Spirit of Black History Month continues long after February ends

By Christopher DaCosta

With the end of February near, Black History Month is formally coming to a close but many Santa Clara students and staff members of all races say there is no reason to end the celebration.

"I wish people would recognize that black history is not something that should be limited to celebrations in February," said senior Kendra Boyd, director of the Multicultural Center (MCC) "Black history is American history and more should be done throughout the year to acknowledge it as such."

Despite the efforts of various students, faculty, staff and Igwebuike (Igwe), an on campus club which raises awareness for African-American issues amongst other goals, many non-African American students felt that the festivities passed them by all too quickly.

Freshman undeclared business major Elif Soyarslan was one of those who has not yet benefited from the myriad of Black History Month events this February.

"I did want to go to some events, but I missed most of them," she said. "I don't recall seeing many flyers around."

As a Community Facilitator (CF), sophomore Tagen Russell did his best to keep his residents informed of upcoming events but felt that more could have been done. "I think that the university could have done a lot more to let students know that activities were going on and I really do think that there would have been a lot more student involvement," said Russell a psychology major.

Others like junior Jackie Douglas felt that there was a lack of exposure of black history month events to students of other ethnicities. She attributes this to the small community of black students on campus.

"I think this is only because the African American student population here at the university is so small and because of the racist society we live in where non-minorities tend to disregard or not feel empathetic towards minority issues," Douglas said.

It's this lack of representation that Douglas believes is detrimental to the Santa Clara community's goal of increased diversity and social awareness.

"I really think Black History Month has the most significance for non-African-Americans, because it's outsiders who need to become aware of the culture," Douglas said.

Students involved in the planning the events around campus took this into account and made every effort to publicize events.

Latanya Johnson, project manager for the Center for Multicultural Learning, worked closely with Igwe and other staff to coordinate this year's events.

"Igwebuike did a great job of advertising and promoting the events," said Johnson. "There were a number of calendars, emails, a Web site, etc., letting the entire community know which events were happening."

Boyd was happy with the turnout, even though she had expected more students to attend. "I think we always expect to have more participants, but I think those who attended the events took something from them," Boyd said. "They left just that much more educated about the issues."

Black history month brought about new opportunities to students.

"This year, we were able to link some of the events to particular classes, this makes a huge difference in reaching non-African- American students," Johnson said. "This is one of the major initiatives of the Center for Multicultural Learning."

Sophomore philosophy major and Igwe co-chair Xavier Nazario hopes to add to future years' celebrations by having more high-profile presenters come to Santa Clara.

"I would like to see more funding available to bring influential African-American speakers, political activists, ex-Black Panthers, authors and entertainers," said Nazario.

With such powerful personalities on campus the success and advancement of the black community would truly be able to be recognized.

"For me, Black History Month means a time to appreciate what the black community has struggled through but also a time to celebrate the successes," Johnson said. "Nothing we do today would be possible if it wasn't for the struggles from the past."

As a freshman, Boyd often struggled with being one of the few black students on campus. Today, she has been empowered by her previous struggles and finds her identity by helping others understand.

"I believe it is my responsibility to educate this campus about my community; I don't look, think or act like the majority," Boyd said. "It used to be hard for me, but it has made that much stronger."