Fall 17 Blackboard
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BLACKBOARD BREAK THE MOLD | FALL 17 8 Excellence: HONORING JUST A COUPLE MOMENTS OF PURE BLACKNESS 29 Cover Story: DIVING INTO THE PRIVILEGE OF BLACK MAS- CULINITY 36 Black Abroad: WHAT DOES INTERNATIONAL BLACKNESS LOOK LIKE? Black(Board) Excellence A FRESHMAN CLASS FULL OF BLACK LEADERS AND A SENIOR WHO CARRIES BOTH BLACK AND QUEER WITH PRIDE An African Journey to a Black 15 Identity BLACKNESS IS EVER EXPANSIVE, BUT learning HOW YOU’RE POLICED ACROSS BOARDERS beacuse of IT IS A journey in and of itself. Home Don’t Stop Existing when you get here MENTAL HEALTH WHILE BLACK IS like tredding UNCHARTED TERRITORY. FOUND OUT WHY LOOKING BACK TO OUR ROOTS MIGHT BE THE ANSWER. ctrl: rebuilding a broken heart WHY YOU BOTHER ME WHEN YOU KNOW YOU DON’T WANT 27ME?!“ A REVIEW OF SZA’S WORLD IN CTRL. COVER STORY: 4:44 & the black masculine To be a black male means holding a specific privi- lege. looking at jay z’s 4:44, one man explores the black masculine and all its complexities. BLACKBOARD ASKS Studying abroad is often a part of the full college 37experience. but what is it like to carry one’s black- ness into these new cultures? 2 BlackBoard Fall ‘17 Break the Mold 3 Our team Editors-in-Chief Princess-India Alexander Aaron Lewis Managing Editor Kali Robinson Senior Editor Debbie-Marie Brown Creative Director Princess-India Alexander Photography Courtney Morrison Makeup Darcelle Pluviouse Maia Brown Staff Writers and Taylor Bolding Curators Maia Brown MJ Butler Brandon Ford Austin Gardner Tyler Holmes Kira Riley Innocent Ruhamya Rory Tsapayi 4 BlackBoard Fall ‘17 Le!er from Le!er the Editor from FMO Somewhere in the Bible, right next to Genesis 12 To My Family, and right before the whole forbidden apple Most of us are in no way blood related - but we are debacle, God made Black people and promptly related. When I was first elected as the Coordinator broke all connecting molds. He simply said, “Let of For Members Only, I saw it as an opportunity to there be excellence” and called it a day. And if we’re serve my community. 5 months into the position, I all honest Black people took this lead and ran with see this as an opportunity to lead my family. As an it. executive board, our mission statement for the 2017- 18 school year was simple: To build, foster, and main- There isn’t too much out there that our people tain a fruitful, inviting, and engaging Black commu- haven’t looked at and known for a fact that we nity for all. We have yet to fully fulfill this mission, but could make it infinitely better. Rihanna is in a constant state of re-defining fashion. T-Pain the groundwork has begun. As a board we have more work to do, and as a family we can do looked at autotune and gave us all the give of “Buy U a Drank.” And in 2013 when Black Lives better. Matter hit the scene the very idea of protest was rewritten. If you have any question about the matter just look to every other cause out there using the “BLANK Lives Matter” phrase like it’s a Fifty years ago, 100 students put their education on the line to fight for the rights, resources, Mad Libs prompt. And from the beginning BlackBoard wanted to follow in this example. and privilege we sit in now at this university. Although the university made tremendous efforts to keep them separated and defeated, these Black students came together to takeover the When this magazine began in 1971 there was no precedent to follow or outline for guidance. Bursar’s Office and ignite change on this campus and around the nation. The group of stu- The only constant was the idea that the Black community on this campus deserved a platform dents came from all walks of campus life - from actors to engineers, and was lead by a fierce with which to share its voice. Our experiences as POC on a PWI were more than simple acro- Black woman, Kathryn Ogletree. They broke the chains that the university tried to bind them nyms that rolled off the tongue. They were perspectives giving context to something under- with, and responded by using those chains to literally shut the Bursar’s Office doors for thir- stood only by those walking in these identities. They usurped definitions of mental health and ty-eight hours. Thirty-eight hours they sat and fought for us. Thirty-eight hours. put together new notions of blackness because it was (and is) ours to construct and recon- struct as we see fit. This year we have the opportunity to continue and build upon their legacy. We have a fight to continue. We have change to make. Most of us have our own small families on this campus in BlackBoard hangs its principles on this idea because the community we represent is one exist- the arts, or in STEM, but we are all apart of a bigger family, and a bigger history just by being ing beyond boundary and beyond all normative standards. And such is a privilege I can’t begin Black Northwestern students. to explain. I am halfway through my term as Coordinator, and have a lot of growing to do, but my request Put simply: We broke molds. And if the last few issues are any indication I know BlackBoard is that we begin growing together. To build that cohesive family I know we can achieve, we all will continue to even when I’m gone. I can’t say I’m proud enough that this is my last issue and need to put in work. There is no better time than now to build, to come together, and to make that, honestly, this publication is just getting started. our mark. There has never been as many Black students on Northwestern’s campus than now, As always if you have any comments, thoughts, concerns or even want to join our team please and I believe in all of you and the history that we are destined to continue. feel free to reach out! Our email, [email protected] is always ready to hear from you. A hundred students sat in an office for thirty-eight hours for us to be here. As we approach the 50th year commemoration of the Bursar’s Takeover this coming May, I ask you to simply think about how you can better this family for those who will come after us. Break the box that you are in and leave your mark - because this family legacy will live forever. Sincerely, Princess-India Alexander Editor-In-Chief “The turnout was way bigger than I expected, supported by someone there.” Freshman which made me really excited,” said Brown. “Not Though he is passionate about the social as- just for the number of people who applied, but pect of FMO, Treasurer Nelson Okunlola wants for the number of people who voted. I think 60% to make sure the group places emphasis on of the black freshmen actually participated in the philanthropy as well. On his own, he has already voting.” sold cookies in Norris to raise money for gloves to give to homeless people in Evanston. Executive Board Once being elected, this group of first-years wast- ed no time in beginning their initiatives. “Along with my vision of allowing FMO to be a place where we can promote black solidarity, “It’s clear that we all want to plan a ton of events I also want to focus on giving back outside of this year,” commented Secretary Mari Gashaw. Northwestern,” He said. “I plan on incorporating “Through all of the events and organizing and a lot of community service-based activities into discussion that will go down, I want us to know FMO to try and show our black excellence not that this is our school and we deserve to feel wel- only on campus, but off campus as well.” come.” Since being elected, the group has already hosted a showing of Moonlight, and have made The board has now had two meetings of their efforts to continue hosting showings of movies for own, as well as attending each of the FMO exec and about black people. board meetings. Now the vice-president of the FEB, Johnson is confident in the group’s ability Many of the ideas expressed by the members of to make change. the board are social events, since one of their pri- mary goals is creating a sense of unity among the “We definitely have some stuff planned, but for black freshmen. Gashaw continued, “I want us to now it’s under wraps,” She said. “I think we all really cement the black community here. I want have a common goal, and we're going to do our us to be able to leave freshman year thinking, ‘I best to achieve that goal. We get along pretty know all of the black people on campus.’ I want well and I'm excited to see what we do in the us all to be tight so that if I’m in any class I will be future.” W hen Alyssa Johnson first arrived to North- “Coming into this year, it was a priority for us western University, she was eager to get involved to have the freshmen get involved,” said Kasey within the black community. As a new student, Brown, the current president of FMO. “I saw that she knew that she could use her leadership skills they were all super excited, not just to be com- to make a positive impact, and unite her fellow ing on campus, but they were putting out ideas black freshmen.