to move forward.
Visually, Sankofa is expressed as a mythic bird that flies forward while looking backward with an egg in its mouth, which symbolizes the future is in its mouth. Kirkpatrick spoke of a Sankofa mission program that aims to reduce empowerment of African-Americans and also focuses on paying homage to our African ancestors.
Corey Brooker, who is also a member, continued the discussion about the topic of how the first people who were on earth first were dark skinned Africans. In the beginning of his presentation Brooker enlightened that audience by saying, “Everyone is African.” He supported his statement with the fact that the first skeletons that were found were of African dissent.
These were Africans who had large brains and robust figures. Brooker felt that these were important facts because history of the human race cannot be talked about without mentioning the African-American struggle or just African-Americans in general.
Before transitioning to the next topic, the president allowed time for the BSU students to respond to what they just heard. One of the students said that in America it appears that African-Americans are dumb and that whites are superior but African-Americans were here before anyone else and had a big impact in society.
Whitney Williams who is secretary of BSU, followed by saying, “Out of the seven wonders of the world, the only one that is still standing are the pyramids which were built by Egyptians-who were black.”
Shaneka Roberts spoke about the Jim Crow Laws which she said is a euphemism for “Negro.”
Roberts said that the Jim Crow Laws didn’t allow blacks to be cordial with whites. She said that the laws represent that if a black and white couple were to create a new race, that race would destroy America. She said that if any black man were to marry a white women, or a white man marry a black women, they would have to pay either a $500 fine or serve up to 12 months in prison.
Roberts said that the law was so strict that blacks couldn’t even show any public affection to each other because whites would find it offensive.
Roberts briefly touched upon the Louisiana law that required separate accommodations for blacks and whites on railroads. Blacks had to sit in seats assigned to them and whites had to do so as well. One man however, Homer Plessy, decided to sit in the white section of the train. Plessy was arrested and his case was challenged, but he lost.
President Gatling finished the night talking about the Black Panther movement. Gatling said that when most people hear of the Black Panthers, it is something negative. She informed the audience that the movement started in Oakland California in 1966 by Huey P. Newton. It was a movement that severed the needs of blacks who were oppressed. The group was founded on a ten-point program and that was established to further the African-American civil rights movement to strengthen the community, she said.
Gatling said, “I am delighted to see those of you here because it shows me you are interested in learning more about your history because you are here.