“Black Women and Politics” is the headline of the African-American Student Association’s (AASA) presentation as many young, enthusiastic women walk into the room. There are 23 women, including myself and one man.
“I think it was a great event! The deltas (Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.) always put on a great show. They keep everyone interacting and it’s great that they have their own day since it’s National Pan Hellenic Council (NPHC) week,” said Physiology junior, Steven Palmer who is the President of NPHC.
We played a common ice breaker of 2 Truths and a Lie before the presentation started. All the slides held historical facts and accomplishments of many brave African-American women that made their name in history. The speakers talked about inspiring women like Patricia Roberts Harris, who served as a U.S. Ambassador, Rosa Parks, Yvonne Miller, who served in the Virginia House of Delegates and Shirley Chisholm, who was the first black woman to ever be elected into Congress.
After the presentation, the room was split in half to make two teams and played Jeopardy to test how much knowledge the audience has retained. Team One (the team I was on) won with $1,500, leaving Team Two with a depressing $400.
Someone in the audience asked,” Why did you choose to only focus on women tonight?” “Women seem like we’re always oppressed, especially black women. If we have any chance to uplift black women, we’ll take that chance. Obama wasn’t the first black to run for president, Shirley Chisholm ran years before he did. Men may be the face the public see, but women put in the work,” replied Psychology senior, Brittany Diaz.
“It (the event) was a good experience; I learned a lot and it was fun. The atmosphere of AASA is empowering and it’s important because this is a really large campus and there aren’t a lot of African-Americans so it’s nice to relate to other people and the staff,” said Pre-Physiology freshman, Maya Haywood.
Although we were taught about African-American history in high school and some of our classes at the University of Arizona, there is always more to learn. Tonight the majority of the audience learned something new and that’s all the speakers can ask for.
There will be many more events before this month ends like the “Boogie Down Block Party X Break Dance Jam” at the Martin Luther King (MLK) building which starts at 7:00 PM and “Giving Back Black Day of Service” at Z-Mansion, located at 288 N. Church Ave. starting at 9:00 AM. So support cultural clubs on campus to learn about other students’ heritages! More information can be found at culturalcenters.arizona.edu.