Nubian Message, Aug. 30, 2018 — New year, still lit

NUBIANMESSAGE NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY | RALEIGH, NC | THENUBIANMESSAGE.COM | THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018

New Year

Still Lit

THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018 | 2

Letter from the editor

THISISSUE 3 HARAMBEE!

AACC plans for cultural celebration.

4 BACK TO SCHOOL JAM Hey y’all, I hope the first weeks of the semester are going well. Somehow I’m already swamped with work and responsibilities, but it’s okay. We’re gonna get through this.

As promised, here is this issue’s proverb: “When spider webs unite they can tie up a lion.”

I chose this because it’s a reminder that we’re stronger together. Just as it took the joint effort of students and local activists to bring down Silent Sam—and as it sometimes takes studying with classmates to pass exams—it’ll take all of us supporting one another to get through tough times and working together to bring about the change we want to see in the world.

At times, this may look like building connections at events like Harambee! and Back 2 School Jam. Sometimes it looks like participating in protests, rallies or other acts of civil disobedience. You’ll find examples of both throughout this issue.

I hope that as we find strength in unity we can fight the “lions” of our campus and world.

#B2SJ18 gallery.

5 NEW LOOK OF AACC

Cultural center finishes renovations.

7 DIRECT ACTION

“Violent” protests give us results.

7 IMPROVING DIVERSITY Putting the focus back on POC.

I am because we are, Keilah

The Sentinel of the African -American Community at N.C. State Since 1992.

Keilah Davis

Editor-in-Chief

cover photo by Kaydee gawlilk/Staff Photographer Members of Dance Visions perform at Back 2 School Jam on Harris Field, ednesday, Aug. 22. The Back 2 School Jam is an annual event sponsored by the Black Student Board.

Kennysha Woods

Managing editor

Only with the permission of our elders do we proudly produce each edition of the Nubian Message: Dr. Yosef ben-Yochannan, Dr. John Henrik Clark, Dr. Leonard Jeffries, The Black Panther Party, Mumia A. Jamal, Geronimo Pratt, Tony Williamson, Dr. Lawrence Clark, Dr. Augustus McIver Witherspoon, Dr. Wandra P. Hill, Mr. Kyran Anderson, Dr. Lathan Turner, Dr. M. Iyailu Moses, Dokta Toni Thorpe and all those who accompany us as we are still on the journey to true consciousness.

news

harambee! to welcome incoming scholars, celebrate community

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The plug: Basic Needs on Campus In March 2018, a groundbreaking study by NC State professor Mary Haskett revealed that 14% of students experience food insecurity and about 10% experience homelessness. Nubian Message has highlighted key oncampus resources that address these needs.

Feed the Pack Food Pantry

If you’re in need of food items and hygiene products, visit Feed the Pack. They offer a variety of snacks, canned goods, and health products to NC State students at no cost. Just don’t forget to bring your ID! Location: Honors and Scholars Village Commons Email: feedthepackpantry@ncsu.edu

University Temporary and Emergency Housing

Kristin Bradford/Staff Photographer Drummers Kevin Ohuoba, a sophomore studying accounting,Carlos McClaney, a senior studying technology design and engineering education, and Ade Adesina, a sophomore in Exploratory Studies, perform the ceremonial welcome, Call of the Drums, during the annual Harambee celebration held in Witherspoon’s Sancofa Room on Tuesday, September 1, 2015. “The drums, or djembes, derive from the Gambia says McClaney. “They are used to pass down tradition and oral history.” The rhythm performed, fanga, is a combination of the Gambian and Nigerian culture and is a tool utilized to welcome new brothers and sisters into a united community.

Casey Johnson Staff Writer

The African American Cultural Center (AACC) will host its signature event Harambee! on September 6. Harambee!, which is Swahili for “Let us come together” and the official motto of Kenya, celebrates the new academic year by welcoming the new harvest of scholars to NC State.

The event will begin at 5 p.m. in the Washington-Sankofa Room in Witherspoon Student Center.

John Miller IV, AACC program coordinator and NC State alumnus, weighed in on the importance of this celebration.

“It’s an event to get faculty and staff who identify as black to get to know each other,” Miller said. As an undergraduate, Miller participated in Harambee five times.

This year’s Harambee! celebration will mark the African American Cultural Center’s 27th anniversary.

Miller, who also danced at Harambee! in previous years, said this year’s event will have “Art with a capital ‘A.’” The center is bringing in new professionals from the Triangle area to perform. Robert Colbert, a traditional African drummer, will begin the program with a song, and Willie Hinton, a lifelong jazz dancer and teacher, will dance.

Typically, Harambee! features a gospel choir singing the black national anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” but this year, Iris Wright, a first-year exploratory studies student, will sing.

And of course, there will be food provided. “Food is a large part of our celebratory pieces,” Miller said.

The event is expecting 100 to 125 people and is open to all students, faculty and staff.

Harambee! will honor specific students that have worked with the center. The attendees will also have time to network and connect with each other.

“On a majority white campus, it’s difficult to connect with other people of color,” Miller said. He linked this back to the goal of the AACC: to cultivate a space to connect with other members and allies of the community.

According to Miller, the center’s theme is “the issue of blackness + _____.” The AACC will explore the intersectionality of blackness with different concepts of freedom, identity and voice.

What should people know before coming to Harambee?

“Whether you come to this event or not, you should feel welcomed,” Miller said. “Whether in the cultural center or on campus, you are welcome in our space because it’s your space too.”

For those who need to relocate due to an emergency situation, this resource will consider your case and may provide you with temporary housing.

Associate Director: Karina Pawvluk Email: kjpawvlu@ncsu.edu Phone: 919-515-4339

Student Emergency Fund

Should you encounter unexpected financial crises, this emergency fund is prepared to supply you with housing, food and other essential needs so that you can continue your college career. Visit the website to access the qualifications list and application link.

Website: https://dasa.ncsu.edu/student-emergencyfund/

Wolfpack Styled Professional Clothing Closet The Career Development Center offers students free professional clothing donated by members of the campus community.

Location: 2100 Pullen Hall Email: career-development@ncsu.edu Phone: 919-515-2396

For a full list of resources, visit dasa.ncsu.edu/packessentials.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018 | 4

features

#B2Sj18: A jam to remember photos by Kaydee Gawlik

Sisters of the Mu Xi chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Inc. perform a step routine during Back 2 School Jam. The Zetas won the Pan-Afrikan Step Show in April 2018, taking home the trophy with an “Annie” themed stroll.

Sisters of the Kappa Omega chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. perform a step routine during Back 2 School Jam, Wednesday, Aug. 22, in the Washington-Sankofa Room. Typically, the event is held outdoors on Harris Field, but was moved inside due to rain.

Sisters of the Mu Omicron chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., perform their step routine at the 2018 Back 2 School Jam. The Back 2 School Jam is an annual event sponsored by the Black Student Board.

Trea Johnson, a brother of the Kappa Lambda chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. strolls during the Back 2 School Jam in the Washington-Sankofa Room on Wednesday, Aug. 22.

NCSU alum Jeeda Barrington dances while playing musical chairs at Back to School Jam. The event, which took place after the first day of classes, allows students the chance to learn more about campus organizations.

features

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African American Cultural Center reveals a new look

David Tracey/Staff Photographer Students and staff of the African American Cultural Center gather in The Living Room at Witherspoon Student Center on Tuesday, Aug. 21 during the AACC’s open house.

Yesenia Jones Staff Writer

This academic year, the African American Cultural Center debuted a newly renovated space designed to create a more inviting and communal area.

“We have demolished three walls, brand new carpeting, brand new paint and now we have more of an open floor plan,” said Moses Greene the director of the AACC. “And the wall between two offices now gave us a conference room”.

The AACC, has not had major renovations of this sort since its original implementation in 1991. Before the renovations, the original carpeting from 1991 was still in place and a wall in the front room created a physical barrier that prevented interaction between staff and students.

The new renovations have allowed the staff and students to take full advantage of the space by optimizing the number of events and organizations that can be comfortably hosted in the center. During the first events of the year, both the staff of the center and attendees noticed a huge difference in the space.

“This past Thursday we had a mixer for black faculty and graduate students,” said AACC Assistant Director Sachelle Ford. “Being able to have the open space was tremen-

dously beneficial in allowing us to really feel like the community could come together in this space, whereas before it would have been really difficult.”

Ford continued, “People come in and they say it’s so much more inviting and engaging, I’m happy to be here, the vibes are good”.

Along with larger events, the center can now accommodate for small group collaboration in their new conference room.

“Students can come in and if they have a group project that they are working on for class, that’s a great place for that,” Ford said.

The conference room will be available on a first come first serve basis, unless it is already reserved by a group. Eventually, the reservation process will be available to students and organizations through an online process. The room can accommodate a group of six and has a large whiteboard for organizations and students to use as needed.

The larger conference room listed as room 356 inside the AACC also received a new look. A newly added painting of the first black undergraduate students now graces the walls to inspire current students and create a more of a motivational setting.

In the future, the AACC staff hopes to utilize their new space as well other spaces in Witherspoon Student Center for even more events.

David Tracey/Staff Photographer The African-American Cultural Center gets renovated on Monday, July 23 at Witherspoon Student Center. Much of the renovations happened on the third floor. Changes include replacing the red carpted and paint featured here.

opinion

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Direct Action is nothing new and (sometimes) needed Just like any other topic concerning the prevalence of white supremacy in this country, the debate over the removal of Confederate monuments has sparked many protests across the U.S.—even in North Carolina.

Kennysha Now I can sit here and woods rehash all the reasons why Managing Editor these monuments need to go (of which there are many) and acknowledge the reasons why they can stay (of which there are none), but chances are, you’ve already made up your mind about that topic.

Instead, I want to shift the discussion towards the protests—specifically, the critique surrounding direct action and its role as a form of social activism. This is partly because of the comments I’ve seen across many news sites calling for severe punishment of protestors who forwent peaceful demonstrations for taking down Confederate monuments themselves, and partly because passive activism just won’t work in

the fight against white supremacy.

Note that when I say “direct action,” I’m referring to acts in which activists have demonstrated solutions to the issues they aim to resolve despite opposition from authority and/or the general public.

If you look at American history, you’ll see that we are a country built on direct action against oppression. In the fight against British tyranny, the Sons of Liberty didn’t sit on the Boston Harbor and hold hands around a fire as they sang Kumbaya. They went onto the boats and tossed the tea right into the ocean themselves.

Civil rights for Black people weren’t achieved because they remained calm against the police officers hosing them down in the streets. It was the riots that put the movement toward the forefront of American media and made people take those issues more seriously.

Even in today’s society, we see activists preferring direct action to amplify social issues, and we can’t deny the successful results of those actions. After Bree Newsome took down the Confederate flag at the South Carolina state house on June 27, 2015,

we saw the permanent removal of the flag shortly after. Or consider the anti-fascist group Antifa whose—admittedly—violent protests have led to a decrease in publicized talks that legitimize and promote white nationalism.

Or take the recent protest at UNC-Chapel Hill surrounding the toppling of Silent Sam, a Confederate statue. After requesting university officials remove the statue to no avail, students and local activists took matters into their own hands and brought Silent Sam down with rope on August 20, 2018.

Now, I’m not advocating for everyone to just go out into the streets and start mass riots in the name of progression. I’m actually a firm believer in keeping the peace for as long as it can be kept. However, I find the critiques against violence in social activism hypocritical.

We don’t advocate for the arrests of football fans when they trash business and flips cars over because their favorite team won the Super Bowl in the same way that people are vying for the identities and detainment of those responsible for bringing down symbols of hate.

Furthermore, a more radical form of activism is needed when the main goal of a movement is to dismantle the social institutions that allow for the oppression of marginalized groups—institutions that permit the powerful to commit violence against these groups.

Removing Confederate monuments isn’t some attempt to bury history. These monuments aren’t a symbol of pride and honor.

They’re constant reminders of one of the darkest periods in American history, a time where anti-black racism was accepted in the South and allowed the heinous treatment of Black people without reservation.

Fights for freedom have never been without “violent” activism. Although “violent” activism presents an affront to our moral standards, it has continuously been a useful tool for the marginalized to express their frustrations that come with living in an oppressive society.

And while I do believe in our capability to peacefully strive for equality, the belief is just not realistic, because at the end of the day, it’s not about what we can do to end oppression. It’s about what works.

Diversity does not belong to white people Interracial relations.

Too often these words are used in a black and white context. More specifically, the idea of interracial relationships usually concern group relations between white people and black people. shawn This needs to be said: difredericks versity shouldn’t be treated Staff Writer as a “white only” ice cream shop where white people show up to fill their cone with different flavors of “diverse” experiences and go on with their afternoon. How about tearing down that ice cream shop and appreciating diversity for what it is really about—sharing cultures and experiences between all people.

Not just white people.

Diversity should never be centered on white people.

We have a racial problem in America, but it goes deeper than black vs white; there’s also the tension of black vs brown. I believe diversity focuses too much on building good

relationships between black people and white people. There are more people of color who live in this world than white people.

So black people, we need to start building better relationships across racial lines that are non-white like ourselves.

Unfortunately, diversity in higher education, especially at institutions such as NC State, has a tendency to focus on fostering good relationships between white people and black people. They often center racial diversity and harmony on a black and white spectrum or paradigm.

Like many diversity initiatives, this has the consequence of centering on white people’s experiences. This means that other goals of diversity are lost, like fostering relationships between black and brown people.

As people of color, we are bonded because of our experiences of oppression under white supremacy. It would be easy to use this idea as a basis of our connection. However, a bond between Black people and nonblack Hispanic people, Asian people, as well as all other people of non-white descent, should be built on love and a shared appre-

ciation for our respective cultures, traditions and pride.

People of color all have beautiful cultures and beliefs that we should celebrate. One of NC State’s professed values is diversity, so if the Wolfpack wants to foster an environment of inclusiveness and diversity, then the focus cannot be on white people.

White students cannot be the focus of inclusive initiatives. More focus should be placed upon building community between communities of color across the ethnic, racial and cultural spectrums.

As people of color, we have to take care of each other. That doesn’t mean we can’t have pride for our own respective groups.

It means we see value in each other, which is something we need to start seeing in the white supremacist reality of Trump’s America.

On this campus, we have boundless opportunities to start building a more connected community through programs hosted by the Multicultural Student Affairs.

There are also different affinity groups who hold events that we should all support,

like Asia Night, Somos, Native American Student Association’s culture night, as well as programming during their respective heritage months.

I’d like to see more black faces show up to these events. However, I also want to see more non-white people show up for black events, such as Kwanzaa, Harambee!, and Pan-Afrikan Week.

All people of color have beautiful things about their cultures that should be shared.

It shouldn’t be a huge thing to see non-black Hispanic people in spaces like the African American Cultural center. I’d personally appreciate more non-white women in these spaces. I want to see improved black and brown relations.

As the non-white NC State community, we have to be more intentional of showing up for each other. However, a word of caution that does not mean we should take over each other spaces. Just show up in support of one another.

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