The brothers of Black Men Emerging charm the ladies again

       Valentines day comes twice at year at SMU thanks to the brothers of Black Men Emerging.  What has the ladies screaming three months later you ask? 

       Well, it’s phenomenal love didn't you know?

       “Well Phenonemal Love (PL) is an event that we put on every year as Black Men Emerging (BME) and it’s really geared around our appreciation for women,” Julius Henderson said who is a member of BME.

       At PL, ladies receive the full treatment. From roses, to performances and dinner.

       “Well I think the ladies love it so much because they get to come out they get to dress up, they feel catered to by the men of BME. [A]nd we love to do it for them. We love to see the faces when they're smiling and they’re like, 'guys thank you so much for putting on this event.' Sometimes you have those moments where the event really meant something huge for somebody and I think that is what makes this event worthwhile," said Matt Powell, who is president of BME.

     Black Men Emerging is an organization that promotes the development of black males at SMU.

Alternative Breaks visits Selma, Ala.

        Selma, Ala. “a nice place to live,” the city website claims.  Perhaps at first glance, and maybe not even, because the Selma I visited got lost in the pre-Civil Rights Movement era. It’s a paradox of progression and regression, black and white, poor and rich, life and death and integration and segregation.
         Selma, Ala., where the only speed is mosey. The birthplace of Civil Rights Movement and the death place of black Selma youth.  Cross one side of the tracks, (and yes a single train track runs through the entire town tooting its horn at all hours) and find antebellum-style mansions. Imagine white-picket fences, porches that wrap around the entire house and plantation homes.  Now, cross the other side of the tracks and imagine slave shacks (yes they are still standing), boarded up windows, graffiti and poverty.
        For my spring break in 2014, I wanted to spend my vacation time doing something more fulfilling. I found that with Freedom Foundation in Selma. And ironically, that service trip ended up being more of an inspiration for me than I was for the youth in Selma.
        Every night brought in a new flood of emotions because every day was so unpredictable.  During the day I, and other SMU students, volunteered at different Selma elementary schools and/or worked to renovate an old building.
       In the evenings, over five different universities came together to reflect on our days, fellowship with one another over dinner, listen to speakers essential to the Civil Rights Movement or Freedom Foundation, learn more about the history of Selma, and hear testimonies of the students involved in Freedom Foundation’s smaller organization for at-risk youth called RATCo.
       We also toured Selma and visited the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery.
        I cried, I laughed, I learned, I danced, I cried some more and I ate.
       Although there were a myriad of things that affected me in Selma, what sticks out the most was the school system. To start off, they are segregated. I am talking 99 percent black versus 99 percent white. And teachers are almost a direct reflection of the student body as well.
       One of the private white high schools is actually named after a prominent Klu Klux Klansmen, John T. Morgan.
       We only visited the black schools during our stay in Selma.  Freedom Foundation said the white schools would not have been welcoming.
        For the black community, public schools in Selma are so bad that parents choose to send their kids to private high schools. But they are not any better. Because private schools operate under different regulations than a public school, you find that children are being taught to dislike and distrust “white folks,” as the students call them.
       In the white schools, they are being taught the confederacy. So it’s a vicious cycle of hate starting in the early stages of childhood.
       Almost every school we visited had an extensive security system in it. Let me remind you this is grade school and not high school.  I can only image what is at the high school. At the middle school I saw HIV and sexual awareness posters on the wall. They had condom displays on them.
       Inside the classroom, all students were performing below average.
       Students didn’t have many aspirations or dreams. Many didn’t like any classes other than P.E.  A student even asked if Yale was real.
       Teachers are overwhelmed, understaffed and there are not enough funds to go around.
       Corporal punishment was very popular. And if it wasn’t that, there was a lot of yelling, and other non politically correct ways of disciplining. What I saw in some of those schools made me questions whether or not Child Protective Services was needed.
       The lack of hope, their limited worlds, the environment these kids are growing up in, all of it was just heart breaking.
        I believe every person has potential to be more than their environment, but these kids were not receiving that message of hope.
       But, there is a beacon of light and it lies in the Freedom Foundation and their program for Selma youth called Random Acts of Theatre Company or RATCo for short. In this program, Selma youth, most of them black, spend their free time expressing themselves through theatre and dance and out of the murderous streets of Selma.
       Freedom Foundation began in Colorado and found its next mission in Selma. Now it has spread to other locations including Atlanta and is in the process of finding a home in the Dallas area, perhaps on the University of North Texas campus.
       When RATCo kids were around we were able to put a face to the things we were learning about and seeing. Some of the kids have dealt with molestation, family violence, gang activity, absentee parents, drugs, murder and so much more tragedy.
        But RATCo focuses on giving those kids and outlet and a healthy source of community. Former RATCo members who are adults now were among the many people we met in Selma. They said without RATCo, they are not sure how their lives would have ended up.
        If there was anything that I could have taken out of my entire experience in Selma, it is that the march continues. That refers to racial relations in the Unites States and reaching back into poorer communities and not letting them continue in the state that they are in now.
       For me, that means reaching out to the youth because change happens there.  They are the most influential and the most influenced.
       Click on the slide show below to see pictures from my trip.

Progression of a black woman

        This Friday, February 28th edition of the Daily Update features Leah Johnson's VOSOT on Sisters Supporting Sisters annual Black History Month event called "Progression of a Black Woman." Tune in around 7 minutes and 50 seconds to see it.

SMU ASA hosts African Extravaganza

       African Student Association hosted its annual event called African Extravaganza for Black History Month Friday. Over a hundred piled in the Hughes-Trigg student theater for this fashion, dance and talent show that featured six performances from students from UTA, UTD, UNT, TWU and TCU.
       "It's a package of all of Africa in one building." said a student on stage during the show. Mariam Meme, a member of African Student Association at SMU, said the goal of African Extravaganza is to bring knowledge about the African culture.
       "Africa is seen as one country, but there are many cultures," said Meme. She said she thought collaborating with other schools for African Extravaganza shows the variety of the African continent that contains many countries populated by many cultures.
       SMU Junior Justin Morales had a different reason for attending African Extravaganza.
       "I seen all these females and I had to come," said Morales.

       In between acts, students enjoyed jokes and the latest hip hop and African music with impromptu dance performances from audience members. 

Privilege and Prejudice

Jackson (left) and Fishburne. Photo courtesy US Weekly.

"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

             Earlier last week, media exploded with a video interview of Samuel L. Jackson correcting KLTA entertainment reporter Sam Rubin, who is white, for confusing Jackson for Laurence Fishburne, another prominent black actor.
             And frankly, Rubin deserved the chewing out he received because this is just another case of white privilege and prejudice.
             First, let me define the two terms. White privilege refers to the set of societal privileges that white people benefit from beyond those commonly experienced by people of color in the same societal circles. This includes unconscious or unintentional advantages that white people may not recognize they have. Prejudice is simply a preconceived notion by someone without sufficient knowledge of the subject.
             For example, because white culture is the dominant or preferred culture, white people are not bombarded with one set of images or forced to learn about others’ cultures and can oftentimes go their whole lives without different cultural contact. That is an unconscious and sometimes unintentional privilege.  Without that contact you build a set of preconceived notions and there you have it, prejudice.

             Three weeks into the spring semester and on multiple occasions, I have already witnessed or be a victim to the same exact scenario of white privilege.
             A couple weeks ago I was sitting in the journalism school waiting for my next meeting when images of Cedric the Entertainer, who is a well-known comedian in the black community, popped up on the TV screen.
             In a room full of white students, with the exception of me and one other, a white student mistakes Cedric the Entertainer for Bernie Mac, who is another well-know comedian in the black community. When I corrected her, she responded by saying that the two comedians look alike and that is why she was confused.
             To me, that’s like confusing Katy Perry and Britney Spears. They are two different people, with similar career paths.
             But does that student ever confuse those two people?
             Not to mention, Bernie Mac is deceased and Cedric the Entertainer is alive and well.
             When I called the student out on her mistake, she became defensive and that is when the other white students decided to defend the first student and agree that the two men look alike. One student even went as far as to say that all black people look alike.
             Or, there was the time when I had a meeting with a different white student, and I mentioned a friend who wears a turban. She asked me if my friend was the same person as another student who wears a turban.
             The other student has glasses and a beard whereas my friend does not.
             I said no they are not the same person, but she insisted that they look alike.
            Or how about this one, what else could it be other than white privilege and prejudice when some of my own white professors still confuse me for other black students and will repeatedly look me in the eyes and call me by another name.
             What these scenarios show me is that people look at me and only see color. I am not ashamed of my black skin so yes please embrace it, but I will not be devalued or lumped into a group.
             So this is what I have to say to those mistaken students and professors:
See us, not our color.

SMU helps prepare KIPP students for college

SMU student leaders for the KIPP progam. Photo courtesy Joe Carreón.

Every summer, SMU students volunteer their time to help prepare rising junior and senior high school students in the KIPP program prepare for college success. KIPP students participate in a five-week program where they live on the SMU campus, take two college-level courses with university faculty, earn college credit and live the life of a college kid. In addition, students experience volunteerism with community service projects on weekends.  By the end of the program, KIPP students are expected to know what it takes for a successful transition into college life.

Joe Carreón, who is the coordinator for student success in the office of the provost, said KIPP at SMU began in the summer of 2013.

“In 2013, SMU invited eight students to be KIPP at SMU participants. We hope to increase that number slightly. [This] summer, SMU will welcome its second KIPP at SMU cohort. SMU partnered with KIPP because both entities wanted to do more in addressing the college persistence challenges facing low-income families and first-generation college students,” Carreón said. 

The SMU admission team is currently reviewing applications and in March, KIPP at SMU should know if any of the seniors who participated in the program last summer are admitted. In May, Carreón said he will know which former participants are attending SMU.

KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, is a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public charter schools that prepares students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. There are currently 141 KIPP schools in 20 states and the District of Columbia serving 50,000 students. More than 86 percent of KIPP’s students are from low-income families and eligible for the federal free or reduced-price meals program, and 95 percent are African American or Latino. Nationally, more than 90 percent of KIPP middle school students have graduated high school and more than 80 percent of KIPP alumni have gone on to college.

Two SMU students are hired to serve as program directors and provide supervision and programming throughout the students’ stay. Incentives include; a $1,200 stipend, a single room in a residence hall and up to three credit hours of tuition for summer I or summer II. This year, the program runs from July 5 to August 5. Applications are due Feb. 20, 2014. Contact Joe Carreón for more information.