Minority Empowerment in the Black Student Union: Annotated Bibliography
Claybrook Jr., M. Keith. "Black Power, Black Students, And The Institutionalizing Of Change:
Loyola Marymount University, 1968-1978." Journal Of Pan African Studies 5.10 (2013):
1-19. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
This article has a main focus on the Black Student Movement at Loyola Marymount
University. It describes how Black student organizations such as the Black Student Union and
the African American Studies Department gave way to the Black Student Movement. These
organizations were created during a time where the term “Black Power” was beginning to spread
across the United States in hopes of empowering African Americans to take a stand against racial
prejudice so they could better improve their quality of life. The article describes the struggles
that African Americans in Loyola Marymount University experienced and how the creation of
the department of African American Studies gave Black students the rights they were fighting
for.
Although this article did not deal directly with the topic that I discuss in my ethnography,
I was able to find relatable quotes that could justify some of the points in my paper.
“Furthermore, neither Loyola nor Marymount offered courses examining the African and/ or
Black experience. Since the Black students’ humanity was not being acknowledged and
accepted, neither the Black students’ social or academic experience was being maximized on
campus. Black students also were no strangers to physical and/ or verbal assaults. As a result, to
respond collectively to such injustices and assert their humanity the Black students formed the
BSU in 1968.” (Claybrook 5). I will use this quote in the background information section of my
paper as a way to show that Blacks were not only being oppressed in North Carolina but in other
parts of the country as well. “To serve as a network and support base for African American
students and provide them with opportunities to grow politically, socially, culturally,
professionally, and academically through the adoption of the principles of the African American
value system”. (Claybrook 15). I will use this quote as a way to show how the Black Student
Union could improve their mission so that it better exemplifies who they are as a group. The
Black Student Union at Loyola Marymount University only includes African Americans in their
mission statement therefor they strive to empower these African Americans. From my research I
have found that the BSU here at UNCC is mainly focused on Blacks so it would make logical
sense if their mission statement was true to who they are as an organization.
Colón, Alan. "Reflections On The History Of Black Studies." Journal Of African American
History 93.2 (2008): 262-283. Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
In this article, Colón gives his readers a deep look into the foundation of “Black Studies”
programs. He explains how these programs came about and how they have transformed Black
culture on modern day college campuses. Before Black Studies were initiated, African American
students on campuses nationwide felt underrepresented and in need of a group solely focused on
their culture and the empowerment of their race. Colón explains the struggles of creating such
organizations and how their establishment has drastically improved African American
involvement on campus as well as cultural understanding.
In my ethnography I argue that because the Black Student Union has placed a greater
focus on African Americans than on minorities; it could be beneficial to the group if they simply
altered their mission statement. Currently it includes: “to educate, uplift, and empower minority
students by providing programs and services that are relevant to community and global issues.”
However through my research, I concluded that the BSU is not giving its full effort into this part
of the mission. By focusing simply on African Americans just as the Black organizations in this
article did, our BSU could use their current programs and events (which are already geared
toward Black students) to expound on African American empowerment. The organizations that I
read about such as: the Afro-American Association and the Negro Students Association were
created around the same time that our own BSU was made and have since then kept the focus on
Blacks. These groups have made ground-breaking strides toward racial equality and have lead
activities to spread knowledge about the African American race throughout their communities. I
can use this to further justify my point that the BSU should focus their attention ony on African
American empowerment.
Letman III, Sloan T., and Janell Bryant. "The Black Christian Students: Diary Of A Social
Movement." Journal Of Global Intelligence & Policy 6.11 (2013): 81-100. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Letman and Bryant focus in on the Blessed Sacrament Young Christian Students of the
Chicago Federation in order to understand the difficulties that Blacks faced while trying to
explain their culture and struggles to their fellow students. Members of the Black community felt
they were being treated unfairly due to their physical attributes and made this known to the
mostly white student body of YCS. However, since these students had never been prejudiced
simply because of their skin color, they were unable to relate to the black students. The black
students banned together and started The Black Christian Students Movement; which would
increase the awareness of black struggles and demand that the needs of black students be
fulfilled.
This article could boost the validity of my argument because it explains the struggle that
the Caucasians experienced when trying to understand black culture and other aspects of African
American History. While conducting my primary research it did not take long for me to realize
that many of the events conducted by the BSU typically only included African American
students. Even the event titled: You’re Black When, You’re White When, did not have any white
students. I could use this article to further prove my point that the Black Student Union is not
putting in the necessary effort to get other races involved in their events.
This being said, a lot of the article deals with the issues of segregation from a religious
standpoint that would not be beneficial to my overall essay. Although the author did a great job
in stating his opinions on I believe that the article would have been stronger if he included more
observations in order to justify his ways of thinking. The author also makes it clear that he is a
Christian and at times it come off as biased because his article based on Christian students and
the reader is very aware of his opinions before he backs them up with observations.
Patton, June O. "African American Women, Civil Rights, and Black Power." Journal Of African
American History 89.3 (2004): 241-265. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Apr. 2014.
There have been many publications of Black men who have fought through their
struggles and made huge impacts on Civil Rights and racial equality, however there are not as
many writings on Black Women and the impact that they have made on our nation. In this
article, Patton focuses on powerful Black women and their outstanding achievements which did
not only affect African American history but the history of the United States as well. Describing
well known women such as Rosa Parks, to lesser known historians like Anna Julia Cooper;
Patton describes the advancements they have made and how they still impact us today.
This article was very informative and well structured. Patton did a great job of drawing
conclusions based off of solid research and not just her own opinions. As I continue to make my
ethnography stronger I want to mimic the way Patton justifies all of her points with careful
research. She is careful not to make any biased statements based on her beliefs and always
relates her writing back to her thesis; just as I would like to do.
Although this article pertains to African Americans and the empowerment of Black
women; there is not much that I could use to strengthen the thesis of my paper. I could possibly
relate protests and events for civil rights to the BSU’s own methods of promoting racial equality.
However, my essay would benefit more from incorporating Patton’s writing and research
techniques.
Peery, Annette I. "Diversity Must Start Somewhere: The Experience of One College Of
Nursing." Journal Of Cultural Diversity 20.3 (2013): 116-124. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
In this article, Peery conducts research on the School of Nursing at East Carolina
University in order to see how the concept of diversity has changed since the Dean began to
implement new rules and regulations on creating a diverse student body. Through her research,
Peery realized that diversity did not only mean having different races on campus but also people
of different backgrounds, social classes, sexual orientations, religions, and cultures. The Dean
initiated a Diversity Advisory Council and the focus shifted from diversity within the students to
students as well as faculty. Peery concluded that although the school was not truly diverse yet,
the Council was making great strides by creating international courses, partnering with
cultural/ethnic groups, and conducting activities to promote diversity and acceptance on campus.
This Journal was interesting to me because it made me think of diversity in a new light.
While conducting my primary research I was mainly focused on race; forgetting to realize that
diversity does in fact include: culture, sexual orientation, religion etc. In fact, gay students here
at UNC Charlotte could be considered a minority because most of the student body is
heterosexual. I could use this in my paper to bring in a different concept of what it means to
empower minorities. This would be a great way to test the Black Student Union’s mission
statement, because it does not state that it empowers the minority “races” but simply minorities.
Does the Black Student Union reach out to different social classes as well as different sexual
orientations? What are some strategies that the BSU could use to truly be an organization that
empowers minorities?
Linly,
I think that this draft definitely has its strengths. First, I’m quite impressed with the ways
in which you’re able to consistently engage with clear, formal, and concise language. It
makes the piece, as a whole, much easier to read and understand. Further, I think that
most of your summaries are very strong. You present the information in the article in a
way that is both short and sweet yet still detailed enough to really help the reader catch on.
However, I do still think there’s some room for improvement, mostly in terms of
your analyses. While I can see that you’re working hard to make connections between your
own research and the research presented in each of your articles you’ve chosen, I still think
there are some holes to fill. Your first analysis is strong, but I don’t think the organization
is working. Try to avoid the “insert quote, comment, insert quote, comment” approach,
and instead work on talking beside the scholar in the ways that you do in all your other
entries.
Your subsequent entries, though strong in organization, lack in terms of
development. Sometimes I have a hard time understanding HOW you’re actually going to
use the research to your benefit and other times I question why you’ve chosen certain
pieces, as you claim that they don’t really help you out. Each source that you choose should
help you, and you should be able to clearly articulate any connections to your
reader/audience. This is definitely something to push for as you move forward in revision.