Maybe I was expecting too much. When going through the college selection process, i was **** set on attending an HBCU not only because of the positive experience i could get from being around so many focused Black people, but also because I THOUGHT there would be a more in- depth social consciousness on the campus, you know, SINCE WE'RE ALL BLACK HERE.
Boy was i wrong.
I took some courses last year at University of Toledo (superwhite Ohio college) and i SWEAR there was more activity as far as social consciousness, uplifting, and helping the community in the Black Student Union at that school than amongst all 8,000+ of us here at Jackson State University! Its like, people don't care, don't WANT to learn about their history, don't care about their community, or don't want to participate in anything not directly effecting them at that moment. I was braiding this dude hair yesterday who knew NOTHING about Malcolm X except that he was in the Nation of Islam, and talked to anotha dude later that day who knew NOTHING about the purpose of affirmative action. They are both older than me.
So my question is, are there a lot of empty people on your campus? If not, do you think it makes your campus better? If so, what do you think the underlying problem is? do you think a lack of social consciousness on an HBCU campus will contribute to the Black problem when we all graduate? Who is responsible for educating our community: the community as a whole, or individuals? Or am I making too big a deal of this?
I'll try to respond as best I can, seeing that I'm not a college student yet, but I do understand exactly what your saying. I think that the underlying problem is lack of interest. Very few people are interested in uplifting and educating others. Then again, some just don't care. I don't think that having people who are not aware of their history or things going on around them makes the campus better. IMO, it makes it worst. We have to be socially conscious at all times. How can you plan for a future, if you know nothing about the past? The responsibility of educating us, lies with us. We have to learn and pass on what we know. Knowledge is power and if your oblivious to what's going on, you're powerless.
I think that there should be A LOT more going on to promote social awareness.
***Off topic***
I plan to attend JSU in the fall. What year are you?
I have noticed the same thing at my school and other campuses as well. I think we get to these schools and become complacent. We're comfortable because we're in majority black situations and the issues we see and deal with in the "outside world" we're able to and do choose to ignore b/c they aren't necessarily in our face anymore. The interesting thing I find though is that often times not only do we neglect to address nation, world issues but we don't even do anything but complain about the things that are wrong with our own campuses.
Devil's Advocate:
Point #1
Many black students attend HBCU's so they don't have to be socially conscious.
Many of the black students at PWCs become socially conscious in order to bond together to rally against the institutionalized and personal racism they experience on their campuses.
If that racism is eliminated as a binding force, then less students need to be activists.
Point #2
Many of the nations brightest black students and best leaders don't choose to attend HBCUs, yet they get to the campuses of PWCs and become uber-activists.
All of a sudden, they are supportive of all of the endeavors of the African Diaspora in the United States and outside of our country, including supporting black businesses, culture, and civil rights.
Yet, their first major life choice was not to support a black business; by NOT attending an HBCU. Kind of hypocritical . . .
Don't despair, AfroPoeticSista, the beauty of the HBCU experience, is in recognizing that black people are not monolithic and we have diversity within our own culture. Not everyone wishes to save our people, and not everyone is all about bling-bling. They should be allowed to be whoever they are.
Devil's Advocate:
Point #1
Many black students attend HBCU's so they don't have to be socially conscious.
Many of the black students at PWCs become socially conscious in order to bond together to rally against the institutionalized and personal racism they experience on their campuses.
If that racism is eliminated as a binding force, then less students need to be activists.
Point #2
Many of the nations brightest black students and best leaders don't choose to attend HBCUs, yet they get to the campuses of PWCs and become uber-activists.
All of a sudden, they are supportive of all of the endeavors of the African Diaspora in the United States and outside of our country, including supporting black businesses, culture, and civil rights.
Yet, their first major life choice was not to support a black business; by NOT attending an HBCU. Kind of hypocritical . . .
Don't despair, AfroPoeticSista, the beauty of the HBCU experience, is in recognizing that black people are not monolithic and we have diversity within our own culture. Not everyone wishes to save our people, and not everyone is all about bling-bling. They should be allowed to be whoever they are.
Yeah I definitely agree...it's the same way at high schools from what I see. Many black students feel they have something to prove at white schools, so many of them try harder, and try not to be the stereotype. They get too comfortable around each other, and end up dividin each other and becomin real status conscious versus bein open to everyone there.
Are there alot of empty people at UMES? yes...
There were even empty black people when I was in HS, and there weren't that many of us to begin with. I feel you though on the atmosphere of your school, but it is what it is. I didn't come to my school to be immersed in inspirational black people. I just came to be around a dense amount of black culture (and there are so many facets of "black culture")...a change of scenario.
But it is sad to go to a classroom where you feel like alot of ppl around you seem to only have like a 9th grade education. Also, when you bring up some simple, common black history (like the story of Emmett Till), and people look totally lost. I think its a product of today's black society...like "the movement" has is a plateau or going extra slow. People are just too comfortable, so their kids end up comfortable. Comfortable people have no desire to care.
Eh, I personally feel that black students have just gotten really lax with caring...they've become like all the other races. They don't give a damn about anything unless it's a big epidemic, and even then they might not care. I don't know where I read/heard this, but somebody was correlating the drop in Groove Phi Groove membership to young people changing and losing all interest in crap that matters to the race. It was just an interesting analysis.
I can only speak for the PWC that I go to now...there are ALOT of empty people at my school, probably because there's such a large black population at my school and everyone's comfortable with that. I think theres a small amount of consciousness during Black History Month...but that is really it. Most of my classmates only know the little bit of African American history that they learned in high school, which wasnt much at all...I had to start looking stuff up on my own. so at my school I dont see the whole thing of students having to prove their "blackness"...if anything we celebrate how diverse we are as black people...from the suburban blacks to the ones from the ghetto...to the ghetto white kids lol we're not really concerned about our history, which is kind of sad.
Devil's Advocate:
Point #1
Many black students attend HBCU's so they don't have to be socially conscious.
If that racism is eliminated as a binding force, then less students need to be activists.
Point #2
Don't despair, AfroPoeticSista, the beauty of the HBCU experience, is in recognizing that black people are not monolithic and we have diversity within our own culture. Not everyone wishes to save our people, and not everyone is all about bling-bling. They should be allowed to be whoever they are.
