BSU Interview
By Adam Sarsfield
When discussing the diverse and extensive history of Black History Month, all people need to realize that the historical issues African Americans preached and fought for are still prevalent today. According to the Public Health Post, an online daily news regarding health and social justice, around 37% of African American students reported that they were harassed or bullied. These reported incidents of bullying, making up over one-third of students, account for only the number of students willing to talk about their experiences. This major crisis has also likely affected Westmont; however, as the school has not seen it fit, there is no percentage or statistic regarding this information that we can use. However, recognizing the necessity for a safe space for people of color, the Black Student Union was reintroduced as a club at Westmont after the pandemic. With the emergence of a necessity, Gabriela Hopkins-Moore took it upon herself to be the club advisor for the BSU. I contacted Hopkins regarding how the club came about and what drove her to take on the advisor role.
Q: What led to the creation of BSU?/Was it a collaborative effort or one you envisioned and wanted to bring to Westmont?
A: The BSU had been around in years prior with various advisors, but there was less of a need (expressed by the students) for the club and it was underutilized. During the Pandemic, when more human connection was sought after, and police brutality became more visible to the entire country, there was increased interest in “restarting” the club. At that time it was necessary for black students to have a place where they could meet, share their struggles, feel safe, and build community “on-campus.”
Q: What would you say is the greatest challenge that faces black students?
A: I would say the greatest challenge that black students face is dealing with the lower expectations that peers or adults may have of them, before getting to know them. There is always an underlying pressure to prove that they are capable and intelligent so that they are not viewed as being lazy, troublemakers.
Q: What kind of advice would you give to minority students who are facing any racism or prejudice?
A: Don’t ever let someone else try to tell you who you are, only you can decide your worth. If you are facing racism or prejudice, talk about it; let others know what you are dealing with so that we can all work together to put an end to it. And always try to surround yourself with people that will support and lift you up!
ZORA NEALE HURSTON: SHARPENING HER OYSTER KNIFE
By Faith Gonia
“No, I do not weep at the world—” resolutely declares Zora Neale Hurston, born just 26 years after the freedom of enslaved people in the United States, “I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife.” In her 1928 essay, How It Feels to be Colored Me, Hurston details her experience as a black woman in the early twentieth century. Presenting her perspective on race, she asserts that skin color does not limit neither her, nor anyone, to achieve what one desires; she is not “tragically colored.”
Hurston emerged as a prominent author of the Harlem Renaissance, a revival of African American culture during the 1920s. Publishing four novels and upwards of 50 other works, Hurston left a legacy of African American representation in literature. Westmont students might know her from teacher Chris Haskett, whose AP Language class studies Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Following a young African American woman named
Janie Crawford, the classic work explores a woman’s life in one of the first all-black cities in America: Eatonville, Florida. Hurston illustrates concepts of domestic violence, sexism, and personal identity for an African American woman—concepts rarely discussed in the then-segregated nation.
Despite Hurston’s abundance of contributions to the literary community, her work did not reach its peak recognition until after her passing. Yet today, she is revered as one of the most influential writers of her time. Hurston encapsulates her motivation in life:
“The terrible struggle that made me an American out of a potential slave said “On the line!” The Reconstruction said “Get set!”; and the generation before said “Go!” I am off to a flying start and I must not halt in the stretch to look behind and weep.”
A renowned author and anthropologist, Barnard University’s first black graduate, a woman known for her courage and wit—truly, Hurston did not halt in the stretch.
WAYS TO COMMEMORATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH
By Hailey Kearns
